By ohnson 
Bridgeport Speedway’s big-block Modified driver, Jim Britt, has made an exciting addition to his racing calendar for the upcoming season by including Big Diamond Speedway. This seasoned driver from Newtown Square, Pa., is aiming to be a regular contender at the Minersville, Pa., track in 2017, provided everything proceeds as planned.
Britt, who boasts seven career Sportsman victories at Bridgeport and a crowd-pleasing big-block win last season during his first year in the division, is hopeful that the extra track time at another speedway will give him an edge when his team travels to the numerous diverse tracks on the Brett Deyo STSS South series.
Last season, the team made its inaugural start at Big Diamond when they qualified for the season-ending Coalcracker race.
“We are undoubtedly going to kick off the season there. We’re not a hundred percent certain about running the entire season, but we’ll give it a shot and see how things unfold. I own my own business, so we’ll have to see how two nights of racing pan out. A significant portion of our work spans the east coast, mainly from New York to Virginia. I’m a huge enthusiast of small-block racing, and that’s precisely why we decided to head to Big Diamond on Friday nights for the races. I enjoy big-block racing, but I feel I perform slightly better in small-block races compared to the big-block ones.”
Britt is the proprietor of CIL Underground LLC based in Broomall, Pa. CIL Underground LLC is a company specializing in underground drilling and utility construction, undertaking a considerable amount of work in the Fiber Optic field.
In addition to the weekly small-block races at Big Diamond and the big-block races at Bridgeport Speedway, the team also intends to participate in the STSS South Series along with a couple of the STSS North Series races. The team is also considering running in the newly announced Delaware International Modified series.
The team has an array of equipment primed for their hectic schedule. Britt recently acquired a Chuck Cicci big-block motor from Mike Iles to serve as his primary motor for the season’s start. The team also has last year’s big-block available, which has just returned from being refreshed. The team introduced a 358 spec engine towards the end of last season, which Britt claims is a highly potent component and delivered some outstanding performances with it towards the end of the year. Jimmy Weiss from Manalapan, N.J., constructed the small-block and was also the one who refreshed last year’s big-block. The team also possesses an open small-block to insert into one of the team’s two Hig-Fab chassis when the need arises.
“Our Hig-Fab car seems to function well. Our Sportsman car was a Hig-Fab car, and we fared well with it. We had a brand new spec head small-block constructed at the end of last year, and believe it or not, we ran it frequently in the special shows towards the end of the year, and we performed exceptionally well with it. I think we finished fifth with it at the Delaware show against the big-blocks and qualified for the Coalcracker with it. We also ran at New Egypt with it and had a decent run there. Our Hig-Fab small-block car appears to be quite decent. We’ve encountered more issues with our big-block Hig-Fab car. We did secure a win with our Hig-Fab BB car at Bridgeport, but we struggled with side bite for the majority of the year.”
Britt will also be changing shock manufacturers this season, transitioning from Fox Shocks to Penske Shocks, which he has previously used and feels more at ease with.
“I ran Penske shocks before and never encountered any problems, but Jerry (Higbie) asked us to switch to Fox Shocks because that’s what he comprehends. We won the race at Bridgeport last year with the Fox Shocks, but I just seem to have a better understanding of the Penske shocks. I can also contact Dave Reedy (Penske Shock Rep), and he’ll communicate with you. Plus, Dave will be in Florida to assist us when we have inquiries. Dave is an exceptionally intelligent individual and conducts a lot of testing with Larry Wight, and I think they have switched Pat Ward to Penske’s for this year as well. We just received our shocks for Florida back, and Dave has informed me what to use for practice on Tuesday night and then to come see him.”
To add to the team’s workload, Britt is taking his driving skills south for the first time to compete at Volusia Speedway for the DIRTcar Nationals. Britt has never raced on the Barbersville, Fla., track but has been there before to assist Jamie Mills several years ago. He is hopeful that he can utilize some of that experience to quickly adapt to the speedway.
“It was actually something that was part of our plan and not an impulsive decision. We discussed going last year, but we didn’t have everything in order, and then we initiated a significant project down in Virginia for work. I couldn’t commit to taking that week off. So this year, we began planning around September. I personally go to Florida with my family every year for two weeks at Christmas to Disney, so when we went there this year, we booked a campground just up the street from Volusia for the week of the races. I have a 42′ fifth wheel camper that I purchased two years ago, which we’ll take along with the truck and trailer for the race car. My entire crew is coming with us to offer assistance, along with Brad Roberts and his crew chief Keith, who also works for me at CIL. We’re going down there to have some fun. I used to go down there with Jamie Mills years ago, so we’ll see how it goes. We’re taking my favorite Hig-Fab car to Florida with the big-block we just bought from Mike Iles, so I know it’s a reliable component. The car has undergone a complete overhaul, and everything on it is brand new, so we should be in good shape there.”
The team is also aiming to travel whenever feasible and participate in all the STSS South races along with a couple of the STSS North races.
“We’re going to undertake the Deyo South series and perhaps make a trip to the Thunder Mountain North race. I really like that track. It’s a dusty little track, but I enjoy those small tracks, and I seem to perform quite well there. We might also attempt to visit Outlaw Speedway at least once, maybe twice. I know that Deyo has a race there, and DIRTcar also has a race there this year, so we might attend those shows as well. We’ll likely end up participating in the Delaware series since it’s so close.”
To support the team this season with its busy schedule, Britt has purchased a brand new 40 ft gooseneck trailer to replace the 30 ft trailer the team had been using, along with a new GMC top kick truck to pull it. Britt clarified that the additional space will save the team time by eliminating the need to switch out tires and such when moving from one track to another.
With such a packed racing schedule along with his business, which has doubled in the past three years, Britt relies on others to maintain his collection of modifieds so he can focus on his business and his driving.
“My business is located in Broomall, Pa., and I live in Newtown Square, Pa., and I don’t keep the cars at either place. They are stored at my brother Kevin’s house, which is five minutes away from Bridgeport Speedway, so he largely maintains them for me. With the business being as busy as it is now, I simply don’t have the time to constantly work on them. I try to get there once a week to assist, but for him, all he has to do is step out of his back door and he’s at the garage, so he essentially handles all the car maintenance. One of my other crew members lives about four houses away, so he’s able to offer significant help.”
After taking a break from racing a few years ago and making a comeback, it’s evident that Jim Britt is wholeheartedly back in the game now. His hard work, dedication, along with a flourishing business and a highly supportive family that backs him in his racing endeavors can only suggest that success seems imminent for the 37-year-old Britt.
As always, I can be reached for questions and comments at dirtracefan25@hotmail.com or on Twitter @dirtracefan25