Thompson Set for Road Course Clash

JEROME, IDAHO (April 28, 2011) For most of his racing career, Brett Thompson, driver of the RTTI/Jerome Truck Service Inc. Chevrolet, has traveled far and wide to compete in NASCAR. This weekend offers a rare chance for Thompson to compete close to home (sort of). The NASCAR K&N Pro Series is set to tackle the 2.2-mile East course at Miller Motorsports Park located in Toole, UT thirty minutes West of Salt Lake City. The Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix on Saturday, April 30 is round three of the 14-race schedule for the series celebrating its 58th season of competition in 2011.


Thompson is eager to get the first of three road course races this season under his belt. The beautiful world-class facility is a scant four hours from his home in Jerome, Idaho and his Thompson Motorsports team recently tested at MMP and came away feeling confident about the upcoming race. “Testing went really well,” Thompson offered. “I was the most comfortable I have ever been in the car on a road course.”

A lot of that comfort comes from having a crew chief that has been there and done that. Charlie Wilson knows how to win championships having won the West title with fellow Idahoan Scott Lynch back in 2003. Wilson also worked back east with Kevin Harvick attaining success in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.“We are really fortunate to have Charlie on the team.” Thompson said. “Charlie brings a wealth of experience and knowledge that we have not had and since he is here full-time, his influence has made a positive impact on our performance.”

Road racing demands a lot from the crew in terms of set up but also a lot from the driver in terms of precision. “When it comes to road racing, you have to think very different about the race. You have to simply race your own race and focus on the track. It is really hard to break your ‘short-track habits’, but road racing is all about hitting your marks every lap; every time. You just need to run your own race, avoid the mess, and finish every lap.”

Seems simple enough but whenever you put thirty other cars on the track with each of them running their own race, things can happen. “I have learned over the years that the fastest car does not always win,” Thompson said. “So we just need to be smart and dodge the bullets out there and we will be fine.”

Pit strategy is a usual topic for most race teams at the road course events. Conventional wisdom tells you to pit early and gain track position for late in the race. “With this year’s race on the smaller East course I think there might be an opportunity to run the entire race without pitting,” Thompson said. “It’s a gamble either way but I know the fans will see a really good show and I just hope it’s us that comes out on top.”

Thompson has started two previous series races at MMP with a best finish of 12th back in 2009. “I think the short course will make for a much better race for the fans and us as competitors,” Thompson said. “I think the biggest challenge will be exiting the pits and easing back into traffic since you exit the pits and join the flow just as the course turns hard left from the main front stretch. That will be interesting.”

Thompson has started 101 NKNPS races since 2000 scoring one win, one Coors Light Pole Award, 21 top five and 58 top ten performances. His best points finish was fifth in 2009. Brett Thompson is currently third place in the championship standings after two races just 20-points out of second and 68-points out of first place. Thompson is coming off an 8th place performance at All American two weeks ago and a 5th place finish in the season opener at Phoenix back in February.

Thompson Motorsports is a premier motorsports organization based in Jerome, Idaho providing complete race car preparation and fabrication supporting the local grassroots racer and experienced professional driver. TMS prepares and fields race vehicles in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, CarbonX Rocky Mountain Challenge Series, Intermountain Pro Truck Series, and entries at local area short tracks. TMS has corporate partnerships with Rich Thompson Trucking Inc. (RTTI), Jerome Truck Service Inc., Eibach Springs, Schroeder Torsion Bars, United Oil, Speedbear Fasteners, and Hagerman Valley Spring Water. For all the latest news and information about Brett Thompson and Thompson Motorsports, log onto www.brettthompsonracing.com.