Chambers Among NEMA Threats
Brockton, MA — Jim Chambers, a Northeastern Midget Association rookie, is loving it. After six races, including back-to-back top fives, only one question remains for the Atkinson, NH resident : “What took us so long to join NEMA?”
Fifth at Seekonk Speedway on July 17, Chambers and the family MOPAR-powered Beast chassis head for Waterford Speedbowl’s Shane Hammond Memorial Saturday night. The NEMA Lites are on the schedule as well.
“It’s kind of surprising,” says Chambers, 25, a racer for almost 20 years. While “it’s been good and it’s been fun,” it’s also been a struggle figuring out set ups and battling mechanical woes. Prior to this year’s opener at Waterford, his only Midget experience was a fifth and second at last year’s season-ending Lites events at Lee.
Chambers, who has driven 350 Supermodifieds and Pro Stocks (a two-year PASS regular), was confident he would adapt. He was supposed to share driving duties with brother Alan. The latter, however, has trouble getting up from North Carolina, meaning Jim is doing all the driving for his car-owner dad Michael.
Alan had six Lites starts last year, winning at Beech Ridge. Lites Rookie Kevin Hutchens is currently driving the car.
Right now, Chambers, an auto auctioneer like his dad, reports both the car, which was purchased from the Martino family, and the team “are working good. We got the handles; hopefully the mechanical issues are cured.”
Pointing to help from Russ Stoehr – “he got us pointed in the direction we wanted to go” – Chambers was second to Bobby Santos (in the Cantor 7ny) at Lee. “Considering who won the race and who we beat, we kind of consider that a win,” he says.
It was a sixth at Monadnock, however, that got Chambers among the leaders as far as handicapping goes. “We got up to the top five, had some electrical problems and then came back from 15 to sixth,” Chambers says. Mechanical woes struck again at Stafford.
It is not lost on Chambers that 18 drivers have scored their first-ever NEMA win at Waterford. He broke in practice earlier this year at the ‘Bowl but he returns with well-founded optimism. “It was my first time in a full midget and my first time at Waterford and by the third time out I was comfortable. I was only half a second off the leaders.”
John Zych and Todd Bertrand, both among the current point leaders, are among the many who scored their first NEMA win at the Speedbowl.
Sources: Pete Zanardi/NEMA PR