A first lap, six-car crash
(following a called-off start but without a
field reset) took out the #35 at the beginning
of the race.
Photos by
Stephanie Jordan
DAV FALL
CLASSIC - Sunday, Oct 7th THE WIN at the
DAV
Derek Ramstrom Gave Seekonk Racers
a Driving Lesson in the DAV Memorial
By Lou Modestino
Derek Ramstrom
proved that his experiences on various tours and
other oval tracks paid off in dividends at
Seekonk Speedway's DAV Memorial.
Derek
Ramstrom, Rowan Pennink, Ryan Vanasse and Rick
Martin all picked up the DAV Fall Classic wins.
In the tough 100 lap marathon known as the Pro
Stock main, West Boylston’s Derek Ramstrom went
on to introduce himself to Seekonk Speedway's
Victory Lane. But for a while, it looked like
someone else would be the victor. Home town
driver Dave Darling jumped from his third
starting position into the lead before lap one
was complete, and held on through the first 27
laps until he ran over some debris under caution
and cut a right rear tire, handing the lead over
to Ramstrom. Once out front though, Ramstrom,
who was simply biding his time during the early
laps, never looked back.
While Derek set
the pace, lots of action was taking place behind
him. Walpole's Craig Weinstein ran second for
much of the middle portion of the event, with
Mike Brightman behind. They ran that way until
Darling worked his way back through the field
into second on the 53rd lap
He shadowed
the leader, but could not get close enough to
make a serious challenge. Over the last quarter
of the event, Bridgewater's Dick Houlihan was
able to make up for some lost time, and moved
into the second spot where he followed Ramstrom
across the line. Darling finished third with
Brightman and Lakeville's Elmer Wing fourth and
fifth.
Ramstrom was candid in his post
race comments. "My crew chief wasn't here, and
we had to do without him. There was a lot of
checking up in that race - in that long race
(due to numerous caution flags). I hope Kenny
Spencer is OK (due to a wreck). It was also just
a process of elimination because of all the
wrecks and caution flags."
Saturday September 22nd
THE WIN FOR DEREK
DEREK 2012 SLM
CHAMPION
The Super Late Model division ran a
limited schedule during the 2012 season but that
did not stop Derek Ramstrom from claiming his
third title in four years at the Thompson
Speedway.
The Worcester native also won
the Pro All-Stars Series (PASS) race in July.
Following Ramstrom in the championship
standings were Jim Banfield, 2007 champ, Mike
O’Sullivan, the defending 2011 division
champion, Larry Gelinas and veteran Dick
Houlihan.
9/16 Thompson
50 Lapper Race
Report: Larry
Gelinas of Buxton, ME, watched as the leaders
fell to the rear of the field after a late race
incident giving him the shot at victory. Derek
Ramstrom took advantage of his pole starting
position to lead the opening laps of the
50-lapper. Ramstrom had command of the race
through a caution on lap 17. After a long
clean-up for fluid on the racing surface, there
was a change for the lead. On the lap 17
restart, O’Sullivan was the new leader. Ramstrom
had Larry Gelinas in tow.
After several
laps, Ramstrom began to reassert himself. For a
pair of laps, Ramstrom ran alongside of leader
O’Sullivan. A spin by newcomer Kevin Gambacorta
necessitated the caution again on lap 23.
O’Sullivan was again up for the challenge on the
restart. Gelinas took chase. Ramstrom again
started to pour it on; going door-to-door with
O’Sullivan. After several laps, Ramstrom settled
back in line, inches from O’Sullivan.
It
did not take long for Ramstrom to go back to
work to O’Sullivan’s inside. Gelinas had the
best seat in the house directly behind the
battle for the lead. Jim Banfield was making
tracks toward the lead pack during the long
green flag run.
On lap 38, Ramstrom made
his bid for the lead. He got around O’Sullivan
on the backstretch. Coming off of turn four
contact between the lead duo sent Ramstrom
spinning. O’Sullivan was relegated to the rear
of the field for his involvement.
The new
front row on the restart was Gelinas and Jim
Banfield. Gelinas got a great run to motor out
to the lead over Banfield. Ramstrom and
O’Sullivan were on the move. Both cleared Daryl
Stampl. O’Sullivan followed Ramstrom passed Josh
Vanada and then Dick Houlihan. With five laps to
go, Gelinas led by a sizeable advantage over
Banfield, Ramstrom, O’Sullivan and Houlihan
inside the top-five.
Ramstrom caught
Banfield with two laps to go. Gelinas continued
to lead. Over the closing laps, Ramstrom could
not muster up a serious challenge on Banfield
for second. It was clear sailing for Gelinas to
pick-up the 50-lap Super Late Model victory.
Banfield finished second ahead of Ramstrom.
O’Sullivan and Houlihan rounded out the top
five.
Derek takes the
win in the 50 lapper and takes the lead in the
SLM points standings with 194 with Jim Banfield
in 2nd at 186.
SUNDAY, AUGUST
12th
9th at WMMP
SATURDAY, AUGUST
4th
9th at Seekonk
After surviving
a lap 15 off track in turn 4, Derek raced up to
take the lead from the #30 of Freddy Astle on
lap 35. After swapping the lead on a couple of
restarts with the #17 of Travis Benjamin , the
#35 and #17 got together in turn four and Derek
spun out of the lead - final shot below. Coming
from the back, Derek could only make it back to
9th.
Derek and
the team fought to find some grip at Beech Ridge
like most of the other PASS teams that night.
A couple of stops in the pits failed to improve
the #35. Then a solo spin in turn one on lap
139 finished up the night with a 20th place.
SATURDAY, JUNE 30th
6th at
Canaan
SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd
2nd at
Chaudiere
Derek battled
back from an early spin with a flat tire after
contact and took second from the #16 of Kevin
Roberge in the closing laps. Joey Doiron #73
followed in third. Travis Benjamin scores his
first win.
SUNDAY, JUNE 10th
5th at 660
SATURDAY, MAY 26th
No.
Woodstock, NH
19th at
WMMP
Battle for 2nd with Joey Pole ends with a
lap 148 spin and a flat right front tire.
SATURDAY, MAY 12th
13th at
Star
The hits started in the
heat and kept on coming. From the back up through
the pack again -- then another shot -- made it a
long day.
Derek
Scores a 3rd at Beech Ridge
Derek comes
from mid-pack up to third following Joey Doiron
and Lonnie Sommerville.
DEREK
REPORTS: The weekend
started off rough due to some rain. When
we unloaded the car for the first round
of practice the car was extremley tight.
We attempted a variety of adjustments
through the practice session but did not
have much luck improving the handling.
Due to rain the K&N Pro Series cars
were limited to one round of practice.
At this point we knew that the car was
as good as it was going to be. The
(renumbered)#35 timed 28th place out of
36 cars.
Starting in the back of
the pack is always a disadvantage but I
made my way through all the wrecks.
Some good passing moves worked us up to
14th at the checkers. .
Photos by Stephanie Jordan
LIVE COVERAGE
ON SPEED: The Blue Ox 100
will be carried live on SPEED, which
will mark the first time since the 2008
season that the K&N Pro Series East has
had a points-paying race broadcast
same-day. The exhibition Denny Hamlin
Short Track Showdown will also air live
from Richmond following the Blue Ox 100.
Starts at 7:00 PM EST.
HOMETRACKS LIVE:
K&N East At RICHMOND - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List,
Practices, Qualifying, Race Lap by
Lap, & Results
News & Notes: K&N
East Returns To Action at Richmond
International Raceway - HERE
Statistical Advance: Analyzing The
Blue OX 100 -
HERE
Richmond International Raceway Data
Race: #3 of 14 overall (4/26/12)
Track Layout: .75-mile, D-Shaped asphalt
oval •
Race Length: 100 laps (75 miles) •
Banking/Corners: 14 degrees •
Banking/Frontstretch: eight degrees •
Banking/Backstretch: two degrees
Derek The SLM Winner at the ICEBREAKER
Thompson Race
Report: In
Super Late Model action, Larry Gelinas took the
early lead with Derek Ramstrom in the wings
waiting for his opportunity to challenge, which
he got at lap four. Ramstrom went low in the
corner, but was held off by Gelinas. He looked
low again on lap six coming off of four, but
again, had to back out of it. On lap seven,
coming off of four, Ramstrom got his No. 35
machine side-by-side with Gelinas and pulled
ahead for the lead coming off turn two of lap
eight. Once out front, Ramstrom was able to pull
ahead by two carlengths before the caution flew
at lap eight.
Ramstrom jumped to the lead
with Gelinas hanging right there with him in
second. Mike O’Sullivan followed in third, and
began looking for a way around Gelinas by lap
13. He found the chance to challenge at lap 14
in turn four, where they ran side-by-side, but
Gelinas held the position and settled back in
comfortably to second by the following circuit.
On lap 20, O’Sullivan challenged again and the
two ran door-to-door for an entire lap before
O’Sullivan took the second position away in turn
two of lap 21. Ramstrom continued his dominance
up front until caution slowed the pace at lap
28.
Ramstrom jumped right back out front
on the start with O’Sullivan, Gelinas, Jim
Banfield, and Norman Wrenn rounding out the
top-five. Ramstrom went unchallenged out front
for several more laps, but caution at lap 38
would tighten the field back up. Ramstrom could
not be shaken, however, and drove right back out
front. Caution flew for the final time at lap
47. The race went green for a single lap before
Greg Nanigian spun and took a hard hit to the
inside pit road retaining wall.
Try as he
may, O’Sullivan could not knock Ramstrom from
the lead and Ramstrom took the victory followed
by O’Sullivan and Banfield.
Derek Ramstrom Kick Starts
Busy 2012 Season With Strong Run
to 5th at Bristol Season Opener by Shawn
Courchesne
Derek Ramstrom and his new
family owned NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
team aren’t quite ready to make a run at
a full season in NASCAR’s top
developmental division, but over the
weekend the West Boylston, Mass. driver
showed that doesn’t mean they don’t
belong.
The 20-year old Ramstrom,
a regular at Thompson International
Speedway, finished fifth in the season
K&N Pro Series event Saturday at Bristol
Motor Speedway.
“It’s not all
about how much money you spend,”
Ramstrom said. “It’s preparation and
teamwork and driver/crew chief
communication that’s key. Testing and
having a lot of tires does help the big
teams, but sometimes the underdogs can
get it done.”
FULL STORY HERE
Photos by Stephanie Jordan
>
Derek finishes 5th at Bristol.
Piquet wins, then Ryan Blaney, Ryan
Gifford, Andrew Smith and Derek. >
Derek has qualified 3rd at 117.906 mph
with Nelson Piquet Jr. on the pole at
118.811 mph and Darrell Wallace Jr. in
2nd at 118.058 mph. > Race start has
been moved up to 5:30 PM.
HOMETRACKS LIVE:
K&N East At BRISTOL -
HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List,
Practices, Qualifying, Race Lap by
Lap, & Results
News & Notes:
East Opens 2012 At Bristol - HERE First
Series Appearance At “World’s Fastest
Half Mile”
Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Widow
Wax 125 At Bristol Motor Speedway -
HERE
Ramstrom Racing 2012
Schedule , ,
Ramstrom Racing is coming
out strong this season. With both of our super
late models up to date thanks to Distance Racing
we are ready to tackle any challenge.
Opening our season in the
K&N series at Bristol is an amazing opportunity.
Our team is looking forward to taking a full
swing at PASS racing this season.
We are
lucky to still have the same crew members and
sponsors as we have had in the past. Dedicated
from day one I would like to thank Jeff Belyea,
Jay Dugan, John Mc Junkins, Jack Minor, John and
Zach D'ambra and of course all the sponsors who
make this sport possible: Charter
Communications, Matthews Truck Service and
Towing, Innovative Business Partners, West
Boylston Auto Parts, and Van Dyke Bailers. .
2012 K&N Pro Series East
Schedule Released Slate
includes three new venues, six companion events
NASCAR HOMETRACKS
RELEASE - DAYTONA BEACH, Fl
-2/23/11 NASCAR announced today the 2012
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule that
features 14 races at 12 different short tracks
and speedways across the eastern United States.
The 26th season of K&N Pro Series East
competition will see NASCAR’s top developmental
division visit 10 states, and will be
highlighted by three additions to the calendar:
Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Raceway Park in
Clearfield, Pa., and Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway.
“The NASCAR K&N Pro Series continues to
establish itself as a desired destination for
developing talent and the schedule has been
designed with that in mind.” said George
Silbermann, NASCAR Vice President of Regional &
Touring Series. “With a diverse mix of historic
short tracks and speedway companion events with
the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series, the
2012 calendar will provide competitors with the
experience they need to further their careers.”
The 2012 season will commence with the
inaugural K&N Pro Series East event at the
“World’s Fastest Half Mile,” Bristol (Tenn.)
Motor Speedway, on March 17 as part of the
spring NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend. It will
be the third event in series history in the
Volunteer State.
Greenville (S.C.)
Pickens Speedway is back on the schedule with
both spring and fall dates for the second year
in a row. The first race at the venerable
half-mile is slated for March 31 with a return
engagement on Sept. 3 during Labor Day weekend.
Iowa Speedway has also added a second date
for 2012. The sixth edition of the traditional
spring combination event with the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series West returns to the schedule on May 19
and it will be complemented with a second combo
race on Aug. 3. Both events at Iowa will be held
in conjunction with the NASCAR Nationwide
Series.
In addition to Bristol and the
two Iowa races, the K&N Pro Series East will
have three more companion events in 2012 with
NASCAR’s national series. The East will return
to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on April
26, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon,
N.H., on Sept. 22, and Dover (Del.)
International Speedway on Sept. 28.
The
July 14 date at Raceway Park will mark the third
time the K&N Pro Series East has visited the
central Pennsylvania facility, and first since
1988. The reconfigured facility now features a
.625-mile layout.
The 2012 season will
conclude with the inaugural stand-alone race in
K&N Pro Series East history at Rockingham. It
will be the series’ first visit to the
high-banked mile, since the East competed in
combination with the Nationwide Series at “The
Rock” six times from 1987-92.
Additional 2012 schedule
notes: • In addition to Richmond,
three other facilities that welcomed the NASCAR
K&N Pro Series East for the first time in 2011
have returned to the schedule. Historic Bowman
Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., is slated
for June 2, Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va.,
returns for a June 23 race and Columbus (Ohio)
Motor Speedway’s event will be July 21. •
Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga., is
on the calendar for the third year in a row with
a June 9 race date. • The event at New
Hampshire moves from a Friday in recent seasons
to Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. • The Rockingham
date will be a doubleheader with the NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour. • Bristol,
Clearfield and Rockingham will bring the total
of tracks in which the K&N Pro Series East has
held stand-alone races to 43 since competition
began in 1987. • All 14 events will be
contested directly in - or in the coverage area
of - the top 100 media markets in the nation.
