50 Greatest Modified Drivers – Jerry Marquis
“Came Up Through the Ranks”
Jerry Marquis, a graduate and two-time Stafford Limited Sportsman Champion (1980 and 1981), did most of his Modified driving at Stafford in the NASCAR Modified Tour. A top contender, Marquis won the 1999 SK Modified® track championship at Stafford and racked up 6 wins between the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
An automotive mechanic by trade, Marquis began his racing career driving Figure Eight cars at Riverside Park in 1975. By the end of his third year in competition (1977), he won his first track Championship. He repeated his Championship feat in 1978 and set his sights on the next level of competition: The Limited Sportsman Division at Stafford. Driving a Chevy Nova built by his dad, Ron Marquis, and noted chassis builder Fred Rosner, Marquis finished a sold third in points behind then Limited Sportsman Champion Mike Stefanik and Ron Cote at the end of his first season at Stafford.
His claim to fame in the Modifieds came at Riverside Park in the early 1980s with his first win coming on August 30, 1986. Teaming up with Bobby Judkins to drive the famous No. 2X that had previously been driven by such notables as Eddie Flemke, Sr. Gene Bergin, and Ronnie Bouchard, Marquis racked up three successive Modified track Championships at Riverside in 1991, 1992, 1993. Overall, in ten years, from 1986 to 1996, Marquis tallied thirty-eight wins and is tied with Stan Gregor for fourth on the “All Time Winners” list at Riverside. Marquis also has numerous wins at the Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire.
In the latter stages of his career, Marquis concentrated his driving efforts on the NASCAR Busch North Series where he recorded many top finishes. He also won the 2000 NASCAR Modified Tour championship driving Mario Fiore’s famous #44 car.
Respected by his peers as a clean and smooth driver, Jerry Marquis is a deserving recipient of being an exclusive member of the 50 Greatest Modified Drivers of All-time at Stafford as part of the Stafford Salutes NASCAR at 50 program.
