Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
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| Location | Thompson, Connecticut |
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| Time zone | UTC−5 (UTC−4 DST) |
| Coordinates | 41°58′54.65″N 71°49′31.79″W / 41.9818472°N 71.8254972°W |
| Owner | Donald and D.R. Hoenig |
| Operator | Donald and D.R. Hoenig |
| Broke ground | 21 September 1938 |
| Opened | 26 May 1940 |
| Former names | Thompson Raceway (1940–1971) Thompson Speedway (1972–1979, 1998–1999) Big Thompson Speedway (1980–1982) Thompson International Speedway (1983–1997, 2000–2012) |
| Major events | Current: NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Former: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East King Cadillac GMC Throwback 100 (1988–1991, 1993–2009, 2017–2018) Atlantic Championship (2014) NASCAR Grand National (1951, 1969–1970) F5000 (1968–1969) SCCA (1957–1972) |
| Oval (1940–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 0.625 miles (1.006 km) |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 26° |
| Road Course (1967–1978), (2014–present) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 1.700 miles (2.736 km) |
| Turns | 11 |
| Race lap record | 0:59.400[1] ( David Hobbs, Surtees TS5, 1969, F5000) |
| Original Road Course (1957-1967) | |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Length | 2.000 miles (3.219 km) |
| Turns | 12 |
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a 5⁄8 mi (1.0 km), high-banked asphalt oval racetrack and a 1.7 mi (2.7 km) road racing course.[2] Once known as the "Indianapolis of the East", it was the first asphalt-paved racing oval track in the United States and is now under the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Star Series (PASS) banners. Each year, Thompson hosts one of the great fall variety events "The World Series of Speedway Racing" highlighted by the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, New England Supermodified Series, and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. This event frequently draws over 300 race cars in 16 separate divisions over three days. Besides that, it currently hosts the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 3 times a year, and also hosted various SCCA sports car races between 1957 and 1972, NASCAR Grand National series races between 1951 and 1970, and two SCCA F5000 events in 1968 and 1969.[3]
History
[edit]
Following cleanup from the hurricane of 1938, John Hoenig built a 0.625 mi (1.006 km) paved oval (completed in 1940) and a 1.56 mi (2.51 km) road racing course (added on in 1952) on his farmland in the northeast corner of Connecticut.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Thompson's Sunday night program was a who's who of modified greats such as Carl "Bugs" Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Fred Schulz, Ron Bouchard, Ed Flemke, Leo Cleary, Smoky Boutwell, and Geoff Bodine. During this period the track hosted memorable special events which drew legendary Southern drivers like Ray Hendrick in the famous "Fireball" #11 to battle the locals. Other surprise stars included Long Island's Fred Harbach and Rene Charland from Massachusetts.
In the late 1970s, the track drew 55 winged Super Modifieds to their World Series race. By owner's choice, all 55 started. During the energy crisis of the 1970s, Thompson hosted a unique division called the "Open Competitive" division which merged the Super Modifieds with the Modifieds. Later, Thompson tried a lower-cost stock-cylinder-head modified division, which chased away some of the tracks regulars. Until the 1980s the track had a unique barrier outside turns 1–2 and 3–4 made of dirt fill.
Today
[edit]Hoenig's grandson D.R. and great-grandson Jonathan continue to operate the family-owned facility. As of June 1, 2013, the Hoenig family began work to reconstruct the 1.700 mi (2.736 km) road course with and accompanying paddock and staging areas, and the website reflected the renaming of the facility to Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The newly rebuilt road course celebrated its "soft opening" with the New England Region of SCCA on the weekend of June 6–8, 2014.[4] Thompson created a private club for individual use of the road course, the website <http://www.thompsonspeedway.com/index.php> notes that "The Club" will be limited to 200 members.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park continues to run ACT/PASS sanctioned races on the oval track, with 12 oval events tentatively planned for 2025. The two largest events, The Icebreaker and The Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing are traditionally New England’s season opener and season finale. Both multi-day events draw several hundred race cars from up to 18 divisions. The Road course hosts many more events such as SCCA major and regional races, vintage race festivals, high performance driving events (HPDEs) and drifting. The park has hosted nine events for the 24 Hours of LeMons series. The first was in August 2015 [2], and the most recent was in August 2024. [3] In June 2017, the park hosted two rounds of the 2017 Global RallyCross Championship using a combination of the road course and a dirt track. [4]
Use in simulations / games
[edit]The current layout appears in the online racing simulation iRacing where it is laser scanned for millimeter accuracy.
A recreation of the track as it appeared in 1970 is included in the retro-themed game NASCAR Legends.
Notable race results
[edit]| Year | Race winner | Team | Car | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 |  Daniel Burkett | K-Hill Motorsports | Swift 016.a | Mazda-Cosworth MZR |
 Ethan Ringel | One Formula Racing | Swift 016.a | Mazda-Cosworth MZR |
Deaths
[edit]Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park has also endured some tragic moments which have claimed the lives of the following competitors: David Peterson (1977), Tony Willman, Fred DeSarro, Harry Kourafus Jr., Dick Dixon, Corky Cookman, Tom Baldwin, Sr., John Blewett III, and most recently Shane Hammond (April 6, 2008). DeSarro's death prompted a memorial fundraiser which drew the largest crowd to date and the Northeast's best drivers in an open competition Modified race with no purse. Both Evans and Bodine mounted their cars with wings. Baldwin and Blewett died while competing in the same race on the tour, three years apart.
References
[edit]- ^ "1969 Thompson F5000". Retrieved 12 March 2023.
- ^ "Oval Track Racing". Thompson Speedway. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ "Historic Thompson". Thompson Speedway. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
- ^ SCCA Joins Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the Soft Opening of the Newly Re-opened Road Course | Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
External links
[edit]
- Official site
- Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park archive at Racing-Reference
- The Golden Days: Thompson Speedway and Raceway by Terry O'Neil. Published by Dalton Watson Fine Books. 2018.