NASCAR NEWS........

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Matt Kenseth to come out of retirement.

The Cup Series is currently on hiatus due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Teams have a tentative schedule that could see the division resume on May 17 at an empty Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. The next two weeks would see races at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

NASCAR has yet to confirm if Kenseth would receive a waiver to compete for a championship. The sanctioning body has so far issued them for minimum age requirement drivers who miss the start of a season, as well as for drivers who miss time due to an injury.

In this case, Ganassi and Kenseth would require a waiver due to a driver taking over for a fired and suspended driver.

Larson is currently suspended by NASCAR and must undergo sensitivity training before he can be reinstated. The 27-year-old was set to reach free agency by the end of this season and was the most sought after driver at the time of his firing.

Ross Chastain is considered the heir apparent of the No. 42, but his contract with Kaulig Racing requires him to race full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Ganassi has the rights to Chastain but loaned him out to Kaulig for the 2020 season.

The Associated Press reported that Ganassi reached out to retired driver Carl Edwards, who declined the offer after several days of consideration.

SAVE THE PURSE & THOMPSON SPEEDWAY ANNOUNCE LATE MODEL MID-SUMMER CHALLENGE FOR 2020

Posted by Wayne G. Barber & Photo by Wayne G. Barber Library

THREE RACES TO PAYING $2,000 TO THE WINNER SET FOR DIVISION II CLASS

THOMPSON, Conn. -- Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park and Save The Purse jointly announced on Thursday that competitors in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model division will have three, 50-lap feature races in 2020 as part of a new Late Model Mid-Summer Challenge.

  

A group of competitors joined together over the offseason to form Save The Purse, a group that has come up with additional purse money through sponsors and have put it towards these special events. The group is run by recognized racing crew member Brad Martel. 

Each of the three events will pay $2,000 to the winner, $1,000 for second and $750 for third. A full purse will be distributed to the top 25 competitors. The races will take place as part of the three standalone NASCAR Weekly Racing Series events scheduled for June 3, July 8 and August 5. 

Thompson Speedway is committed to the future of oval track racing and in 2020 has planned a six-race NASCAR schedule. With the addition of a night of double features for all five NASCAR divisions, competitors will have the chance to run seven feature races. 

These Late Model special events are going to be a must-watch for all race fans. 

“Watching a group of racers come together and come up with funds to increase the purse is something special, and we are happy to work with them,” Terry Eames, the General Manager of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, said. “We’re looking forward to watching competitors race for this extra purse money while running some extra laps. Fans won’t want to miss these special events.”  

“We were determined to come up with the best possible solution to increase the purse value at Thompson in 2020,” Brad Martel, the Director of Save The Purse, said. “We’re looking forward to watching a competitive division competed in double their normal distance for some extra cash.” 

Sponsors included in the Mid-Summer Classic will be announced later. As part of these special night events, the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Sunoco Modifieds, SK Light Modifieds, Limited Sportsman and Mini Stocks will join the action. 

Thompson Speedway also runs in the Late Model program under American Canadian Tour rules, and in 2020, will also be part of the New England Late Model Challenge Cup. Thompson is one of five tracks in the program – one that will have all scheduled weekly Late Model events eligible to receive points towards winning the Cup. ACT will take the 10 best finishes for each registered driver across all five tracks and count it towards the drivers totals, with a special points system in place based on a driver’s feature finishes and event car counts, with bonus points for wins and cars passed. With the three events paying additional purse, these could be races that drivers across New England elect to attend to earn crucial points.  

With COVID-19 sweeping through the United States, Thompson officials have been forced to update the 2020 schedule. Currently, the 46th annual Icebreaker presented by Liquid Death is tentatively scheduled for May 15-16. A full schedule of postponed events will be released later.

For more information on Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, visit thompsonpeedway.com and follow the track on social media. 

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Source; Kyle Souza

Director of Public Relations & Marketing

Thompson Speedway Motorsports Pa