The Official Home of the New England Short Track Showdown at NHMS
New England Short Track Showdown Put on Hold for 2020
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Event
Showcased Short Track Racing For Three Seasons
After three seasons of moving forward, the New England Short Track Showdown at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been put into park for the 2020 season.
Event promoter Bob Guptill cites high costs and high risks for the decision to put the event on hiatus.
“In 2019, we had a perfect event in a lot of ways,” said Guptill. “The support from the competitors was incredible, the weather was good and having Dave Dion go above and beyond in his role as the Grand Marshall is a memory that we will always treasure. It ended up being profitable too, but it was a tough way to make a paycheck. Had anything gone less than perfect with the weather, scheduling or any number of things, it could have been a devastating loss.
“This is a family-promoted event and we just cannot gamble like that. We gave the race a three year commitment when we first announced it and many people said it would never happen at all. We proved those critics wrong and made some great memories over three seasons, but just could not make it as commercially viable as we needed to.”
The Guptill family mulled over the decision on the fate of the event for 2020 and explored sponsorship possibilities, but nothing materialized in time to properly plan the race for next year.
“The different tours involved are all getting ready to release their schedules for 2020, so a decision needed to be made,” said Guptill. “Given the right support, this is an event that could come back in the future, but for now we are taking a break.”
The New England Short Track Showdown has been built around four cornerstones of New England short track racing. Super Late Models competed in the event under the Granite State Pro Stock Series banner in 2017 and 2018 before switching sanction to the Pro All Star Series in 2019. The Tour-type Modifieds of the Modified Racing Series took part in all three Showdowns as did the grassroots level North East Mini Stock Tour and Street Stock Showdown Series. Guptill is the promoter of both the NEMST and SSSS divisions and is exploring other options where those tours might be able to compete at NHMS in 2020. Further announcements may be forthcoming.
For more information on the North East Mini Stock Tour or Street Stock Showdown Series, please visit NorthEastMiniStockTour.com or contact Bob Guptill at 207-577-2681.
Race Results:
Saturday: Weekly Mods Super Street
Sunday: Mini Stock Pro All Stars Series Street Stock Modified Racing Series
Please follow these links for additional event information
Street Stock Showdown Information
is designed to turn short track racers from the region into stars. While competing on the biggest
racing stage of New England will do just that, the most popular star of the race weekend might
very well be a racer who won’t be turning a single competitive lap this year.
who has run thousands of very competitive laps in his career at NHMS and at tracks up and
down the Eastern Seaboard. Hudson, New Hampshire native Dave Dion has been named as
the Grand Marshall for this year’s race. He will travel up from his current home in Florida to be
honored in this role.
North East Auto Racing Hall of Fame, he has won the Oxford 250 on three occasions, he is the
1996 NASCAR Busch North Series champion, he won the 1975 Milk Bowl at Thunder Road
Speedbowl (VT) and he has won 20 career races each in both NASCAR North and American-
Canadian Tour competition. His career was chronicled in his autobiography “Life Wide Open”,
which he teamed up with motorsports broadcaster Dave Moody to produce.
fellow competitors and the ability to tell a great story. Meeting fans and competitors at the
Showdown will be a great opportunity for Dion to share a few of those stories.
of it. I like the history, educating people and telling the stories. When you are racing, it’s all
about you. You don’t have time for that. You have to be selfish because you are there to win.
Showdown will be a real treat for fans, and something that he also looks forward to personally.
to this though. I’m going to make it a little vacation, spend some time with family and really
enjoy it.
one, I have a purpose. I’m not just going to be hanging around. From when I was two or three
years old, I’ve been a racing fan. I guess I’ve never stopped being a fan, so I’m looking forward
to doing this. It is even in my home state!”
Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, Super Stocks and Weekly Modifieds make up the
Showdown slate is something else that Dion is a fan of.
at Loudon. I’m a short track racer and I love this.”
and Sunday, June 23rd . Discounted tickets and pit passes are available online. Be sure to visit
NorthEastMiniStockTour.com and the New England Short Track Showdown Facebook page to
keep updated with the latest announcements.
England asphalt short track racing. Super Late Models compete with the Pro All Star Series,
Tour-type Modifieds compete with the Valenti Modified Racing Series, Street Stocks race with
the Street Stock Showdown Series and Mini Stocks race with the North East Mini Stock Tour.
There are also open competition races for the Weekly Modifieds and Super Street Stocks.
Sponsorship and marketing packages for the New England Short Track Showdown are also
available to companies of all sizes and can be tailored to you’re the needs and budget of your
company. For more information, please contact Bob Guptill at 207-577-2681.