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THOMPSON WORLD
SERIES WINNER!
10-16-11 |
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| OCTOBER 7, 8,
& 9 |
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| 2nd in the DAV |
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| 3rd in
SATURDAY'S QUALIFIER |
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| Final
Points Race - Thursday, October 6th |
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| Derek Takes the
Win, 3rd in the Points |
After three straight
rainouts (and five out of six weeks!), Thompson
ran the final points race of the season on
October 6th.
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Derek
Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, turned in a flawless
performance to score a commanding victory in
Super Late Models. Ramstrom cruised out to the
lead in the opening laps of the Super Late Model
event. He stretched his advantage as Larry
Gelinas, George Bessette and Mike O’Sullivan
waged a heated battle for the second position.
Gelinas, who entered the final point race of the
season by a mere four points over Mike
O’Sullivan, was the first to get by Bessette.
His rival O’Sullivan was not far behind; taking
the position away from Bessette a lap later.
Back up front, Ramstrom continued to enjoy a
huge advantage over second-running Gelinas.
Gelinas held a 10-car length advantage over
O’Sullivan. Meanwhile, Bessette and Jim Banfield
duked it out for fourth. The duo went
fender-to-fender for many laps before Banfield
settled back in line behind Bessette.
At
halfway, Ramstrom ran alone up front clicking
off fast laps at the head of the field.
O’Sullivan, who needed to advance two positions
over Gelinas for his shot at the championship,
could not cut into the distance to Gelinas in
second. It was smooth sailing for Ramstrom as he
cruised to his fifth victory of the 2011 season.
Gelinas finished second to secure the 2011 Super
Late Model championship for car owner Rollie
Lindblad. Mike O’Sullivan had to settle for
third. Banfield was able to steal the fourth
position away in the closing laps. Bessette
rounded out the top five |
10/6/11
SUPER LATE MODEL RACE RESULTS
1) 35 - DEREK RAMSTROM
2) 48 - LARRY GELINAS
3) 08 - MICHAEL O'SULLIVAN
4) 13 -
JIM BANFIELD
5) 15 - GEORGE BESSETTE
6) 41 - SCOTT ROTHERFORTH
7) 91 -
JEFF HARTWELL |
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2011
SUPER LATE MODEL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (TOP 7)
1) 48 - LARRY GELINAS - 596
2) 08 - MICHAEL O'SULLIVAN
- 590
3)
35 - DEREK RAMSTROM - 584
4) 13 - JIM BANFIELD - 566
5) 41 - SCOTT ROTHERFORTH -
478
6) 91 - JEFF HARTWELL - 448
7) 15 - GEORGE BESSETTE -
398 |
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FRIDAY, SEPT. 3O
- 5:15 PM |
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Derek 18th in The Dover 150 at
Dover Intn'l
Speedway, Dover, DE.
- K&N Pro Series East Event
- Racing the #53 TITECH Chevrolet
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After
qualifying 15th out of 33 starters with
a 24.060 at 149.626 mph average Derek
and the team felt they had a good car
that could race up into the top five.
However, on lap 8 of the 150, Derek
was black flagged to the pits because
the window net had fallen down. A
speeding penalty for running pit lane
over the limit made the costly error a
loss of two laps.
As the first
car a lap down Derek received free
passes on the yellows on lap 17 and lap
23. But starting at the back of
the longest line each time, Derek was
running with the slower cars that were
quickly caught by the leaders, and Derek
fell laps behind with no chance for a
free pass.
With a
green/white/checker ending the race,
Derek finshed 18th having
scored 150
laps to the winner's 152 circuits. |
---
NASCAR Hometracks NEWS & NOTES HERE
LIVE: K&N East At DOVER
- HERE
For the Event Schedule,
Entry List, Practices,
Qualifying, Lap by
Lap, & Results |
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| 14th at
the PASS 300 |
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The race for
Thursday, September the 15th was
rained out.
The officials at Thompson have decided
to
give it one more try, scheduling the final
points race for Thursday, September 22nd.
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Sunday Show - September 11th |
| 11th after a
Crash |
The two day show at
Thompson International Speedway on 9/10&11
brought a huge crowd of spectators to enjoy all
the racing and beautiful weather. The Super Late
Models qualified on Saturday and had their
feature race on Sunday.
Derek wasn't
thrilled with the setup during qualifying on
Saturday so the team hauled the car back to the
race shop the make some adjustments for the
feature race.
Sunday's feature race
brought Derek 5th on the starting grid. Derek
made quick work of catching the lead cars of
George Bessette and Mike Stefanik. The cars were
running tight for the lead on lap seven when
Bessette tagged the outside wall sending Derek
into the infield. The #35 was unscathed and
Derek restarted at the tail of the field.
Derek wasn't wasting time getting back to
the front, he was chasing down Jim Banfield for
the forth position when the two leaders, who
were battling hard came together down the front
stretch. O' Sullivan and Stefanik both spun,
Stefanik was up against the wall between turns 1
and 2. Derek was heading low when Stefanik's car
came down the hill and hit him. That was the end
of the evening for the Ramstrom Team, the car
was too torn up to finish the race.
The
unfortunate end to the race moved Derek from the
1st position in points to the 3rd.
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The
Thursday Night Thunders for both August 25th
and September 1st were
cancelled due to rain and
the after-effects of
Hurricane Irene. |
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Thursday Night Thunder - August 18th |
| Derek with a
2nd |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
A bold move
early in the Super Late Model feature proved to
be the winning one for Mike O’Sullivan of
Springfield, MA. It was three-wide at the start
of the race between George Bessette, Derek
Ramstrom, and O’Sullivan. When things sorted
out, it was O’Sullivan with the lead. After a
heated battle, Ramstrom took over the second
position from George Bessette. Almost
immediately, Bessette fell into the clutches of
Larry Gelinas. The action was slowed by an
incident involving Scott Rotherforth.
On
the ensuing restart at lap eight, O’Sullivan
once again cruised out to the lead. Gelinas was
able to get by Bessette for third. The running
order at halfway found O’Sullivan leading
Ramstrom, Gelinas, Bessette, and Jim Banfield
inside the top five. O’Sullivan stretched his
advantage to several car lengths while Gelinas
lost the lead duo.
Over the closing laps,
O’Sullivan was able to further extend his
advantage over Ramstrom. In an uneventful run to
the checkers, O’Sullivan cruised to his fourth
Super Late Model victory of the season. Ramstrom
finished second to extend his point lead.
Gelinas, Bessette and Banfield rounded out the
top five.
Derek leads the points at
504 markers with Larry Gelinas and Michael
O'Sullivan tied for 2nd at 498. |
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Thursday Night Thunder - August 11th |
| The Win for Derek |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Derek
Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, had to work for his
Super Late Model victory. Larry Gelinas
capitalized on his front row starting position
to take command of the division’s feature event.
Gelinas had company in Ramstrom. Jim Banfield,
Mike O’Sullivan and George Bessette made up the
top-five in the opening laps. Ramstrom became
restless in second; looking low on Gelinas in a
bid for the lead. Gelinas was able to hold back
Ramstrom lap-after-lap.
Ramstrom finally
made the pass for the lead on lap fourteen.
While Ramstrom was taking the lead away from
Gelinas, O’Sullivan was making a bid on Banfield
for third. The two made contact; sending
Banfield spinning to bring out the caution. Both
cars sustained damage and headed to pit road
under the caution. George Bessette also took his
car down pit road. All were able to rejoin the
field.
On the lap 15 restart, Ramstrom
and Gelinas went fender-to-fender for the top
spot. After a lap, Ramstrom was able to gain the
advantage once again. With Ramstrom in control
and Gelinas settled into second, the best battle
was for third between Bessette and O’Sullivan.
After several laps of side-by-side racing,
O’Sullivan was able to muscle the position away.
Ramstrom cruised through the remaining laps to
score his fourth win of the season. Gelinas,
O’Sullivan, Bessette, and Banfield rounded out
the top five.
Derek once again leads
the points with 456 with Larry Gelinas in 2nd at
452
and Michael O'Sullivan in 3rd at 448. |
|
The PASS 150
Saturday, August
6th |
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| Second at Seekonk PASS
150 |
| Last lap pass
of Joey Pole #97 |
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Thursday Night Thunder - August 4th |
| 2nd Again for Derek |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Mike
O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, commandeered the
Super Late Model feature for a dominating
victory. O’Sullivan passed pole sitter Jim
Banfield to take the lead early. Point leader
Jeff Connors was running strong inside the
top-three when his #51 went up in smoke to bring
out the caution. O’Sullivan was pitted against
Derek Ramstrom on the restart on lap four.
O’Sullivan easily motored back into the lead.
Ramstrom fell into the clutches of Larry
Gelinas. The Buxton, ME native was able to drive
around to move into the second spot.
Mike
Stefanik took a position from Banfield to ride
in fourth with George Bessette in tow. Ramstrom
found new life getting along side Gelinas to
battle for second. O’Sullivan gained some
distance over the battle for second. Ramstrom
hounded Gelinas for a pair of laps before moving
back into the second spot. Stefanik now chased
Gelinas.
Ramstrom continued to stretch
his advantage over third but could do little to
cut into the lead O’Sullivan had amassed. With
five laps remaining, O’Sullivan enjoyed a
comfortable lead over Ramstrom. Gelinas was
being pursued by Stefanik while Bessette and
Banfield ran nose-to-tail. The running order
would go unchanged to the checkers as O’Sullivan
cruised to the victory. Ramstrom had to settle
for the second spot. Gelinas held off Stefanik.
Bessette edged Banfield for a top-five finish. |
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Thursday Night Thunder - July 28th |
| A 2nd for Derek |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Larry
Gelinas of Buxton, ME, had the crowd on their
feet as he took the win over Derek Ramstrom in
what proved to be one of the closest finishes of
the season. Gelinas bested Jim Banfield to take
the top spot in the opening laps of the Super
Late Model event. Derek Ramstrom got around Jeff
Connors and Mike O’Sullivan to run third.
Ramstrom went to work running down Banfield. He
caught the #13 and immediately charged by into
the second position. Gelinas had worked out to a
comfortable margin.
The lead began to
erode as Ramstrom began to catch the leader
Gelinas. Ramstrom was not making huge advances
but was chipping away at the gap. The lead duo
had run away from an emerging battle for third
between Banfield, O’Sullivan, and Connors. On
lap 10, Ramstrom had caught Gelinas.
On
lap 23, Ramstrom dove low on Gelinas in turn
two; to no avail. He repeated the move in turn
four. Again, he could not make the pass stick.
On the backstretch on lap 25, Ramstrom got under
Gelinas once again. On lap 27, smoke billowed
from between the two cars as they leaned on each
of other exiting turn four. They went
fender-to-fender the entire distance of the
final lap. Ramstrom came off turn four with a
slight advantage. Gelinas motored down the
straightaway to run even with Ramstrom. He
carried the momentum to the stripe to take the
victory by mere inches over Ramstrom. Banfield
held on for third. O’Sullivan and Connors
completed the top five.
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| 18th at
Thompson PASS 100 |
After a nice run to a
first place finish in Heat 1, Derek made it only
to lap 24 before being taken out of the feature.
The action started early. In turn one of lap one
contact between the 1st and 3rd gridded cars
sent a cluster of nine up into the turn one
wall. Derek made it through that one, jumping
from 11th starting spot (as a 2011 race winner
that must start outside the top ten) to
fourth on the restart. Derek was soon in second
battling with Mike Rowe in the 2x. With Lonnie
Sommerville in the #48 right on his bumper,
Derek made a move down low entering turn three
but the #2x came down and sent both cars
spinning. Sommerville was swept up into the wall
by Deek as he tried to go high. All three cars
were heavily damaged. Sommerville's crew
attempted pit road repairs and sent the
#48 for two more laps late in the race, but
Derek parked the #35. |
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Thursday Night Thunder - July 14th |
| Win to Derek |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Derek
Ramstrom took the checkers in a caution-free
Super Late Model 30-lap feature after taking the
lead at lap 13 from Mike O’Sullivan.
Jim
Banfield went deep into turn one to claim the
lead, but a fast approaching Mike O’Sullivan
quickly took it away when he drove by for the
lead off of turn two. Jeff Connors moved into
second and the duo pulled away from the rest of
the field by a full second. Third place driver
Derek Ramstrom closed the distance to a mere
three carlengths before the race hit lap five.
O’Sullivan, Connors and Ramstrom were bumper to
bumper as Ramstrom made his move at lap 10 on
Connors. Ramstrom looked low, but Connors shut
the door on his challenge. Ramstrom was
persistent and continued to go low in the
corners.
At lap 13, Ramstrom got his
machine side-by-side with Connors and took over
second coming out of turn two. Ramstrom set his
sights on O’Sullivan and drove to the low side
on lap 15 to take over the lead at the line.
Larry Gelinas moved in to make it a four-car
battle up front with Gelinas using a power move
on the bottom of Connors for a bid for third.
Connors was too strong, however, and held on to
third. Meanwhile, Ramstrom was easing through
lapped traffic with ease.
Without a
single caution period, Ramstrom took the
checkers followed by O’Sullivan, Connors, and
Gelinas.
Derek moves up to second
in the points, 16 behind leader Connors. |
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| A Big Main
Straight Tangle and a 21st |
The hits kept on coming
at Beech Ridge on Saturday night, July 9th. In
the
heat, Derek had contact with the #0 of
Billy Penfold that wound up sending Mike Rowe in
the #24 into the front straight wall.
Starting from 12th in the 150 lap feature, Derek
began falling back with a deflating front tire.
Then on the lap 37 restart, a late green
triggered a pile up on the main straight with
half the field involved. The #35 wound up in
a mess of eight cars up against the wall just
after the flag stand.
A wrecker had to
lift the #35 up at the back to get it free.
After some pit work, Derek continued on till lap
46, but the #35 was too damaged to keep up and
Derek took it back to the hauler for a finish of
21st. |
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Thursday Night Thunder - July 7th |
| A
Turn One Tangle and a 10th |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Jeff Connors
accelerated from his front row starting position
to set the pace in the early going of the Super
Late Model feature event. Mike O’Sullivan made
quick work of pole sitter Jim Banfield to run in
the second spot. George Bessette and Derek
Ramstrom followed through relegating Banfield to
fifth. The best battle on the track was for the
third spot. Bessette held the position with
Ramstrom applying heavy pressure to Bessette.
At halfway, O’Sullivan had caught the rear
bumper of Connors while Bessette was able to get
a bit of breathing room over Ramstrom. On lap
16, O’Sullivan got alongside Connors. The lead
duo ran side by side as they approached a pack
of lapped traffic. Ramstrom once again began to
pressure Bessette. On lap 19, Ramstrom took the
position. He immediately ran down the leaders
Connors and O’Sullivan.
On lap 20,
O’Sullivan was the new leader. Ramstrom got
alongside Connors. Just as Ramstrom was gaining
the advantage, the caution flew for an incident
that involved Jim Banfield and Scott
Rotherforth. Connors got a great restart staying
alongside O’Sullivan. He was able to retake the
lead with a pass on O’Sullivan from the outside
groove. O’Sullivan settled back in line behind
Connors. Ramstrom ran on the bumper of
O’Sullivan, who in turn had company in Bessette.
With only two laps to go, O’Sullivan lost
the handle in a last ditch effort on leader
Connors. Ramstrom and Bessette both got into the
wall trying to avoid the spinning O’Sullivan.
The restart pitted Connors against the cagey
veteran Mike Stefanik. Connors was up to the
challenge, keeping Stefanik at bay on the white
flag lap. Exiting turn four to take the
checkers, Stefanik dove low. He got alongside
Connors. The margin of victory was a matter of a
few feet for Connors. Stefanik came home a
strong second followed by Gelinas, Banfield and
O’Sullivan.
Derek falls to tied for
fourth in the points, 20 behind leader Connors.
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| Thursday Night
Thunder - June 30th |
| A 3rd for Derek |
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TRACK RACE REPORT:
A bold move
on the start of the Super Late Model main event
gave Mike O’Sullivan of Springfield, MA, his
second win of the season. After a three-wide
start, Jim Banfield was the leader; however, he
would not lead the opening lap as Mike
O’Sullivan rocketed into the lead after starting
at the end of the top-five. Jeff Connors worked
his way into the second position. Derek Ramstrom
was on the move and into third by lap three. Up
front, O’Sullivan had stretched out his
advantage by several car lengths. Ramstrom was
all over the back bumper of Connors. Banfield
ran a distance behind in third followed by Larry
Gelinas.
Despite a battle of their own,
it appeared as if Connors and Ramstrom were
running down O’Sullivan. At lap 10, the
top-three cars ran nose-to-tail. On lap 11,
Ramstrom stepped out of line to look low on
Connors. Ramstrom could not make the pass. He
ducked back in line to follow Connors.
At
halfway, the wounded car of Tom Metcalf slowed
dramatically in front of the leader nearly
making contact. O’Sullivan was quick to recover
and even gained some breathing room on the
second- and third-place runners. Over the
closing stages of the event it was much of the
same as O’Sullivan continued to lead Connors and
Ramstrom. O’Sullivan joined his brother by
scoring the victory in the Super Late Models.
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Derek is now two points
behind #51 Jeff
Connors in the SLM standings. |
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Thursday
Night Thunder - June 16th |
| Derek Scores
His 2nd Win of 2011 |
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TRACK RACE REPORT:
Derek
Ramstrom of Worcester, MA, turned in a
dominating performance to score his second win
of the 2011 season in the Super Late Models. It
did not take long for Ramstrom to take over the
top spot. While Ramstrom was the new leader on
lap three, Jeff Connors had his hands full with
George Bessette. Mike O’Sullivan trailed in
fourth. Larry Gelinas had moved into the
top-five. Things had settled down at the
half-way marker with Ramstrom handily at the
head of the pack. It was a five-car
freight-train from second position on back to
sixth.
O’Sullivan was the first to step
out of line; looking low on Bessette exiting
turn two on lap 16. The battle settled down when
the caution flew for a spin by Keith Caruso, the
grandson of the NEAR Hall-of-Famer, the late
Mario “Fats” Caruso.
The complexity of
the race changed dramatically on lap 17. Things
stacked up on the ensuing restart. Bessette got
into the back of Connors; apparently cutting
down a tire. Bessette could not steer his
machine making contact with Gelinas. The #48 of
Gelinas careened into the wall; resulting in
extensive damage. After work to his ride,
Bessette rejoined the field.
On the
restart, Ramstrom bolted back out to the lead.
Connors was stalked again by O’Sullivan followed
by Banfield. A spin by Tom Metcalf necessitated
the caution on lap 20. On the restart, Banfield
began to pour it on. Banfield took the third
spot from O’Sullivan on lap 22. On lap 23, he
grabbed the second spot from Connors. With only
three laps remaining, O’Sullivan gave up the
fourth position to bring his car down pit road.
Banfield was not able to reel in Ramstrom, who
had built up a sizeable advantage. At the
checkers it was all Ramstrom. Banfield ran
across the stripe alone in second. Connors
finished third over a smoking Bessette and Scott
Rotherforth.
Derek is tied for the
lead in the point standings with #51 Jeff
Connors. |
|
Sat. June 11th
|
The Slack Auto Parts 150
Gresham Motorsports Park
Jefferson, GA |
|
Derek 25th at
Gresham |
Qualified 24th.
Track drying took up most of the evening so that
the race started at 11:09. On lap 23
Haley, MacDonald and
Ramstrom get together out of Turn 4. Derek
pitted on lap 25.
Moved up to 25th place and
ran there for the rest of the race. |
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News & Notes:
East Schedule Speeds Up -
HERE
Fast
Track Will Be Second Of
Three-Consecutive Race Weeks
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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
– The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is
headed to Georgia for the second year in
a row with the Slack Auto Parts 150 on
Saturday, June 11 at Gresham Motorsports
Park.
The
recently-renovated facility in
Jefferson, Ga., welcomed the K&N Pro
Series East for the first time in August
2010. After a wild race that saw Ty
Dillon escape with the victory, the
track announced soon after that they
would bring NASCAR’s top developmental
series for a return engagement at the
fast half mile.
Dillon, pole winner
Kevin Swindell and late-race leader Ryan
Truex will not be at Gresham this week,
leaving the door open for a whole new
group to contend for the checkered flag,
and there will be plenty of candidates.
The season’s first five events have
produced four different race winners
from three different teams.
Like when Brett
Moffitt competed at Iowa Speedway in
May, Max Gresham will have the pressure
this week to capture the checkers at his
home track. Gresham’s father, Tony, is a
track administrator while his
grandfather, Jim, owns the facility. And
like Moffitt, he’ll look to celebrate in
Victory Lane in front of the hometown
crowd. Gresham finished 12th in last
year’s event.
Gresham will
have plenty of competition for the win
as the 2011 season has proved to be very
competitive with just 100 points
separating the top six in the standings.
Three of those positions belong to X
Team Racing, which earned its first win
last week at Bowman Gray Stadium with
Matt DiBenedetto. Moffitt will also look
to bounce back from an incident at
Bowman Gray that dropped him from the
championship lead to 34 points out.
Full
Story
HERE
|
|
LIVE: K&N East At Gresham
-
HERE
For the Event Schedule,
Entry List, Practices, Qualifying,
Lap
by Lap, and Results |
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Derek and the
#32
at
Greeville-Pikens |
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Sat. June 4th
- 8 PM |
The Army Strong 150
Bowman Gray Stadium
Winston-Salem, NC |
Dale
Quarterly is driving the #32 at Bowman Gray.
Dale has qualified 15th out of 27. |
NASCAR HOME TRACKS - DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR stock car touring racing
will return to historic Bowman Gray Stadium for
the first time in 15 years with the Army Strong
150 as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East makes its
debut at the venerable quarter mile on Saturday,
June 4.
With a NASCAR sanction that dates
to 1949 – the longest association running –
Bowman Gray overflows with history. The flat
track played host to 29 races from 1958-71 for
what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series. The winners list from those events
includes NASCAR Hall of Famers Bobby Allison,
Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Richard Petty.
While the track’s relationship goes back to
the beginning, the Army Strong 150 will mark the
first time in a decade and a half that a NASCAR
stock car touring series has visited ‘The
Madhouse.’ The last was a NASCAR Goody’s Dash
Series event on July 27, 1996 that saw Darryl
Murray take the checkered flag.
The main
stronghold of open wheel Modified racing in the
south for decades, Bowman Gray has welcomed the
NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour since 2005. |
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| News
& Notes: First East Trip To The Stadium
HERE |
| |
Statistical Advance: Army Strong 150
HERE
Analyzing
The K&N Pro Series East At Bowman Gray Stadium |
|
Thursday
Night Thunder - May 26th |
| Derek Scores a
2nd |
|
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Larry
Gelinas of Buxton, ME held off a determined
Derek Ramstrom to claim the 30-lap Super Late
Model checkers. The caution-free feature
appeared to be all Gelinas in the early stages
of the event as he rocketed off turn 2 on the
first lap to take the lead from Jeff Connors.
Derek Ramstrom advanced past Connors on the
third lap to take second. Beginning on lap 10,
Ramstrom steadily erased Gelinas’ sizeable
advantage. With five laps to go, Ramstrom looked
low to try and get a run past Gelinas but was
not able to make it work. Gelinas was able to
secure the victory over Ramstrom, Connors, Mike
O’Sullivan and Jim Banfield. |
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PASS 150 - Saturday, May 14th |
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Derek Wins the PASS 150 at Star |
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Derek's return to
Star Speedway in Epping, NH - the site
of his first PASS win back in July of
2008 in The All-Stars 200 - saw the #35
grab the lead on lap 148 and streak to
the win on the final restart in a wild
and just amazing race.
Derek
started 10th and settled in to racing at
mid-pack with some the other likely
winners: Johnny Clark #54, Ben Rowe #4,
and Scott Chubbuck #77. Up front Richie
Dearborn #33 had grabbed the lead at the
green and held on during restarts, one
of which followed Derek spinning in turn
three off the bumper of the #24. Back in
about 14th, Derek raced by slower cars
up to about eighth.
By lap 144
Chubbuck and Clark had gone by Dearborn,
now down on power with a cracked header.
Then the #17 of Travis Benjamin knocked
Dearborn into a spin and rammed the #33
to bring out a yellow. Derek advanced.
One lap after the restart led by
Chubbuck and Clark, Chubbuck had a flat
in turn two and took Clark along into
the outside dirt. Derek advanced to 3rd.
At the following restart Dearborn
suffered a flat in turn four and spins.
Derek zips by on the inside to take the
lead with the #73 of Joey Doiron moving
up into second.
On the final
green-white-checker restart at lap 148,
Derek pulls ahead while Ben Rowe tags
Doiron in the back on lap 149 and Lonnie
Sommerille
#48 taps Doiron in turn
four on the last lap, sending the #73
first into Rowe's #4 and then head on
into the main straight wall.
Derek takes the checkers .974 seconds
ahead of Rowe now with a flat
right
rear from the impact of the #73. Joey
Pole in the #97 sneaks through the main
straight wreck into 3rd while Lonnie
Sommerville claims 4th.
So in the
final six laps and three restarts, Derek
stays clean and makes the right moves to
head to a second Star Speedway Victory
Lane. |
|
|
Thursday
Night Thunder - May 12th |
| Derek Wins the
Thursday Opener |
TRACK RACE REPORT:
Pole
sitter Derek Ramstrom spun his tires on the
initial start of the Super Late Model feature
event dropping back to the fifth spot and
leaving Jeff Connors to lead. Larry Gelinas ran
in Connors’ tire tracks. George Bessette ran
comfortably in third. Ramstrom on the road to
recovery had passed Jim Banfield for fourth.
As
Gelinas continued to trail Connors, Ramstrom was
quickly making tracks back to the front. He made
quick work of Bessette and immediately ran down
Gelinas in second. A pair of laps later Ramstrom
was second. At halfway, he was mere car lengths
from leader Connors. When the duo crossed the
stripe to complete lap 18, they were
bumper-to-bumper. Gelinas had the best seat in
the house for the inevitable battle for the lead
in third. Bessette and Banfield had a battle of
their own for fourth.
Lapped traffic played into the hands of Connors
for several laps. With five laps remaining,
Ramstrom got alongside Connors. The teenager
made the pass look easy as he cruised back into
the lead. Once out front it was smooth sailing
for Ramstrom. Connors came home second followed
by Gelinas, Bessette and Banfield.
|
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 |
PASS North Season Opener
The PASS 150 at
Beech Ridge
.
Saturday - April 30th
.
After Leading,
a 26th
from a Broken Shock |
With chart
topping speed in the practice
sessions, Derek was ready to be a
contender in the PASS North opener
at Beech Ridge on April 30th.
In his heat, Derek grabbed a
second after a long battle with
Kelly Moore #47 and Scott Chubbuck
#77. The #35 was fast but a little
too tight to maneuver in traffic so
a couple of tweaks were applied
before the main.
Starting
from sixth, Derek moved up into the
top four quickly and into second by
lap 28. Down to 4th by lap 41 and
then back into second on lap 103,
Derek was part of a terrific race
for the top positions. During a
series of restarts following yellows
on laps 110, 112, and 113 took the
lead from Johnny Clark #54 and then
lost it to a charging Trevor Sanborn
in the #29.
Suddenly on lap
117 the #35 was high and slowing,
with the left front corner down. The
shock had broken and the suspension
was down with the bump rubber gone.
A stop in the pits for a try at a
repair and a couple of laps to see
if it could be raced showed it was
the end of the night for the #35.
Derek completed 120 laps for a 26th
place finishing spot.
Derek's
next PASS event will be at Star
Speedway on May 14th, the scene of
his win in the All-Stars 200 in July
of 2008.
- |
|
|
2011 NASCAR
K&N EAST SERIES SCHEDULE ON SPEED |
| |
Event
Date-----------Broadcast
Date---------------Track
Saturday, April 2 -- Thursday, April 28 --
Greenville Pickens Speedway
Saturday, April 16 -- Thursday, May 12 -- South
Boston Speedway
Thursday, April 28 -- Thursday, May 19 --
Richmond Int'l Raceway
Saturday, May 21 -- Thursday, June 2 -- Iowa
Speedway - Combo
Saturday, June 4 -- Thursday, June 9 -- Bowman
Gray Stadium
Saturday, June 11 -- Thursday, June 16 --
Gresham Motorsports Park
Saturday, June 18 -- Thursday, June 30 --
Langley Speedway
Friday,
July 15 -- Thursday, July 28 -- New Hampshire
Motor Speedway
Saturday, July 23 -- Thursday, Aug. 4 --
Columbus Motor Speedway
Monday,
Sept. 5 -- Thursday, Sept. 15 -- Greenville
Pickens Speedway
Friday,
Sept. 23 -- Thursday, Sept. 29 -- New Hampshire
Motor Speedway
Friday,
Sept. 30 -- Thursday, Oct. 6 -- Dover
International Speedway |
|
“Double
Header” with the NASCAR
Whelen Southern
Modified Tour |
The South Boston 150
South Boston Speedway
South Boston, VA
Sat. April
16th |
|
10th for Derek at
SoBo |
Derek started 17th in a field of 30 and had a
clean run up to
10th. After two events, Derek
stands 14th in points. |
The Ramstrom Racing team packed their
bags for the long drive to South Boston for the
K&N Series race, only to find out it had been
postponed a day due to tornados in the area.
The racing program was really shortened,
which unfortunately made for a very short
practice time for Derek. The 45 minutes of track
time allowed Derek to let the team know that he
was fighting a tight race car. Crew Chief Dale
Quarterley made some adjustments just in time
for Derek for time trials. Although Derek was
not unhappy with his time trial, he feels he
could have done better if he didn't have to back
out in the 4th turn.
Derek started
17th on the grid and held his own for the first
120 or so laps. Derek said the car was tight all
day and he just tried to keep out of trouble.
Derek finished in the 10th spot in his second
K&N race of the season. Derek said that he is
working with a new team and the chemistry is
great and he is really pleased with a top ten
finish.
The next race
for the Ramstrom Racing team will be the PASS
race at Beech Ridge this Saturday the 30th of
April. Derek said he is really looking forward
to racing the PASS car because it has been
overhauled during the winter and it is basically
a "new" car. |
| - |
NASCAR HOME TRACKS - Race
Page & Results:
HERE
NASCAR HOME
TRACKS - Statistical Advance:
HERE
SOBO 150 News and
Notes:
HERE
NASCAR K&N Pro Series
East History:
HERE
|
|
 |
| |
|
Derek 9th at the
Icebreaker |
TRACK REPORT:
From the drop of the green flag in the
ICEBREAKER Super Late Model main event there was
a three-car battle for the top spot between
Larry Gelinas, Mike O’Sullivan and Derek
Ramstrom. Ramstrom moved from the third position
to the lead by lap five; leaving O’Sullivan and
Gelinas to battle it out for second. O’Sullivan
was able to get the advantage. Behind Gelinas,
Norm Wrenn and Jim Banfield vied for the fourth
spot.
Hard contact for Michael Rivard
necessitated a caution on lap 16. Ramstrom took
the outside groove on the restart; easily
retaining his lead. Norm Wrenn got out of shape
opening the door for Banfield. O’Sullivan looked
like he was going to make a bid on Ramstrom when
mechanical failure sent Ramstrom to the infield.
Super Late Model
(Top-Ten) Feature Finish: Mike
O’Sullivan, Springfield, MA; 2. Larry Gelinas,
Buxton, ME; 3. Norm Wrenn, Nashua, NH; 4. Jim
Banfield, S. Glastonbury, CT; 5. Jeff Connors,
Ellington, CT; 6. Mike Brightman, Acushnet, MA;
7. Dave Silvia, Warwick, RI; 8. Scott
Rutherford, Glastonbury, CT;
9. Derek Ramstrom,
Worcester, MA; 10. Mike Rivard, N.
Scituate, RI. |
|
|
|
The
Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150
Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville, SC
Sat. April
2nd |
| |
|
|
Derek Qualifies 7th
and Finishes 16th
at the K&N Pro Series East
Opener |
| |
The
Ramstrom Racing team headed south on April 2nd
for a second time to race the K&N Pro Series
East race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in
South Carolina. The team went the weekend before
and enjoyed a little R&R during three days of
rain.
Derek took a few rounds of
practice in the #32 Van Dyk Baler Corp. - Matthews
Truck Service Chervrolet under the watchful eye
of crew chief Dale Quarterly. Derek struggled in
practice but felt the car was ready for
qualifying. Qualifying for the Kevin Whitaker
Chevrolet 150 was excellent for Derek, as he ran
a 20.831 sec. lap to start in the 7th position.
At the green Derek got a good start and held
positon. He raced hard but patiently and never
fell out of the top 10 for most of the race. But
on lap 138 the #32 was turned around by a rookie
who overdrove his car into turn 1. Derek had to
start at the rear of the lead pack, remaining on
the lead lap.
Derek wound up finishing
16th. The team was really pleased with this
performance in the season opener.
- |
|
Trackside Now coverage at
Speed51
Results Here |
|
| K&N
PRO SERIES EAST SEASON OPENER |
NASCAR HOME
TRACKS - Stat Advance:
Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 PAGE HERE |
DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. – The 25th season of competition for
the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will commence
with the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at
Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on Saturday,
March 26.
Up to
Speed:
• The 2011 season will be the
25th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. The
inaugural event was a combination race with the
NASCAR Nationwide Series at Darlington Raceway
on March 28, 1987. The first stand-alone race
was held at Oxford Plains Speedway on April 26.
• There will not be a title defense in 2011 as
Ryan Truex – the 2009 and 2010 champion – has
moved up to the NNS with Pastrana-Waltrip
Racing. Last year’s championship runner-up,
Brett Moffitt, has moved from Joe Gibbs Racing
to take over for Truex at Michael Waltrip
Racing.
• Six of the top 10 finishers in the
2010 season standings will return full-time in
2011. Two of the four not returning, Truex and
Cole Whitt, moved up to national series rides.
• New to the 2011 NKNPS East schedule is the
inaugural stand-alone race for the series at
Richmond International Raceway and the first
trips to historical NASCAR weekly tracks Bowman
Gray Stadium, Columbus Motor Speedway and
Langley Speedway.
• NASCAR lowered the
minimum competition age for drivers to 15 across
all touring divisions. Chase Elliott will
attempt to be the first driver to compete at the
age of 15 this weekend at Greenville Pickens
Speedway. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| BUSY 2011 SEASON COMING
TOGETHER |
The Ramstrom Racing Team is patiently
waiting for the snow to melt in New England. OK
not patiently waiting. They are gearing up to
head south for their first race in the 2011
campaign.
Derek and the Ramstrom Racing
Team have partnered up with veteran racer Dale
Quarterly to run a limited schedule in
NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series
East. Derek and Quarterly will share the
driver's seat for the season, having the
multi-talented Quarterly crew chief Derek when
he’s behind the wheel. The first race for the
Ramstrom team is the K&N Pro Series East race at
Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South
Carolina. This race is being run on Saturday,
March 26th.
Derek’s schedule is extremely
busy in 2011, his plans are to run 35 races this
season. In addition to the K&N races Derek’s
plans include running all the
Super Late Model races at
Thompson Speedway, in an effort to win a
third title in the Super Late Model Division.
The teams plans also include a number of
races in the PASS Series.
Derek has always run well in Pass and looks
forward to racing against what he considers “the
best drivers in New England”.
For more
information check out the following websites.
www.thompsonspeedway.com,
www.proallstarsseries.com, and
www.nascarhometracks.com. |
|
|
|
NASCAR To Feature Live Race Audio
Webcasts allow fans to
follow the action of their favorite series |
By Jason Christley,
NASCAR
February 23, 2011 - 5:03pm
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR announced today
that NASCARHomeTracks.com will feature live
internet radio broadcasts of 32 touring series
events.
NASCARHomeTracks.com is
NASCAR.com’s official home for touring and
weekly series news and results. The live radio
broadcasts will be provided by the team from
Speed 51 Radio, headed by SPEED announcer Bob
Dillner.
The broadcasts will feature
flag-to-flag coverage of many of the top events
in NASCAR’s touring series.
“This is a
tremendous opportunity to bring the racing
action at our short tracks to fans across North
America,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR
managing director of racing operations. “There
is no substitute for being at the race track,
but this is yet another avenue for fans to
follow their favorite drivers and series
wherever they may be.”
"This is a unique
opportunity NASCAR is providing its fans, teams
and marketing partners and we are excited to be
part of it,” Dillner said. “I was there for the
inaugural NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season
back in 1985 and we (Speed 51 Radio) all have a
lot of experience with each of the touring
series. We all have a passion for this and we
hope that is portrayed this year on the NASCAR
Hometracks Radio broadcasts."
2011 NASCARHomeTracks.com Radio Schedule HERE |
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