Following cleanup operations after the hurricane of 1938, John Hoenig constructed the combined oval and road course on his farmland in the northeast corner of Connecticut. The 0.625-mile paved oval was a landmark achievement, establishing Thompson as the country's first asphalt short-track oval. NASCAR Cup Series events came to the track in 1951 and again in 1969 and 1970, placing Thompson briefly on the sport's highest stage.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Thompson's Sunday-night program featured a celebrated roster of Modified competitors. Regulars such as Carl "Bugs" Stevens, Fred DeSarro, Fred Schulz, Ron Bouchard, Ed Flemke, Leo Cleary, Smoky Boutwell, and Geoff Bodine competed weekly, and the track drew renowned Southern drivers including Ray Hendrick in his famous "Fireball" number 11 car to battle the local contingent.
The late 1970s energy crisis prompted unusual experiments at the track, including an "Open Competitive" division that combined Super Modifieds with Modifieds in the same race. The decade also saw the facility attract 55 winged Super Modifieds to a single World Series race, with all 55 cars given starting positions.
The Hoenig family has maintained ownership across generations. Grandson D.R. Hoenig and great-grandson Jonathan Hoenig continue to operate the facility. Beginning June 1, 2013, the family undertook a full reconstruction of the 1.7-mile road course with an accompanying paddock and staging areas, renaming the complex Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park. The rebuilt road course held a soft opening with the New England Region of the Sports Car Club of America in June 2014.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park hosted 146 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races in the modern era from 1985 to 2019, more than any other venue on the circuit. The facility also ran five NASCAR North Tour events from 1981 to 1985 and 29 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races between 1988 and 2018.
The two signature oval events are the Icebreaker, traditionally one of New England's season-opening races, and the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing, the regional season finale. The World Series of Auto Racing is a major multi-day fall event highlighted by the International Supermodified Association and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, routinely drawing over 350 race cars across 16 separate divisions over three days.
The road course hosts a broader calendar including SCCA major and regional races, vintage race festivals, high-performance driving events, drifting events, and the 24 Hours of LeMons endurance series. In June 2017 the park hosted two rounds of the Global RallyCross Championship using a combination of the road course and a dirt section.
The oval layout at Thompson was laser-scanned to millimeter accuracy and added to the online racing simulation iRacing in 2010. A recreation of the track as it appeared in 1970 is also included in the retro-themed game NASCAR Legends.
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park's record as the first asphalt oval in the United States, its longevity under family ownership, and its position as the most-raced venue in the modern NASCAR Modified era collectively establish it as one of the most historically significant short tracks in American motorsport. The facility's combination of a storied oval and a modern road course makes it one of the most versatile motorsports complexes in the northeastern United States.