Jesse Gleason celebrates victory in the Limited Sportsman feature Sunday at Thompson Speedway (Photo: Fran Lawlor/RaceDayCT)
THOMPSON – Jesse Gleason’s Limited Sportsman division ride at Thompson Speedway isn’t going to win an awards for looks anytime soon.
That’s no bother for the Lisbon veteran, who describes his tattered ride as a heap.
“It really is an old piece, but it goes,” Gleason said. “Pretty don’t go. That’s why I don’t put a new body on it, because the prettier the car it’s not going to go for me.”
Sunday Gleason took his ugly heap to the front of the pack in winning the 20-lap Limited Sportsman feature at the Icebreaker at Thompson Speedway.
Scott Sundeen of Douglas, Mass. was second and Chris Meyer of Norwich third.
After the race Gleason heaped praise for the heap, most especially the word done by his brother Brent in the offseason.
“It was the easiest thing in the world,” Gleason said. “My brother is so smart with setups, it’s amazing. He did some scientific research. The guy really should be an engineer. I just unloaded the car and it was fast. Top-five fast, all day long.
“He changed springs, he changed shocks on my car, he changed ride heights. He threw the whole kitchen sink at it. And it really wasn’t that slow before. He just kind of like modernized it for what the division is now. I’m a little bit more old school. I don’t have setup thinking like he does. He’s brilliant.”
Gleason joked that his winning car could be eligible to run in some local vintage divisions.
“The car is 25 years old,” Gleason said. “It’s a 25-year old chassis. It was originally built as a Late Model for Stafford. I could run the old horse and buggy license plate on the back.”
New isn’t always better