Bilton Sprint Car Driver Among Champion Contest Entries
TJ Thompson of Lisbon, CT hopes for a strong showing in the Search for a Champion Contest to help with travel expenses this year.
The 18-year-old driver has been in contact with Shelby Bilton for the past month and picked up a new ride in his 360 Sprint Car for Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, OH and Butler Motor Speedway in Quincy, MI. Thompson’s only dirt experience is five USAC Midget races at Bear Ridge Speedway in Vermont.
“It’s definitely going to be fun and something new,” Thompson said. Thompson was searching for a new ride as his former Legend Car will have a new driver, his younger brother Adam.
Thompson was unhappy with last year’s contest entry. He is more confident with his second effort. Thompson worked with Benny Silver, a high school senior and friend, at his home recording studio to redub the audio and make it more professional.
“He did all the music up for me as I built the video, so we kind of built the music around the video. … I definitely took some time to setup the shot and get the lighting better.”
The contest footage includes some humor showing his passion for the sport.
“It just came to me out of the blue. Let’s put a little bit of a funny bit in there and have the eat and sleep racing. And then of course, I had to make the video clips to go with it. So put on the suit and went to work there.
Thompson edited the videos and has used a GoPro atop his racecar before. He expects to expand his presence on YouTube this year with “scripting and having maybe a weekly post-race show.”
His sophomore Legend Car season was “really strong” due to some gains made late in 2013. “We figured some stuff out and we felt really confident going into the New Year and we were actually trying to make a run at some championships at Waterford (CT) Speedbowl and Seekonk (MA) Speedway.”
A crash at Waterford in May sidelined them for a month before acquiring sponsorship from Mike Jolly and M. Jolly and Son of Bozrah, CT to repair the car.
“We came back just about as strong as before we went out and put together I think 11 top threes and 18 top fives and picked up the win at Seekonk, so definitely a year I’m proud of.”
Thompson studies high performance motorsports and automotive service technology at the University of Northwestern Ohio, a three year program that will give him an associate’s degree with a specialty in high performance motorsports. UNOH has been sponsored race cars and races in recent years.
He compared the race shop to anything in NASCAR Sprint Cup.
“Everything is done by the students, which really says something about the coaches and who’s in charge of it. … The rest of the college also is beautiful. They’ve got all the equipment. … Everything is supplied for you and really well run and kept clean and all the dorms are nice. … You can definitely tell that they take a lot of pride in it.”
Mike Rivard and Tire Doctor, LLC. of Woonsocket, RI have been loyal supporters since Thompson raced Go Karts. Other supporters include his father Wayne’s business GT Performance Electric of Jewett City, CT, and American Landscaping and Lawn Science. American Landscaping joined at midseason, paying the tire bill the later part of 2014.
Thompson started in Go Karts at age seven and won in his sixth start, one of three in his first season. He captured a pair of championships in 2005 (Pomfret and the Challenge Series between Pomfret and Pinnacle). He spent the next few years traveling before joining the Northeast Pavement Series. His most recent championship came in 2009.
Voting is open daily through February 3 for the first of three rounds. Visit the contest’s web site for more information.
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com