THOMPSON, Conn. — Sunny Saturday greeted the fans at Thompson Speedway to kick off the 52nd Icebreaker with 30 cars filling out the Monaco Modified field and Jon McKennedy taking the checkered flag.
Ronnie Williams quickly took the point with just 75 laps on the board to claim the $10,000 winners share at the end. Berndt would put the hammer down in his No. 11CT to steal the lead away from Williams with Jon McKennedy taking advantage of the backslide to take second. While McKenndy crept up on Berndt at the front, fans had their eye on Mike Christopher Jr. and Ron Silk as they made their way into the top five by lap thirty.
Chase Grennan’s turn-around dust-up with the turn two wall brought the caution out just before the halfway point. A rough pitstop took Eric Berndt all the way back to 15th on the grid leaving Williams, McKennedy, Trevor Catalano and Christopher Jr. into the top two rows. A wild three-wide restart saw Mike Christopher Jr. take the top spot as McKennedy and Catalano continued to battle on the inside of Williams and Patrick Emerling. As laps ticked down, McKennedy and Christopher went toe-to-toe, swapping the lead back and forth prior to Joey Cipriano’s spin right in front of them with just four laps remaining.
Choosing the top, McKennedy took the highside momentum to the lead leaving Christopher and Emerling to duke it out for second. Jon McKenndy would take the dominant 1.169-second lead to win the Propane Plus Heating & Cooling 75 with Michael Christopher Jr. and Patrick Emerling rounding out the top three. Jake Johnson made better of early handling issues to take fourth with Ronnie Williams holding on for fifth.
The R&R Open Street Stock Series kicked-off Saturday’s racing action at Thompson Speedway with hotshoe Ryan Lineham launching from the pole position. A spirited battle with Jimmy Renfrew Jr. ended early with mechanical woes under the hood of Renfrew’s #00 machine allowing Lineham to continue his lead. Ryan Lineham continued his strong streak in the R&R Open Street Stock Series with the $1,000 win over Shane Gendron and Andrew Gillis at the line.
In one of the strongest fields in recent memory the Thompson Sunoco Modifieds roared to life for the first of two Icebreaker weekend appearances with longtime foes Keith Rocco and Todd Owen leading the field to green. The two competitors swapped the lead end-over-end for the fans on hand and those watching online on the North East Short Track Network. Later labeled a dogfight by the eventual winner, the two wily veterans fought hard with Danny Cates and former champion Jon Puleo waiting in the wings.
Cates began going to bat with Owen for second, allowing Keith Rocco the create the wide margin he needed to go all the way to the opening Icebreaker win. Todd Owen came home second with Jon Puleo to round out the top three. The Thompson Sunoco Modifieds will return tomorrow as part of the Sunday showcase of the 52nd Icebreaker weekend with scores yet to be settled.
The Pro Truck Challenge got their start to 2026 at the Thompson Icebreaker with Jason Paquette and Burt Ouellette swapping the lead early. By the halfway point fellow strong-runner Randy Burr made his way into the mix around Paquette with his sights set on Ouellette. A blown powerplant under the hood of Mercedes Carron’s truck made for a five-lap dash to the end between Burr and Ouellette. While it was an honest chase, Randy Burr stood tall over Ouellette for the win with Dennis Charette rounding out the podium.
Paul Scally got the jump under the green flag but it was Zack Martinez who ran away with a two second lead early. The battle for second became the hot show with Kyle Valeri jumping up into the mix in a three wide move in turn three on lap three! Dylan Coutu went up in flames on lap five to call out the first red flag of the year with a blown motor ruining his day and starting a wild ride that saw him flip on his side in turn one. Back under green it was evident that Martinez was in a league of his own, dominating the Icebreaker 20 lap feature over Kyle Valeri and Joey Bailey.
The Thunderstock Crown Vics rounded out the opening day showcase at Thompson Speedway with a 360-spin for polesitter Dustin Demers leaving John Williams, Jr. the big lead. Seven-time winner last season, Ethan Williams powered up to within striking distance of his father John but the ol’ man got it done for the final win of Icebreaker Saturday over son Ethan and John Dulac third.
