NDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 28, 2019 – The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum invites the public, Museum members and the racing community to a special presentation, “Team Penske’s First 500,” honoring 50 years of winning for team owner Roger Penske’s namesake racing organization.
The mini-exhibit opens March 29 and runs through mid-November. “Team Penske’s First 500” honors a trio of milestones: the team’s 50th anniversary at the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge, Team Penske’s 500th win in major racing competition and a “Penske sweep” of major NASCAR Cup Series and NTT IndyCar Series events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2018.
In May 1969, while a now-iconic driver named Mario Andretti took the checkered flag at the Indianapolis 500, Roger Penske entered a car in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time under the Team Penske banner, beginning a campaign that has rewritten North American motorsports history. Penske was inducted in the IMS Hall of Fame in 2002. “Team Penske’s First 500” features five cars and historic memorabilia and runs concurrently with the Museum’s major 2019 exhibit honoring Andretti. Opening May 1, “Mario Andretti: ICON” presented by Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium Gasoline celebrates his 1969 “500” triumph and incredible driving career, which included a period with Team Penske. The Team Penske Indy cars and NASCAR Cup Series stock cars in the display include:•The 1969 No. 66 Sunoco-Simoniz four-wheel-drive Lola T152•The 1972 No. 66 Sunoco McLaren M16B•No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevy-powered Dallara, winner of the 2018 INDYCAR Grand Prix (2.439-mile IMS road course) and the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.•No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Fusion driven by Brad Keselowski to victory at the 2018 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line, the first Cup Series win at IMS for Team Penske.•No. 2 Autotrader Ford Fusion driven by Keselowski to Team Penske’s 500th major win on Sept. 16, 2018 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway NASCAR Cup Series race. The early Indy cars in the display hold special acclaim. The 1969 Lola T152, powered by a turbocharged Offenhauser engine, was piloted by a driver also making his “500” debut: IMS Hall of Fame member Mark Donohue. The New Jersey native and Brown University graduate rose through the road-course racing ranks but impressed immediately at the “500.”
Donohue qualified fourth and finished seventh at Indy in 1969– despite an electrical issue requiring a pit stop that consumed 10 minutes. He was named Rookie of the Year. In 1972, Donohue gave Penske the first of a record-17 Indianapolis 500 victories with an Offy-powered McLaren, setting a race-record average speed of 162.962 mph in the process.
Team Penske’s dominance at highly competitive Indianapolis is summed up with one statistic: Three team owners are tied for second place in the “most wins” category – with five each. Fellow IMS Hall of Famers Lou Moore, Chip Ganassi and Michael Andretti currently occupy the second spot. Moore was dominant at the “500” before and after World War II, while Ganassi and Andretti remain fierce rivals to Penske in today’s NTT IndyCar Series.
About the IMS Museum: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum is home to one of the world’s premier motorsports and automobile collections, with interpretive emphasis on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its role as a global icon of sporting tradition and innovation.
Located inside the famed 2.5-mile IMS oval, the Museum is open 363 days a year (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas). It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and relies on support from admissions, tours, sponsorships, annual memberships and planned-giving for its operations, educational programming, restoration and preservation efforts, exhibits and events.
For more information on the IMS Museum, please visit www.indyracingmuseum.org, contact the Museum at (317) 492-6784, or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Source:: Eric Powell, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum
Indy Cars raced on the Indy road course prior to the Indy 500 on the 2-1/2 oval.. (Credit: IMS photo)
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation | 4750 W. 16th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46222
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Kyle Bonsignore might be one of the favorites when the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns to South Boston Speedway this weekend.
For the first time since 2001, NASCAR’s modified stars will take to the .4-mile Virginia oval looking to capture the victory as part of the second of a two-race southern swing to begin the newest season.
And Bonsignore, unlike many others in the field, has previous experience at the track that he is hoping he can lean on. Bonsignore competed at South Boston in three races during NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour action, including the final two races the series had at the oval in 2016.
In those last two starts, Bonsignore qualified inside the top five and finished fourth and second — coming up just short of rolling into Victory Lane.
“I’d like to think that it does give us a slight advantage, but the big monkey wrench in all of it is that they repaved the track. We didn’t get a chance to test and a lot of the other guys did, but I know some of the places you can pass and the way you need to set people up. The track didn’t change shape, so I do know the line as well, which helps,” Kyle Bonsignore said. “I’m really excited for this race.
“I loved the track before they paved it and now that they did it, the tire fall off seems minimal. It doesn’t seem like the track is slowing down. The last time that I went there was with a totally different chassis and we only lost by a few car lengths. but I know what the car felt like there, and it should feel really close to that.”
Even though he’s been around in modifieds just a short time, Bonsignore has already made a splash. He carries the Bonsignore name — a name that has already seen championship glory last season, when his cousin Justin hoisted the title trophy.
When Justin clinched the title last year at Stafford Motor Speedway, the afternoon of the NAPA Fall Final was historic for the Bonsignore family — but it ended up being a celebration in more ways than just one.
Kyle used some late race moves up to the front to carry the checkered flag for the first time in just his 11th career Whelen Modified Tour start in the NAPA Fall Final 150.
But the path to get to winning glory wasn’t one he takes for granted, and it wasn’t something that happened in the blink of an eye either.
Before running modifieds, Bonsignore competed in the Pro All Star Series in the southeast, driving Super Late Models, after having a tenure in some open-wheel action with USAC.
“I’ve kinda run a little bit of everything in my career,” Bonsignore said. “The first time I ran a Modified was on the Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The atmosphere in Super Late Model racing was changing, when Kyle Busch was putting together his team, and costs were going up and it just wasn’t working for us. We’ve always been around Modifieds — growing up on Long Island and being that close to Riverhead — and Justin racing Modifieds — I really wanted to, but I just didn’t have the ability at the time. When I sold my Super Late Model, I was deciding what I wanted to do, and the furthest Southern Tour track away was about three hours, so it made sense for us to try it out.”
In 2016, a season that proved to be the final of the Whelen Southern Modified Tour, Bonsignore ran the entire 11-race slate and finished seventh in the championship standings with a best finish of second, which came at South Boston. Once that season ended, it was time to make a move to racing up north if he wanted to continue in the modified ranks.
“It was a huge learning curve for us. We were in completely different suspension types in the Super Late Model and with a different body and everything, we went for a 180 and took a way different setup with a way different race,” Bonsignore said. “There were almost no races with pit stops in the Super Late Model, and the fact that you can change a tire, or swap tires in a modified race, there were a lot of things different for us. About halfway through the first year we started to pick it up and we qualified better and it made the race a lot easier.”
It wasn’t long before Bonsignore decided it was time to take his talent to the newly-formed unified Whelen Modified Tour, and he made his first start with the series at Myrtle Beach to open the 2017 season. The opener didn’t start well — with a 19th place finish — but Bonsignore ran three more races that year and finished third at Langley Speedway in May.
Once 2018 rolled around, it was time for him to increase his schedule — which eventually included seven of the 16 races — and he showed speed right from the beginning. But, the move from the south to the north brought some additional challenges with it.
“That first race, it was a complete eye-opening experience. unlike a lot of the southern tracks where tires don’t last long, when you go up to Stafford and Thompson and those types of tracks, you can run really hard for a really long time. It’s a huge difference mentally as a driver to adjust to that,” Bonsignore said. “Down south, the green flag comes out and you run 60 percent, and you come in and get your tire then you run to the end. In the north, the first 15 laps seem like qualifying laps. We didn’t have experience with the pit strategy either, so that was a huge learning curve racing against guys that do it all year every year. The drivers race differently, you definitely have to earn the respect of them.”
“Every inch is earned, and it can be rough, but I love the racing. That’s why I keep going.”
Fast-forward to last September and the NAPA Fall Final at Stafford, it was time for him to showcase his talent on one of the biggest stages that the series offers. A historic track, on a day where his cousin was clinching the championship.
“We’ve always run well there in the race before and haven’t had the best luck every time, but we learn so much each time on how to make the car better. I knew we had a good car after practice, and honestly, we were under the radar for much of the race until the pit stops started cycling through,” Bonsignore recalled.
“Without pit stops, we went from 14th to fifth and the car was great. We got up to second and rode there for a while and we were counting on a late race caution. When we had crashed out back at the NAPA Spring Sizzler in April , we watched Ryan Preece wait to take his tires and we were just holding out. When the caution came out, we came in, took the last two tires, and everything worked out perfectly. The cautions fell exactly how I needed them to fall. It was definitely the highlight of my career, but it was really great because it’s so hard to win these races. Even if everything works out right, you still have to have the luck. To pass the cars we did on the way back to the front, you are passing people who are usually the ones who are winning all the races.”
Over the most recent offseason, even though he won at Stafford, Bonsignore has updated his operation with some changes to his chassis, suspension, and a life change that comes outside of the race car.
Bonsignore has made a move away from near the race shop, across multiple states — and is preparing to celebrate a marriage in the next month. He’s been relying on his dad, friends, and additional family members to help prepare the cars for battle, and he just flies into the nearest airport for the races.
“It’s tough, but so far it’s been a lot of work for them,” Bonsignore said. “You have to have a lot of trust in them. They’ve done a good job. It’s very different compared to what I am used to having for sure.”R
Looking ahead, Bonsignore is really open to be able to showcase his talent over the course of the entire 16-race championship points schedule this season. But, for now, he’s definitely committed to the first four races — which includes the opener at Myrtle Beach, where he finished 17th because of a tire strategy that didn’t fall his way. Up next: South Boston, Thompson and Stafford.
“We try and make the best out of every single one. I own the car so I can only do what I can afford,” he said. “I had planned the first four races because they are tracks that I really like, but when we were at Myrtle Beach, I got a call from Doug Dunleavy and he actually came onboard as a sponsor for the first four. The more help that we can get, the more we will be able to race. I want to run the full season.”
Multiple teams who are competing in the South Boston 150 tested over the course of the last three weeks, including multiple drivers inside the LFR Chassis camp, who tested all at once.
Chase Dowling, who finished second in the championship standings last season, will begin his part-time schedule driving for veteran Jamie Tomaino. Dowling has one career win, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but cut his teeth racing Modifieds at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut.
As the second race of the season, South Boston could prove to be the place where the eventual champion breaks out into title form. In two out of the last three years, the eventual series champion won the second race of the season.
Ron Silk, Tommy Catalano and Timmy Solomito, three drivers who finished outside the top 20 in the opener at Myrtle Beach, will look to turn their seasons around and pick up crucial momentum before the series returns to New England and Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the 45th annual Icebreaker weekend, April 5-7.
Source: Jason Christley NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
(Stafford Springs, CT)—Since beginning his modified career in Stafford Speedway’s SK Light division in 2010, Waterbury, CT native Joey Cipriano has steadily climbed the ladder up the modified chain. Cipriano is now a regular in Stafford’s premier SK Modified® division and he also has made select starts in the Valenti Modified Racing Series and Stafford’s Open Modified events over the past several seasons. Cipriano will climb to the highest rung on the modified ladder when he makes his NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour debut at the 48th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, April 27th and 28th. Cipriano will pilot the #19 Gunsmoke Stables Racing car owned by Steve Greer, who Cipriano has teamed up with previously to run Open Modified and VMRS events.
“From when I first started racing SK Lights, I would always look down to the other end of the paddock area where the Tour cars were parked and that’s where you wanted to be as a driver,” said Cipriano. “I finally have that opportunity and can’t thank Steve Greer, Earl Pelletier, and everyone at Gunsmoke Stables Racing enough for having faith in me to say let’s try our hand at Stafford.”
Cipriano and the Gunsmoke Stables team recorded three top-8 finishes in four starts last season at Stafford in the Open Modified and VMRS races. Cipriano might have made it four for four in top-10 efforts if not for getting caught up in a multi-car wreck one lap after a restart in the May VMRS race. The Cipriano-Gunsmoke combination will bring a new car to the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®.
“Steve purchased a car from Flamingo Motorsports over the winter with a Bob Bruneau NASCAR Spec Engine so we’ll have a totally different package from what we ran last season in the Open Mod and VMRS races,” said Cipriano. “Last year we came to Stafford and we ran really well. Steve and his guys always bring good equipment to the track and knowing that we’re going to go to the top level of modified racing with top notch equipment is exciting. It’s one of those things that you always dream of, an opportunity like this to race at the Whelen Modified Tour level with equipment you know is capable of winning.”
For his NWMT debut, Cipriano is looking to continue the success he’s had in his previous Tour-type modified starts at Stafford but will be facing a new set of variables. Cipriano will be leaning on his 8 seasons of SK Modified® and SK Light experience at Stafford as he will have to contend with a race that is twice the distance of the longest race he’s ever ran. Cipriano and the Gunsmoke team will also have to determine their pit strategy as NWMT rules only permit one tire change per pit stop.
“It would be great to show up and win the race like Kyle Bonsignore did at the Fall Final last year, but realistically a top-10 would be a great day for us,” said Cipriano. “If we can consistently run in the top-12 to top-15 and end up with a top-10 finish, that would be great and anything more than that would be a bonus. Having as many laps at Stafford as I do will definitely play to my advantage when it comes to the learning curve. I’ve been lucky enough to race with some of the same guys who run the Tour regularly so having experience with those guys will help. I’ve been watching a lot of video to try to figure out when guys are pitting and what they’re doing on pit road and Earl [Pelletier] has been doing the same so we can come with an idea for a pit strategy. I think we can do well and we’re going to try to have fun for 200 laps.”
Cipriano will be a busy man during the NAPA Spring Sizzler® Weekend as he will also be back behind the wheel of his #78 J.G. Poulin Drywall / AVI International SK Modified® machine. Cipriano scored his first SK Modified® feature victory last season after having come agonizingly close to his first win with 4 second place finishes in his career. Now that Cipriano has his first win under his belt, he and his #78 crew are focused on becoming a more consistent front runner and challenging for the championship this season.
“We’re excited for the SK season,” said Cipriano. “We have a year under our belt together after taking a couple years off from SK racing and we had good speed and we won a race last year but we weren’t consistent enough. To win a championship you have to finish races. To get our first win was good and if we can put some races together and show speed consistently, I don’t see why we can’t be a contender for wins every week.”
Cipriano’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour effort will carry sponsorship from Gunsmoke Stables Racing, Earl Pelletier Concrete, J & O Auto, and Jannetty Racing while his full-time SK Modified® effort will carry support from JG Poulin Drywall, AVI International, Creative Racing Products, Green Construction Management, Neimad Design, Prospect Street Automotive, Jannetty Racing, Full Throttle Battery, Tom and Sandy Welch, Andy and Louise Brockway, and FK Rod Ends.
The NAPA Spring Sizzler® spans 3 days kicking off Friday April 26th with a full afternoon of practice for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The weekend continues Saturday with qualifying for all divisions including group qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as well as feature racing for the Vintage All-Stars, Limited Late Models and Street Stocks. New for 2019 the Saturday Street Stock feature will be a 30 lap special event as part of the RMSPCO.com Street Stock Triple Crown. Sizzler® weekend is capped off Sunday with the NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party and feature racing for the SK Modifieds®, Late Models, SK Light Modifieds, and finally the NAPA Spring Sizzler® 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now by calling the Speedway Box Office 860-684-2783 or online at www.staffordspeedway.com. Discount NAPA Spring Sizzler® tickets that include access to the NAPA lunch buffet are available at participating NAPA Auto Parts Stores. For a full list of participating locations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, please call the speedway office or point your web browser towww.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores
Source: Scott Running/Stafford PR
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
The NASCAR Cup Series will race around “The Magic Mile” on Sunday, July 19, 2020.NHMS PR Official ReleaseTuesday, March 26, 201951Shares
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is in full swing preparing for this year’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 on Sunday, July 21, 2019, however New England race fans can already start making plans for next season. NASCAR released its 2020 Cup Series schedule today, including its annual July 19, 2020 visit to “The Magic Mile,” which will serve as the last race prior to NASCAR’s mid-summer break.
“Many of our fans use the July NASCAR race weekend as a highlight of their summer family vacation in New Hampshire,” said David McGrath, executive vice president and general manager of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “As our fans start counting down the days to this year’s Foxwoods Resort Casino 301, they can mark their calendar for this same weekend next year.”
While New Hampshire’s date stays the same, NASCAR announced some significant changes to a new dynamic schedule. There was unprecedented collaboration between NASCAR, the race tracks and broadcast partners allowing the schedule to be built with the fans in mind. Fans and drivers alike will be thrilled to see the variety of new tracks involved in the year-end playoffs while some other tracks have completely new dates. This will produce a new level of excitement and competition that will provide more key moments throughout the season that fans will enjoy.
The NASCAR Cup Series has raced at New Hampshire Motor Speedway since 1993, making July 19, 2020 the 49th visit to the trackand the only visit in the six-state New England region.
(Stafford Springs, CT)—For the 6th consecutive season, discount tickets for the NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, slated for April 26-28, are available at local NAPA Auto Parts stores throughout New England and New York. Along with admission good for both Saturday and Sunday, tickets purchased at participating NAPA stores include a luncheon buffet on Spring Sizzler® Sunday prior to racing action. NAPA tickets are on sale now at over 70 NAPA stores for just $38 for adults and $15 for ages 14 and under.
“I always tell our race fans to stop by their local NAPA Auto Parts store to pick-up their Spring Sizzler® tickets,” explained Stafford General Manager Mark Arute. “The NAPA tickets are one of the best deals of the season, $38 for a full weekend of racing and a full lunch buffet Sunday afternoon. It’s shaping to be another great Spring Sizzler® weekend with strong fields across all divisions in attendance. Stop by your local NAPA pick up your Sizzler tickets and checkout all that NAPA has to offer.”
The 48th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler®, “The Greatest Race In The History of Spring,” is set to kick off the 61st consecutive season of NASCAR Whelen All-American Series racing action at Stafford Speedway on April 26-28. The 2019 edition of the NAPA Spring Sizzler® will see 7 divisions of racing in action, headlined by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour in a 200-lap feature event. The NWMT cars will be joined by Stafford’s SK Modifieds®, Late Models, SK Lights, Limited Late Models, and Street Stocks along with the Vintage All-Stars.
The last two NAPA Spring Sizzlers® have been dominated by Ryan Preece and the #6 T.S. Haulers team. Preece won the 2017 and 2018 Sizzlers® but has since moved on to compete in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series and will not be in attendance at this season’s Sizzler®. With Preece not returning to seek his 3rd consecutive Spring Sizzler®, the door is open for other drivers to etch their name in Spring Sizzler® history. Two favorites entering Sizzler® weekend are Kyle Bonsignore, who won the 2018 NAPA Fall Final 150, and Doug Coby, who won last summer’s Stafford 150. Both will be a factor come April 28th.
The NAPA Spring Sizzler® is the longest continuously run event on the Stafford event calendar and it has seen 25 different winners over the 47 year history. Of those 25 winners, 12 have gone on to win a NWMT Championship and 6 drivers have won the race and the NWMT championship in the same season: Mike Stefanik (1989, 1997, 1998), Doug Coby (2012, 2016), Richie Evans (1985), Tony Hirschman (2005), Donny Lia (2007) and Ted Christopher (2008). Ted Christopher leads all drivers with 6 career Sizzler wins, followed by Mike Stefanik with 4, Rick Fuller, Richie Evans, Maynard Troyer, Bobby Santos, III, and Doug Coby with 3 each.
The NAPA Spring Sizzler® spans 3 days kicking off April 27th with a full afternoon of practice for Stafford’s weekly divisions. The weekend continues Saturday with qualifying for all divisions including group qualifying for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour as well as feature racing for the Vintage All-Stars, Limited Late Models and Street Stocks. New for 2019 the Saturday Street Stock feature will be a 30 lap special event as part of the RMSPCO.com Street Stock Triple Crown. Sizzler® weekend is capped off Sunday with the NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party and feature racing for the SK Modifieds®, Late Models, SK Light Modifieds, and finally the Spring Sizzler® 200 for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now by calling the Speedway Box Office 860-684-2783 or online at www.staffordspeedway.com. Discount NAPA Spring Sizzler® tickets that include access to the NAPA lunch buffet are available at participating NAPA Auto Parts Stores. For a full list of participating locations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, please call the speedway office or point your web browser towww.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores
Source: Scott Running/Stafford Speedway PR
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
Rising Bourgeois Looks To Continue Family Tradition of Championships Against List of Challengers
By Kyle Souza, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
THOMPSON, Conn. – With defending division champion Eric Bourgeois moving on from full-time action this season, a new champion will be crowned in the Mini Stock division at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
That champion could be right inside the Bourgeois family, as Evan looks to continue the family tradition of winning championships and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father to the top of the class. Last year, in his rookie season, Evan was able to finish eighth in the championship standings with three top-five finishes.
“The beginning of the year and most of the year, was all about seat time, getting used to the car and the track,” Evan said. “As the year went on, we just tried to get better, get faster and run up towards the front. We were able to pass more cars as the year went on, so there isn’t much for me to complain about.”
Evan, who started his career racing at Stafford Motor Speedway before the transition to Mini Stocks, is hoping with one year on the high-banks under his belt, the crucial experience he gained will help him chase Victory Lane this year.
“I’m not really so sure what to expect, but I know we are going to run as fast as we can and get up there as high in the points as we can,” Evan said. “That’s the whole reason we go there, is to win. We have to just run for the best position we can, and if the win comes, it comes.”
With his father, Eric, moving on from full-time action and having registered for the newly-formed SK Light Modified® division, Evan is going to have even more assistance from his father at the track. Last year, it was the two of them fighting tooth and nail for each position against each other on the track, but now, they will be able to work together to figure out what will be best for Evan.
“Even in the shop, he’s always there working and I’m by his side while he shows me things about the car,” Evan said. “Going out on the track, he’s always showing me where to be, where to pass.”
But, if the Bourgeois name will stay on top, it’s going to have to run through a long list of challengers. Thompson’s Mini Stock division is well known for a long list of veterans, and Steve Michalski, of Brooklyn, Connecticut, is one of them.
Michalski has been around the Mini Stock division for just about a decade – maybe even longer – and has not been able to seal a championship yet to this point. This year, he’s hoping to change that.
“It would mean a lot to me because I’ve worked at it for a long time,” Michalski said. “It’s like a big family with all of the drivers out there. We have a lot of upcoming drivers as well. Just to go there every week and finish in the top three, hopefully win… we’d really like to rip off a couple of wins and get the championship this year.”
Michalski, who started racing at the go-kart track, seems to have found a home in Thompson’s Mini Stocks – a division centered around driver ability and one that usually warrants building your own cars. Recently, he’s hooked up with Mark and Suzanna Woodcock as car owners and with the support of his wife, Julie, he’s enjoying every second he spends at the track and in the shop as part of the racing family.
“The highest I finished in the points was third, and even though that was a while back, it’s an entry level division that still takes a lot of experience to run up front even today,” Michalski said. “There are a lot of tricks to the trade in every division. We found something wrong in the engine department last year, and after we fixed that, we were competitive looking for the win for the last half of the year.”
Joining Bourgeois and Michalski, Jared Roy, who finished third in the point standings last year, are also expected to battle for the title. The roots run deep for the Trudeau family as well, as Dave and David Jr. both finished inside the top five in the championship standings last year. Additional entries at this point in the offseason include Russell Barboze, Keith Ballou, Joseph Bavolacco, Stuart Besser, with more to come before the 45thannual Icebreaker weekend opens the season.
The Mini Stock season consists of 10 races – as the Division V class will compete as part of the entire NASCAR Whelen All-American Series slate.
With the 45th Annual Icebreaker weekend closing in, track officials remind fans to make sure they have reserved their camping spot before this Friday, March 29. for $50. Any camping spots reserved following that deadline will be for $75. Camping check-in hours will open this weekend and will last through the duration of the event. Please check the website for specific times for each day of the week.
Icebreaker weekend begins on Friday, April 5, with a Test & Tune session for all cars competing during the weekend except the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Pro All Star Series. Admission into the paddock area for the day is $20, and teams are reminded this pit pass is separate from the rest of the weekend.
Action kicks into high gear on Saturday, where qualifying begins at 12:15 p.m., and feature action is scheduled to get underway at 3:35 p.m.
Sunday, the annual Fan Appreciation Party returns on the track at 11 a.m., and pre-race ceremonies follow with racing starting promptly at 12:30 p.m., ending with the third race of the season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
For more information on Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, fans are encouraged to visit the website, www.thompsonspeedway.com, and follow the track on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Source:
Taylor Pelletier
Sr. Manager, Event Services
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
Your Lime Rock Park Fan NewsVolume 2, Issue 5. Lime Rock To Celebrate 55 Years Of MustangThis Friday: Memorial Day ClassicWeekend Tickets Only $55Commemorate the 55th year of the Ford Mustang this May during the Memorial Day Classic featuring the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli and SVRA. The event will pay tribute to the iconic marque through a special vintage Mustang race group as well as welcome Mustang owners to the event. This Friday, we’re also celebrating the 55-day countdown to the Memorial Day Classic by offering $55 weekend tickets to the event. Enjoy this $10 savings when you purchase your tickets online for 24 hours—from 12 pm to 12 pm—on Friday, March 29. Simply purchase weekends tickets online by using this SPECIAL LINK that’s only valid on Friday, March 29, 2019; For more info, visitwww.limerock.com/Mustang55Celebration You won’t want to miss the food, fun and fast cars as Trans Am returns to Lime Rock Park for the season kickoff event. Meanwhile, the second chapter of the 2019 Trans Am presented by Pirelli championship story will be written this weekend as the series returns to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta March 29-31. Trans Am will join the SVRA in a thrilling weekend mixing great race cars from the past and present. Learn more about the weekend at http://gotransam.com.GET $55 WEEKEND TICKETS HEREFarm-To-Track Tickets Now On SaleJoin us for the second annual Farm-To-Track picnic featuring locally sourced foods such as fresh greens, cheeses and more delicacies from local farms and purveyors. Tickets are $45 in advance. Seating is limited.LEARN MOREBring Out The Bike For A Rally On April 20Bikers, kick-off the riding season over the Easter holiday weekend during Ride1 Rally presented by SPECTRO Performance Oils. Join us on Saturday, April 20, 2019, from 11am to 6pm for this free event ($20 suggested donation to support Autism Speaks) featuring stunt shows, a bike show, motorcycle museums, food trucks, vendors, kids activities and more! Visitwww.ride1rally.com for more information.LEARN MORE Major Events At Lime Rock ParkMemorial Day Classic featuring Trans Am Series by Pirelli with SVRA and International GTMAY 24-27, 2019IMSA Northeast Grand Prix featuring WeatherTech SportsCar ChampionshipJULY 19-20, 2019ORDER TICKETSHistoric Festival 37 and Sunday in the Park Concours & Gatheringof the Marques AUG. 30-SEPT. 2, 2019 Summer Autocross Starts This April Summer Autocross registration is now open. Programs start this April and space is limited so reserve your spot now. New This Year: Lime Rock has teamed up with Track Rabbit to provide an easy-to-use platform for registering for driving events all while interacting with other participants through the Motorcrush app!REGISTER NOW!Competitor Entry Now Open For Historic FestivalCalling all competitors!Entry is now open for the 37th annual Lime Rock Park Historic Festival.PARTICIPATELime Rock Park | 860.435.5000 | limerock.comConnect With The Editor | marlane@limerock.comSee What’s Happening At Lime Rock Park | limerock.com/calendarShop The Lime Rock Park Store | limerockstore.comCater Your Event | limerockcatering.comJoin Lime Rock Drivers Club | limerockclub.com
Lime Rock Park | 60 White Hollow Road, Lakeville, CT 06039 www.limerock.com
Note: The American Flat Track Series will make a new stop at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on a new 1/4-mile dirt track built on the spacious grounds. The event will be held over the Father’s Day Weekend this June, 2019 in concert with other motorcycle racing events at that venue during the 92nd Annual Laconia Motorcycle Week.
American Flat Track is pleased to announce the newest member to its family of partners – Mobile View – as the Official Jumbotron of American Flat Track. Since 1999, Mobile View has provided state-of-the-art LED video screens to amplify fan experience at sporting and special events across North America. With an extensive track-record at a variety of venues and events, Mobile View uses its expertise to guide clients in their selection of the appropriate screen size and accompanying elements to create a memorable experience for fans and sponsors alike. Mobile View has been the provider of American Flat Track’s jumbotron technology for four consecutive seasons. This series sponsorship marks the first official partnership between Mobile View and American Flat Track “The introduction of big-screen jumbotrons to AFT has become an essential for our fans in recent years,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. “It is a big benefit for fans at the track to be able to follow the complete race via the detail provided by the big screen. From the beginning of this project, Mobile View has provided the highest quality equipment to create an unparalleled experience for our fans and now they are also stepping up to provide sponsorship support to our young high flyers.”
In addition to providing AFT with its pivotal jumbotron technology for at-track fan viewing, Mobile View will be the official sponsor of the Rookie of the Year awards for both the Roof Systems AFT Singles presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys and AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines classes.
“Mobile View is looking forward to making its partnership with American Flat Track official for 2019,” said John Sweeney, CEO of Mobile View. “We have been working together with AFT for the past four seasons. We have been witness to the exponential growth of the sport over the years. We are very excited about the new additions this year such as the expert commentary of Brad Baker, and the presence of new, prominent race teams in the paddock. We are also very excited to announce our official sponsorship support for the Rookie of the Year award for the AFT Twins and AFT Singles classes.” American Flat Track will continue its 2019 season with the Texas Half-Mile presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys on Saturday, April 20, 2019 at the iconic Texas Motor Speedway. Tickets start at just $40 online and are available for purchase now at www.americanflattrack.com.
How to Watch:NBCSN and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2019 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT moves to highly-coveted, weekend afternoon programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. FansChoice.tv remains a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event on AFT’s live page while previous events and exclusive features are available on AFT’s VOD page.
About American Flat Track: American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visithttp://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events at FansChoice.tv and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
About Mobile View:Mobile View has been providing state-of-the-art LED video screens to sporting and special events throughout the US and Canada since 1999. We use our vast experience of thousands of events to help guide the process of finding the right size screen, to help make your event a memorable experience for your fans and sponsors. For more information about Mobile View, please visit www.mobileviewscreens.com.
(Stafford Springs, CT)—After celebrating 20 years as a contingency sponsor last season, New England Racing Fuel, Sunoco Brand with John Holland and Mike Joy will once again supply contingency bonuses to each of Stafford’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions this season. N.E. Racing Fuel signed on a charter member of the Stafford contingency program back when it was first instituted in 1999 and in the 20 seasons since then, they have distributed over $135,000 in gasoline bonuses to Stafford drivers and teams.
“Each year we’ve been in the contingency program, we’ve received a great deal of thank you’s from drivers both written and personal with guys coming up to you in the pits, and that’s very telling to us,” said John Holland of New England Racing Fuel. “The Stafford contingency program is a great program for us to be involved with and it allows us to be able to give something back to everyone rather than focusing on a specific division. It seems like every year we talk with Mark Arute about how we could maybe do things differently but what we have works and that’s what keeps us coming back every year. We’ve changed the program here and there over the years but we’re very happy with what we have at Stafford.”
When N.E. Racing Fuel first joined the contingency program for the 1999 season, they supported the SK Modified®, ProStock, and Late Model divisions. As the weekly lineup has evolved over the years, N.E. Racing Fuel has continued their support and today they offer contingency bonuses to the SK Light, Limited Late Model, and Street Stock divisions as well as the SK Modified® and Late Model divisions. New England Racing Fuel, Sunoco Brand will provide the top-3 finishers from all five divisions along with the top finishing rookie driver in each feature event with a $25 gas certificate. With 22 races on the schedule, New England Racing Fuel, Sunoco Brand will offer competitors over $10,000 in gas certificates during the 2019 season.
“If something is good and it works, let’s keep on doing it,” said Holland. “Sunoco puts out a great high quality product and not only do we get positive feedback from drivers, we also hear from engine builders all over New England that Sunoco Race Fuel works in just about any engine whether it’s drag racing, tractor pulls, or oval track racing. We’re looking forward to another great season of excitement at Stafford.”
“We’re happy to have John Holland and Mike Joy back with us for another season in our contingency program,” said Stafford Motor Speedway General Manager Mark Arute. “John and Mike have been longtime supporters of Stafford through both the contingency program and other sponsorships that they were involved with prior to the creation of the contingency program. We’ve certainly enjoyed having them on board with us for the last 20 years in the contingency program as have the drivers and teams.”
Sunoco is the Official Fuel of NASCAR and Stafford Speedway. Sunoco 112 Supreme and Sunoco GTX 260 can be purchased at the Sunoco Fuel truck found in Stafford’s paddock area every Friday night. New England Race Fuels is the largest supplier of racing gasoline in New England and they are located at 271 Spielman Highway in Burlington, CT. For all your racing fuel needs, give them a call at 860-673-9555 or visit them onlinewww.neracingfuel.com.
The first New England Racing Fuel, Sunoco contingency bonuses of the 2019 season will be up for grabs during Stafford Speedway’s 48th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® Weekend on April 26-28. The NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler® Weekend gets started with a practice session for Stafford’s five NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions and the Vintage All-Stars on Friday, April 26 from 1pm-6pm. The main grandstands will be open to the public at no charge for the Friday practice session.
The NAPA Spring Sizzler continues on Saturday, April 27 with spectator gates opening at 10am. Practice sessions for all 7 divisions will run from 10am-2:20pm before the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour cars take to the track for group qualifying at 2:30pm. Following NWMT group qualifying will be heat and consolation races for Stafford’s weekly divisions and the Vintage All-Stars. Wrapping up the Saturday racing action will be feature events for Stafford’s Limited Late Model and Street Stock divisions along with the Vintage All-Stars cars. Stafford’s Street Stock feature will be a special 30-lap feature that will be the first of three Street Stock Triple Crown events to be run in 2019.
The NAPA Spring Sizzler will conclude on Sunday, April 28 with a flurry of racing activity. Spectator gates will open at 10am with the famous NAPA Auto Parts Pit Party taking place on the track from 11am-12pm where fans can meet and greet their favorite drivers. Stafford’s SK Modifieds® will take the green flag at 1pm followed the Late Model and SK Light divisions before the NWMT cars go 200-laps in the 48th Annual NAPA Auto Parts Spring Sizzler.
Tickets for the “Greatest Race in the History of Spring” are on sale now by calling the Speedway Box Office 860-684-2783 or online at www.staffordspeedway.com. Discount NAPA Spring Sizzler tickets that include access to the NAPA lunch buffet are available at participating NAPA Auto Parts Stores. For a full list of participating locations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, please call the speedway office or point your web browser to www.staffordmotorspeedway.com/participating-napa-auto-parts-stores
Source: Scott Running/Stafford Speedway PR
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases and flyers to: lmodestino@hotmail.com
One Week Until Opening Day! Want to win a Street Night Racer Ticket?
Opening Day is next Wednesday, April 3 starting with our first Street Night of the season, and to celebrate we’re giving away one racer ticket!(Valid for any Street Night in April of your choice!) To enter, like our Facebook page, and tag a friend in the comments of the Giveaway Post!.
For a second chance, follow us on Instagram, and tag a friend in the comments of the Giveaway Post!
THAT’S IT! You’re entered to win. We’ll randomly select winners on Tuesday, April 2nd and announce them on Facebook & Instagram
For our full race schedule click here, and full rules and regulations for Street Nights check out our Racer Handbook starting on page 47.
New England Dragway | 280 Exeter Road, Epping, NH.
