SAD NEWS: John Thompson has passed away

UPDATE (12/12/07): I just received a fax from Robbie Thompson, detailing the family's plans for visitation.

"Notice of Arrangements for John Thompson.

A private family service will be held following John's wishes.

John's love and friendship reached circles far and wide. From ball fields and hockey rinks to race car tracks, the trucking industry and world class golf courses, he touched many lives.

Friends and family are invited to join the family in a "Celebration of John's Life" at the Best Western 'Inn on the Bay' (located at 1800 - 2nd Avenue East, in Owen Sound, Ontario) on Saturday, December 15 from 2 to 6 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre Foundation Oncology Department or NASCAR's 'Victory Junction Gang Camp' would be appreciated by the family.

'A time to share, reminisce and love all the many memories left by this great man.'

****

John Thompson, the father of former ALSTAR Series champ Robbie Thompson, passed away last night in a Toronto hospital.

Thompson, of Owen Sound, was well known in the Ontario racing scene as the sponsor of Don Biederman's legendary #43 car.

Details surrounding his passing and the family's plans for visitations and the funeral are not yet available. We will post the family's plans once they are released.

Inside Track offers its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of John Thompson. John always had a big smile on his face and I looked forward to speaking with him at the track.

(Photo: John and Robbie Thompson in victory lane following an ALSTAR race at Mosport Speedway in 2002 / Dave Franks Photo)

Rally champ ices title with consumer winter tires

In the last half of the last day of the last event of the year, reigning Canadian rally champion Antoine L’Estage turned to consumer winter tires from Yokohama to win one of the country’s toughest rallies and help secure his second consecutive Canadian Rally Championship.

For L’Estage, it was the culmination of a year spent pursuing the national title but not the first time the team has called on Yokohama winter tire technology to come through when it counted most.

L’Estage and co-driver Natalie Richard were virtually tied for the lead of November’s Rally of the Tall Pines when the team selected Yokohama Ice Guard tires to negotiate the icy roads and winter conditions in the closing hours of the season’s final rally. L’Estage and Richard, from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, turned their teamwork, driving skill, car preparation and traction from their winter tires into a decisive victory in the rally and their second national title.

It was the fifth win of 2007 for L’Estage, Richard and their powerful Hyundai Tiburon, and the sixth consecutive victory in the series for competitors using Yokohama tires.

While the six-event Canadian Rally Championship literally takes teams from the Atlantic to the Pacific, in every season, in every driving condition, it is the severe challenges of the winter events that forge an important link between professional rally drivers and consumers seeking the security, safety and predictable performance of winter tires for everyday use.

“What makes rallying so appealing to us, and what makes our involvement so relevant to our customers, is the fact that our teams can use regular street tires like the new Ice Guard IG 20 winter tires for the icy roads and winter conditions of Canadian rallies,” reflects Brad Sherwin, marketing communications manager for Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. “We think there’s no better real-world endorsement of our tires than success in Canadian rallies.”

The new Ice Guard IG 20 automobile tires, and companion Geolandar I/T G072 winter tires for light trucks and SUVs, were introduced across Canada this fall. Both the new Ice Guard IG 20 and Geolandar I/T lines utilize sophisticated new compounds featuring shelled microbubble and absorptive carbon flakes, as well as highly evolved tread designs optimized for each application.

In addition to the Yokohama Ice Guard winter tires, L’Estage and Richard rely on highly specialized Yokohama competition tires for the rugged mountain and forestry roads in the spring, summer and fall rally events.

Yokohama Tire (Canada) Inc. markets and distributes a full line of tires for high performance, passenger car, light truck, and commercial truck applications, as well as off-the-road tires for mining and construction applications. It maintains distribution centres across Canada to serve more than 800 independent tire dealers.

CHRISTIAN MILLER TO DRIVE WITH COMPASS360

December 11th, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Newark, CA -- Christian Miller returns to the KONI Challenge in 2008 after a successful run in 2007. This season, he's driving for Compass360 in their #75 Acura TSX, which he'll be sharing with Kevin York.

"I'm thrilled that Christian's joining our team," remarked Compass360's Karl Thomson. "We took note of him last year. He did a great job in an i-Moto TSX, getting a podium finish at Laguna Seca, and finishing fifth at Iowa." In fact, Miller had four top-ten finishes in ten race starts in 2007.

Christian, who competed in the 2005 SPEED World Challenge series for 034 Motorsports in his VW Jetta, started racing in 2001. He competed in SCCA Pro Spec Miata for three seasons, with numerous race wins, finishing fourth in that championship in 2003 and in 2004. He's also a regular Time Attack competitor, most recently taking the 034 Motorsports Audi to a class win at the 2007 Redline event at Laguna Seca.

"I'm really excited to be back in a TSX," enthused Miller. "Last season, I watched the Compass360 crew all year long and know the kind of preparation and commitment they bring to every race. They won four times and their cars were always at the top of the charts. I know we've got a strong package, and I'm looking forward to good results!"

The signing of Miller rounds out the second Acura of Compass360's three-car effort. Miller and York will share the #75 car, while team veterans Thomson and Travis Walker drive #76. The team is finalizing the driver line-up for their #74 car. "We're working to put together really strong driver line-ups in each car," noted Thomson. "Our goal is to have three cars that are capable of winning a championship, piloted by drivers that can win in endurance racing. I know Christian's one of those kind of guys and he's a great addition to our driver roster."

034 Motorsports is a well-known aftermarket performance tuner based in northern California. Miller heads their technical support group, and specializes in harness development. He's also lead test driver.

Compass360 Racing is the motorsports division of Compass360 Design + Advertising, a firm offering branding expertise to clients in diverse industries across North America. For details visit http:// www.compass360.com/racing or email racing at compass360 dot com.

PR inquiries about the Compass360 Racing team should be directed to Team Principal Karl Thomson at (416) 465-2299 x21 or email karlt at compass360 dot com

NASCAR Truck Series Test Concludes at Rockingham Speedway

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Dec. 12, 2007) - Five teams from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series turned up for a two-day test session at the newly reopened Rockingham Speedway.
 
Johnny Benson, driver of the No. 23 Excide Batteries Toyota Tundra was the most experienced driver at Rockingham Speedway participating in the test. The 2002 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rockingham race winner was back at the speedway to test new engine components for his truck and to work on different set-ups that are more time consuming to try during a race weekend.
 
Four time Truck Series race winner, David Starr tested his Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra at Rockingham to help reacquaint himself with his old team – the team he also raced for during the 2006 season.
 
Three Truck Series rookies also joined the two veterans during over the two day period. Justin Marks attended the test driving for Germain Racing, Phillip McGilton driving the No. 22 for Bill Davis Racing and Donnie Lia driving the No. 59 Harris Trucking entry all turned numerous laps in their Toyotas. All three drivers were excited to get the opportunity to run laps at the fast, one-mile track.
 
Following are selected quotes from each of the drivers attending the two day test session:
 
Johnny Benson - No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota
 
"I've always loved this race track. It is the same old Rockingham, it's bumpy, you slide around and stuff but man I have always loved this place it is way cool."
 
"I think the truck series would but on an excellent race here - they seem to put on great shows here no matter the series so I think a truck race would be awesome."
 
"The ARCA race here is going to be very cool. I am not sure if I can race in it but it would be fun to come watch. I really do hope the fans will come out and watch it."
 
"They are throwing a different restrictor plate spacer on us next year to slow us down, so we worked on that a lot to try and figure where that will put us as far as chassis set-ups with less power. It is just to try and give us a heads up on what the engine department needs and what we need to do with the chassis to compensate for it."
 
"I think it was a good test, we did a bunch to the chassis that we normally don't do or don't have time to do and we were just curious how it would work. You know normally when you go test it is a lot of different things you want to do, this or that but we tried something just totally different, something that you may not normally think about or just different areas of the truck that you just might not change at the track that is time consuming."
 
David Starr - Red Horse Racing Toyota
 
"I love Rockingham, it is a great race track, I grew up watching a lot of great races on television here and I've seen a lot of fantastic finishes. It's just a shame that the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series never got the chance to race here it would have been one heck of a race. All of the other NASCAR series put on a heck of a show here and I know the truck would to. Great place, it's got a lot of history and to be here and to be able to test here is really cool."
 
"It's a great place to test, we're working on a lot of suspension stuff – you always heard this place would wear out a lot of tires but it's not bad on tires, actually you can run about 30-35 laps on a set of tires."
 
"We have learned a lot of stuff; it's been good for our team, Red Horse Racing. We've learned so much we could quit right now but we still have a couple more hours to go. It's a great race track and a great place to test and we are going to benefit from it."
 
"We're working on suspension stuff and educating ourselves on stuff we can learn and hopefully take to other tracks."
 
"I wish Rockingham was on our 2008 schedule but hopefully in the future we will see it on the Truck Series schedule."
 
Justin Marks - Germain Racing Toyota
 
"This place is awesome, probably my new favorite track. Like my second or third lap this morning in the race car I was thinking I have got to come back here and run the ARCA race – it's a lot of fun. It's one of those tracks that is really rewarding when you get a good lap time because you really work for it, it's definitely a drivers track – it's bumpy and you really have to get up on the wheel to get a good time out of it and that is the type of track I love."
 
"I think the ARCA race is going to be awesome, I think it is going to be a difficult race because you will really have to show patients and respect the place but I definitely want to came back and be a part of it."
 
"The test was about 30% learning about the bump compliancy of the trucks and how the truck handles over the bumps and 70% for me to just get the opportunity to work with my team for next year and just get two solid days working with my crew chief Jason Overstreet."
 
"I got a couple of races under my belt at the end of last season but I am about to campaign for Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series so it is just a good opportunity to be working with the guys I am going to be working with all year and really get to know them and really work on developing that communication thing with Jason."
 
Phillip McGilton - No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Toyota
 
"I really like this track. This is the first time I ran here since I came here with Andy Hillenburg's FastTrack Driving School a couple of years ago and this is my first time back."
 
"I went through FastTrack here a couple of years ago with one of the three day schools and he [Andy Hillenburg] was one of the guys that helped me get started in racing and I owe a lot of thanks to him for giving me the chance to get the experience and get out there."
 
"It's a little bumpy in a couple of spots but that is good for what we are trying to achieve testing. I had a really good time with it, it's a lot of fun, it is kind of a challenging little track, kind of tricky to get around so it is really good for testing you have to really be on your game and hit your marks and stuff to get around here good."
 
Donnie Lia - No. 59 Harris Trucking Toyota
 
"I really like Rockingham; it's a lot of fun. I like the bumps and the speed and the banking – I am really enjoying it."
"We're just making changes set-up wise so I can get a feel of what different things do to the feel of the truck and so I can get accustomed to the way these things drive."
 
"We are running really good but everybody is trying different things I know some are running with next year's power packages and everyone's got different tires so I don't think you can really compare the times here today. But throwing the times away and just looking at how the truck feels and what we've learned I am really happy with today and it is really valuable for me to come and run laps, this place is so cool I'm really enjoying it."
# # #
 
From Charles Hudson

NASCAR PHOTOS: Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and their 2008 car

- From Drew Brown / GMR Live

ACT/Thunder Road: Marjorie Fay to Step Down as Marketing Director

WATERBURY, VT – Marjorie Fay will step down from her position as Director of Marketing and Advertising from the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) stock car racing sanctioning body, which also operates Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, VT, effective December 13.  Fay was hired to the organization as Director of Media in 1985, and held several positions in the company during the last 23 racing seasons.

"My time at ACT and Thunder Road has provided much professional and personal development, and it has been inspiring to work with such talented people both on and off the track," she said.  "I will miss it."

During her tenure, Fay was the recipient of the 1995 ACT President's Award, as well as the 2004 Ken Squier Award for exceptional service to fans and competitors.  Fay was also Chief Scorer for the ACT Late Model Tour, the Série ACT Castrol in Canada, and weekly events at Thunder Road since 1999.

"Marjorie has spent over 22 years helping to build ACT racing," said ACT President and Thunder Road Promoter Tom Curley.  "Her work in a multitude of areas is appreciated, and she will be missed."

For more information on ACT, visit www.acttour.com or call (802) 244-6963.  For information on Thunder Road, visit www.thunderroadspeedbowl.com.

From Justin St. Louis / ACT

(Wow. This marks the end of an era. To many, Tom Curley and Marjorie Fay were the ACT. Congratulations to Marjorie on her career with ACT and T-Road and all the best to her in her future endeavours. - G.M.)

Grand Bend Motorplex: Pro-Am coming to Canada

The management of the Grand Bend Motorplex and IHRA have entered into an Agreement that will make Grand Bend the site of the first IHRA Pro-Am racing event in Canada.

"We're proud to be hosting this event. The Summit Pro-Am Tour is a perfect addition to our racing season here at GBM," said Paul Spriet, Chief Operating Officer of the Motorplex. "We were honored to bring IHRA National event drag racing into Canada in 2000, and we're honored to do the same thing with the IHRA Sportsman Series."

The event will feature Summit Pro-Am points-races each day, allowing racers two chances to win points and purse in one weekend. GBM also plans to run specialty classes both days to allow every competitor to do as much racing as possible while they're on site. The double event will feature all Summit Pro-Am classes: Top Sportsman, Top Dragster, Quick Rod, Super Rod and Hot Rod. Also competing will be the always popular, Super Stock and Stock classes.

Grand Bend Motorplex, the home of the Mopar Canadian Nationals presented by Castrol, is located just outside the popular resort town of Grand Bend, The track is only a five minute drive from the beaches, shops and nightlife of town, making it a popular stop for racers looking for some R & R (Racing and Relaxing).

From Ron Biekx / GBM