Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

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 paved oval racetrack and a 1.7 mi (2.7 km) road racing course.[4] 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. These sanctioning bodies are the current operators of the oval, which was leased by them in 2020. Each year, Thompson hosts one of the great fall variety events "The World Series of Speedway Racing" highlighted by the New England Supermodified Series (NESS), and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. This event frequently draws over 350 race cars in 16 separate divisions over three days. Thompson currently hosts the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour three times a year, and has 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.[5]

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park

LocationThompson, Connecticut
Time zoneUTC−5 (UTC−4 DST)
Coordinates41°58′54.65″N 71°49′31.79″W
OwnerDonald and D.R. Hoenig
OperatorDonald and D.R. Hoenig
Broke ground21 September 1938 (1938-09-21)
Opened26 May 1940 (1940-05-26)
Former namesThompson Raceway (1940–1971)
Thompson Speedway (1972–1979, 1998–1999)
Big Thompson Speedway (1980–1982)
Thompson International Speedway (1983–1997, 2000–2012)
Major eventsCurrent:
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 (1948–1972)
Oval (1940–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length0.625 miles (1.006 km)
Turns4
Banking2° Straights
26° Turns
Road Course (1968–1972, 2014–present)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length1.700 miles (2.736 km)
Turns11
Race lap record0:59.400[1] (United Kingdom David Hobbs, Surtees TS5, 1969, F5000)
Road Course (1957-1967)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.000 miles (3.219 km)
Turns12
Race lap record1:36.000[2] (United States Sherman Decker, Cooper Monaco T61, 1964, Sports car racing)
Original Road Course (1940-1956)
SurfaceAsphalt
Length1.500 miles (2.414 km)
Race lap record1:10.000[3] (United States Walt Hansgen, Jaguar D-Type, 1956, Sports car racing)

History
An East Series car at Thompson in 2009

Following cleanup from the hurricane of 1938, John Hoenig built a combined 0.625 mi (1.006 km) paved oval and 1.700 mi (2.736 km) road racing course 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

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.[6] 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 8-10 oval events expected for 2024. 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 2023. [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

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

Atlantic Championship Series
YearRace winnerTeamCarEngine
2014Canada Daniel BurkettK-Hill MotorsportsSwift 016.aMazda-Cosworth MZR
United States Ethan RingelOne Formula RacingSwift 016.aMazda-Cosworth MZR

Tragedies

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.

At the 1989 Thompson World Series of Speedway Racing, 9 people were injured when a portion of the main grandstands collapsed, which caused several people to fall through, including one person who fell from a height of approximately 12 feet. After the incident, local police and building inspectors ordered that portion of the grandstands condemned, and the rest of the weekend’s races were postponed to a later date.

References
  1. "1969 Thompson F5000". Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  2. "SCCA National Thompson [CM+DM+EMFM+AP+BP 1964". Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. "SCCA Regional Thompson [CM+DP] 1956". Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. "Oval Track Racing". Thompson Speedway. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  5. "Historic Thompson". Thompson Speedway. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  6. SCCA Joins Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park for the Soft Opening of the Newly Re-opened Road Course | Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
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