{"id":23850,"date":"2018-08-08T08:27:58","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T12:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/?p=23850"},"modified":"2018-08-08T08:27:58","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T12:27:58","slug":"racicot-goes-from-wreck-to-checkers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/2018\/08\/racicot-goes-from-wreck-to-checkers\/","title":{"rendered":"Racicot goes from wreck to checkers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Racicot goes from wreck to checkers<\/strong><\/p>\n

WATERFORD \u2014 T.J. Racicot and his team depend on hard work, not bells and whistles.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve had our share of ups and downs this season,\u201d the X-Car driver from Quaker Hill said. \u201cWe just try to do the best we can. We keep on digging.\u201d<\/p>\n

That philosophy turned to gold on Aug. 1 when he grabbed his first careers win at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl just one week after he wiped out the front end of his car in a multi-car accident.
\n
\nNot many drivers can go from the scrap heap to the penthouse in one week, but Racicot was able to do it.
\n\u201cThe week before we had a tough break,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cMy best friend was here from California and we just got new shirts for the team, We had a fast car in practice and I was looking for a podium finish.\u201d
\nThe promising night turned into a nightmare when a bolt came loose and it deprived him of all his steering.
\n\u201cI went hard into Josh Ciccio and we wound up in the wall,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cA few other cars were involved too.\u201d
\nRacicot\u2019s car, however, looked like it went 15 rounds with Gravedigger and lost.
\n\u201cThe right-rear frame rail looked like a pretzel,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cThe entire front end of the car was gone. We had a lot of work to do. But we spent some long nights at the shop and we got it done.\u201d
\nWhen he returned to action on Aug. 1, however, the car still was woozy from the crash of the week before.
\n\u201cWe went out for practice and we still didn\u2019t think the car was 100 percent,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cSo we made some more adjustments and the car got better for the feature.\u201d
\nOnce the 25-lap feature started, it didn\u2019t take him long to discover he had a pretty good hot-rod underneath him.
\n\u201cWe started 12th, and we passed five cars in the first five laps,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cThen after a caution, we passed a few more cars.\u201d
\nHe was in third place with five laps to go when the two drivers in front of him, Steve Olsen and Will Rheaume, got tangled up and veered toward the wall.
\nRacicot was prepared for that sudden turn of events. He swooshed past the two cars while moving into the lead.
\n\u201cAll the stars lined up perfectly for me when that happened,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cI saw it coming that those two guys might get together, I just wanted to get around them and not get involved in the accident.
\n\u201cThen I drove by the scoreboard, saw who was in second place and I knew the race wasn\u2019t over.\u201d
\nWhat Racicot learned was that point-leader Eddie Loomis was in second place, setting up a four-lap barnburner for the win.
\n\u201cWe both drove our butts off,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cEddie is a great guy. He got into me once but I was able to hold him off.
\nThe important thing was that we were able to put on a show for the fans. That is the reason we\u2019re out there \u2014 to put on a show.\u201d
\nRacicot\u2019s win, however, was more than 30 years in the making.
\nHe started as a fan and then worked as a crewmember, starting in the \u201880s when he worked with Brian and Dennis Blaise.
\n\u201cI also worked with Diego and Shawn Monahan,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cThen I worked with Tommy Silva when he had his Sportsman car and he had a lot of success and won Rookie of the Year. I was his one and only crewmember.
\n\u201cI always wanted to be behind the wheel, but I couldn\u2019t afford it,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cI was working for Moose Douton and he put a ride together for me. But I didn\u2019t have the funding or support to be competitive.\u201d
\nThen this story heads to Virginia Beach as Racicot decided to start a family. When he returned to Connecticut 10 years later, he jumped back into motor sports as quickly as possible.
\n\u201cI teamed up with Tommy Silva again and I drove an Enduro car,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when I got the itch. Me and my friend started 55th and 56th in the Enduro and we were two of the last cars on the lead lap. I was hooked after that.\u201d
\nRacicot took the next step in 2017 when his friend Andy Lee gave him his old X-Car. He took the car to Seekonk before the Speedbowl season opened and won a heat race. When the Bowl season got under way, however, Racicot\u2019s luck wasn\u2019t as stable.
\n\u201cTwo weeks into the season, we blew the motor,\u201d Racicot said.
\nRacicot purchased a car from Rich Hearn and went back behind the wheel.
\n\u201cThe car was never 100 percent,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cIt was a little bent. But we did the best we could, I was starting to get the feel for a front-wheel drive car.\u201d
\nThen in 2018, he bought a car from X-car competitor Onie Pierce, Steve Pinkham worked on the chassis, and Racicot\u2019s career started going places.
\nHe finished sixth in the season opener, and then grabbed a second place finish on the first Wild and Wacky night of the season.
\n\u201cThat was pretty exciting,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cI have been coming to the Speedbowl since I was 5, so to finish on the podium meant a lot.\u201d
\nTwo months later he was able to grab an even bigger highlight \u2014 his first win.
\nRacicot\u2019s sponsor list includes Jiggy\u2019s Smoke and Vape Shop of Waterford, Pinkham Builders, Critical Signs, LaBella Wine and Spirits of Uncasville Shaft Motorsports, Rockin\u2019 Ronnie Barnes, EB Riggers, and Laura Marie of Passing Bird Photography.
\nHis wife Brooke, and his three kids, Jacob, Lucas and Kylie are a huge part of his racing team along with the Ratch Racing Team of Quarter Bill, Nick, Tyler, Lou Racicot, Caitlyn, Dave Gargaro, Andy Lee and Josh Pray.
\nRacicot also has one of the biggest cheering sections at the Speedbowl.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s what makes it special,\u201d Racicot said. \u201cI\u2019m not just doing this for me, I\u2019m doing it for the people who support me.”
\nThat support has brought out the best in Pacicot.
\n” In the races I\u2019ve completed, the worst I\u2019ve finished in seventh place, and I have three podiums.
\n\u201cWe do everything in house. We might not have the fanciest car. But we do have some fun.\u201d
\nRacicot doesn\u2019t need bells and whistles. The first place trophy he won on Aug. 1 is proof of that.
\nRacicot will attempt to make it two wins in a row tonight when Wild and Wacky Wednesday gets under way. The opening ceremonies start at 6:45 p.m., followed by feature racing for the Super X-Cars, the Bandoleros, the Legends and the X-Cars. There will also be a special autograph session for the Bandolero drivers starting at 6:45 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Racicot goes from wreck to checkers WATERFORD \u2014 T.J. Racicot and his team depend on hard work, not bells and whistles. \u201cWe\u2019ve had our share of ups and downs this season,\u201d the X-Car driver from Quaker Hill said. \u201cWe just try to do the best we can. We keep on digging.\u201d That philosophy turned to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecticut","category-waterford-speedbowl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23851,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23850\/revisions\/23851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newenglandracingnews.com\/16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}