The fourth annual Thaw Brawl weekend scheduled for April 3-4 at La Salle (Ill.) Speedway will now feature two complete racing programs sanctioned by the Sunoco American Late Model Series and UMP DIRTcar, track promoter Tony Izzo Jr. announced Wednesday.
Originally planned as a two-day program topped by a 100-lap event paying $20,000 to win, the Thaw Brawl has been revamped to include a 50-lap, $5,000-to-win event on Friday night and a 75-lap finale offering a $15,000 first-place prize on Saturday evening. Time trials, heat races, consolations and features will be contested both nights.
Izzo decided to make the change after hearing fans and racers express some “confusion” about the slightly altered two-day format he was planning for the Thaw Brawl. His Friday-night card was going to include time trials, heat races and a 20-lap, $2,000-to-win feature for the evening’s heat transfers that would determine a portion of the 100-lapper’s starting lineup, followed by B-Mains and the long-distance feature on Saturday.
“Instead of a normal two-day, $20,000-to-win show with Friday qualifying and heat races and B-Mains and a feature on Saturday, I was trying to give people more for their money with a feature on Friday,” Izzo said. “But I threw a curveball into it with that 18-car race (for heat transfers), so the more and more we looked at it and talked with drivers and fans, we decided that everybody’s gonna get more bang for their buck with two full programs. The fans get to see two big shows, and it will spread the wealth around to the drivers a little bit more.”
Izzo said there will be no change in admission prices for the weekend of racing, which kicks off with an open practice on Thurs., April 2, and includes a $1,500-to-win event for UMP modifieds on Friday & Saturday night. He noted that he would like to add a Late Model non-qualifiers’ race offering UMP points, which might also be added to the weekend depending on car count and sponsors.
“I was skeptical to upset the apple cart because of the great response we’ve been getting for the weekend,” said Izzo, who will pay out approximately in $80,000 in purses over the two days. “Ticket sales are up and we’ve been getting a lot of calls, a lot of interest, but I think this change will be nothing but a positive. We’re real excited about the weekend.”
For advanced tickets and info, please visit www.lasallespeedway.com