Phil Jacques Keeping Dream Alive at Thompson Speedway
The Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP) Limited Sportsman Division has a reputation for being one of the most competitive in New England. This makes the achievement of Phil Jacques, driver of the No. 77 entry, even more impressive. Heading into Icebreaker 2016 he was focused on consistency; finishing every race and keeping the car in one piece.
It appeared at the beginning of the season this would be a tall task. Some minor set backs, including mechanical gremlins and a self-admitted rookie mistake relegated his No. 77 entry to a 17th place finish. Soon, though, through the determination of the driver and crew, success was had.
Jacques won his first race at TSMP on Wednesday June 1, following up with consistent finishes throughout the summer months. Describing this stretch, Jacques explained, “During summer months, we stayed in contention regularly, but a few mistakes on my part cost us better finishes than we probably could have had. Still we ended up with a 5th, 6th 6th and 5th in the next 4 races to follow.”
Heading into the final two races of the season, Jacques and his team were hungry for more. Many teams look at a rain out as an opportunity to relax, not so with Jacques and Company. The Dudley, MA driver recalls, “With a rainout on September 7th, we were on to the World Series. Even though the car was ready for battle on the 7th, we opted to go through the car and make a few more changes for the World Series. After a few intense restarts, and a very hairy 3 wide pass on some lap cars coming to the white flag, we rolled into victory lane for the second time of the 2016 season in the biggest race of the year!”
On the heels of his quick succes, Jacques was quick to thank Joe Brockett, Les Rose, Brent Gleason, Bill McNeil, Woody Pitkat, Patrick Thomas, Aaron Williamson, Scott Garrity and his girlfriend, Rachel Briana, for their contributions and support throughout the season. In addition, Jacques was grateful for his 2016 sponsors: Falmouth Ready Mix, M&R Customs of Vero Beach, Rent a Racecar, Str8Line Performance and Automotive, and Competitive Tire.
Looking forward, the driver of the No. 77 Limited Sportsman continues to pursue new sponsorships, in hopes to keep his racing dream alive. “Financially, we were looking at the possibility of having to call off the 2017 racing season. Thankfully now we were able to move forward … We are still looking for additional sponsors to join us during the 2017 racing season,” the team announced on the Phil Jacques Racing Facebook page.
He will begin his 2017 season at Icebreaker 2017, Friday, March 31 – Sunday, April 2. For more information on Jacques or the Icebreaker, visit www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Taylor Therrien/Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park PR