Over the past seven months, Jim Thompson has spent 30-plus hours a week building a passion project from the ground up.
Thompson, a Dublin resident with over 30 years of car racing experience, has built a Chevy Silverado-style race truck to compete in the New England Truck Series, a touring series for mid-level racing vehicles.
“It’s an opportunity to go to a lot of different tracks and to meet different people,” said Thompson. “It’s more of a challenge because each of the tracks are different.”
Thompson has had oil coursing through his veins for as long as he can remember, as he often traveled to different tracks throughout his youth with his father, who was also an avid racer.
“It’s definitely a contact sport, which I love,” said Thompson. “I’m a very competitive person.”
Thompson said he has about $15,000 invested into his new truck, money he made after selling one of his old race cars. Thompson built every aspect of the truck, from the chassis to the drive train to the body.
“It’s a challenge to build a truck from the ground up, but I enjoy it,” said Thompson, who works at New Hampshire Ball Bearing.
Having won a championship in 2012 at Monadnock Speedway, Thompson is ready to take his talents to the next level. With two races remaining in the New England Truck Series, Thompson hopes to get his truck out on the track to iron out any kinks for next season.
The last two races of the season are Oct. 1 in Stafford, Connecticut and Oct. 8 at New Hampshire’s Lee USA Speedway.
“The truck went well for its first time out of the garage,” said Thompson, who recently took the truck to Monadnock Speedway for a test run. “It gave me a chance to tweak certain areas to improve the performance for the next race.”
Thompson said he is also making a big push to find sponsorship for his truck.
While he had the money available to build the truck, Thompson said he would like to have a sponsor to help with the expenses associated with driving a racecar.
“I’ve been doing this long enough where I know how to handle the week-to-week budget,” said Thompson. “I’m looking for more of a partnership.”