(Stafford Springs, CT)—With the 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
season at Stafford Speedway nearing the halfway point, the Limited Late
Model season has been a dream year for Shawn Thibeault and the #58
Enterprise Rental Cars team. They have scored 2 wins this season and they
have finished on the podium in 7 of 8 races with a worst finish thusfar of
fourth. This white-hot streak of consistency has Thibeualt at the top of
the points standings and he credits his success all to a simple change in
his driving philosophy.
“I’ve changed my driving style a bit this season, and it’s been paying off
for me so far,” said Thibeault. “We’ve always had a fast car and In the
past, I was pretty aggressive. Looking back on it now, I can see how I was
aggressive with other drivers and sometimes I would put myself into
situations that would put a damper on the car and our race as a whole. This
year we have a fast car again and I’m trying to let the race come to me. We
haven’t finished lower than fourth so far, so it’s been working out.”
Thibeault began the 2011 season with a third place in the season opening
CARQUEST Tech-Net Spring Sizzler and after 2 consecutive 2nd place finishes,
he picked up his first win of the year on May 20th which put him into the
points lead. Thibeault has been the point leader every week since his first
victory with a second win and three more podium finishes. Being the points
leader is a new experience for Thibeault, but he seems to be pretty
comfortable with his position at the moment.
“I think we had the points lead for one week last year, but we lost it the
next week,” said Thibeault. “We’ve always had fast cars here at Stafford,
but our finishes didn’t always reflect the speed we had in the car. This
year has gone a lot better than I expected. It can be difficult to get to
the front if we start deep in the field and the race goes green to checker,
but twenty laps is plenty of time to get the car to the front. One of my
goals last year and for this year was to win the championship, and
everything is fitting in right now with my taking it easier approach.”
As good as Thibeault has been this season in the Limited Late Model
division, he says that he and his crew are still searching to find the right
setup combination.
“The main thing we’re working on right now is the car seems to drop off in
the heat of the summer,” said Thibeault. “We struggled a little at the
start of the season, but we went back to some of our older setup stuff and
it has worked out for us. Our setup hasn’t changed that much from last
year, we’re just trying to make the car more consistent and fast in the
summer heat. These new Hoosier tires that we’re racing on this year have
been working out for us, we seem to be able to get a little more tire
contact with the track than the American Racer tires with how the Hoosier
tires mount on the 7-inch rims.”
With the 2011 season set for its second half, Thibeault has his sights set
squarely on continuing his consistent finishes and being a championship
contender.
“The championship is our goal, we’ve been shooting for that ever since we
got started in the Limited Late Model division,” said Thibeault. “We have
two wins so far this year and if we can get another win and beat our 2 wins
from the last 2 seasons, that would be great. We’re not going to push
things just to get to that, there’s a lot of good cars that we race with
every week. Being in the division for 4 years now, it would be great if we
could win the championship. I’d like to move up to the Late Model division,
whether it’s our own car or if we could put together a deal to drive someone
’s Late Model, that would be awesome.”
Thibeault has posted an average finish of 2.3 through the first 8 races of
the 2011 season. Thibeault’s main championship rivals also have stellar
average finish numbers with Kevin Gambacorta at 3.4, George Nocera, Jr. at
3.9, and Norm Sears at 4.4. If Thibeault and his crew can find the key to
keeping their car fast during the summer heat while maintaining their level
of consistency, then they just may realize their dream of being a champion
when the curtain closes on the 2011 season at Stafford.
For more information, contact the Stafford Motor Speedway track office at
860-684-2783 or visit us on the web at www.staffordspeedway.com