World Series WIN! - Oct. 19th
The
#35 Ramstrom Racing Team headed to CT for the
final race of the 2008 season, The World Series
of Racing. This is a huge three day event with a
car count of 338 in all divisions.
Rick and a few of the crew members were knocking
on the pit gate early Friday morning, hoping to
get a good parking spot for the hauler. Derek
arrived after school and took a few practice
laps. He felt the car was handling really well
and he thought it was fast. Saturday brought a
couple more rounds of practice and the Pro Stock
heat race. The team was hoping the car would run
faster in the cold weather and they were right,
Derek won the heat race.
Sunday brought even more cold weather as well as
a lot of excitement. Derek started outside pole
and made quick work of taking the lead from pole
sitter Jeff Connors. Connors retaliated and took
the position away from Derek on lap 8. A restart
on lap 11 gave Derek a chance to get to Connors
side once again. After a fierce two lap battle
Derek was able to pass Connors coming out of
turn 4 and take off. Derek led the rest of the
30 lap feature and took the checkers for the
final time in 2008. Derek was really happy with
the setup, claiming the car hadn’t been that
fast all year.
The Ramstrom Racing Team is thrilled with the
year they had. Derek won 4 races at Thompson,
his rookie year, and he got his first PASS win
at All-Star Speedway. This was clearly a break
though season for the team and they have already
taken the car off the hauler and are beginning
to prepare for the 2009 season. Derek and the
entire #35 Ramstrom Racing Team would like to
thank all their sponsors for the support this
year. Derek would also like to thank all his
fans, he sees you when he is racing at Thompson
and your support truly motivates him.
We will update the site with 2009 racing
information as soon as it becomes available. |
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7th Place at The FALL BRAWL
PASS Championship Weekend -
Wiscasset Raceway - Oct. 4th
Derek's
Final PASS North
2008 Points Standings - 7th
(counting 12 best finishes of 14 races)
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10th Place at the PASS 300
A solid run to a Top 10 in the longest race of the PASS
season. 300 laps of Beech Ridge are quite a test of the
car, the pit crew, and the driver. The #35 didn't have
the speed of the top running SLMs, but Derek battled
through the traffic and kept on after contact with a car
stopping short in front of the #35 dramatically deranged
the nose. Hard rain shortened the race by 5 laps.
A post race inspection of the top five and of all the
other competitors in the top ten in points was the next
hurdle. The #35 passed the engine and fuel examinations
AOK and picked up a spot as the #4 car did not.
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 9/25
5th place - 5th in points
standings
Thursday the 25th of September brought the last points
race for Thompson Speedway. Derek went into the race 5th
in points, 30 back from the leader. Before the race
Derek was awarded
“Most Popular Driver”,
an accolade given by the Thompson Speedway fans. Derek
won this vote by a large margin, The Ramstrom Team is
very proud of him.
Derek also won
“Driver of the Month” for July,
in the PASS Series.
This award was given to him by Mainely Motor Sports.
Derek is also on the list to win
“Most Popular Driver” on the
website Speed51. This
website is one of the best motorsport sites around with
continuous up to date information on tracks, series and
drivers. Go to
www.speed51.com and vote for Derek, under the PASS
North division. You can vote once a day.
The last race of the season at Thompson proved to be yet
another heart breaker. Derek started second in the
feature after finishing second in the heat. Derek, the
#48 of Fred Astle and the #1M of Norm Wrenn gave the
fans an exciting Pro Stock race. The #48 took the lead
for a few laps while Derek and Wrenn battle it out for
second. They swapped positions a few times, including
the lead. There were many cautions, giving the fans a
thrill but causing a few gray hairs on the #35 team as
the #35 and #48 battle it out for the lead. During any
long green run Derek was to take the lead and pull away
from the others, at one point having a 5 car lead on the
second place race car. Following yet another caution, at
lap 22, the #35 and the #48 were once again fighting for
the lead in turns three and four when Derek either got
loose, tangled with the 48 or was hit from behind and he
spun. He was very lucky that most of the cars behind him
were able to stop and the damage was kept to a right
front flat. Derek pitted and the team changed the tire
under caution. Derek was able to get back on the track
and made some good time, finishing in the 7th position.
The Ramstrom Racing team is extremely proud of Derek,
having finished 5th in
points his rookie year at Thompson International
Speedway. The points chase
is over but Derek has one more chance to make it to
Victory Lane.
The biggest race that Thompson Speedway hosts is the
“World Series of Racing”. This weekend of racing
consists of 14 divisions of racing and promises to be
one of the best weekends of racing in New England.
For more information go to
www.thompsonspeedway.com.
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 9/18
8th place
The Ramstrom Racing Team headed to Thompson Speedway on
Thursday, the 18th of September feeling confident that
the outcome would be good, having been on the receiving
end of some bad luck for a few weeks. Derek practiced
the car and thought the set up was good. The #35 started
on the pole for the heat race. Going into turn three on
lap 1 Derek was punted from behind by the second place
car. Derek hit the wall really hard and the car had to
be cradled by two wreckers back to the pits. The
Ramstrom crew did an outstanding job putting the car
back together and made it out for the feature. Derek
finished 8th, a result the team was very happy with,
considering the significant damage done in the heat
race.
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11th place
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 9/11
5th place
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TRACK WEBSITE REPORT:
Jeff Connors of
Ellington,
CT,
led green-to-checker to score his first win of
the 2008 season. The opening lap of the
30-lapper was marred by an incident that took
out contenders George Bessette, Norm Wrenn, Ron
Yuhas, Jr. and others. On the restart, Connors
was able to grab the lead from Jeff Zuidema.
Dave Berghman immediately began to
pressure Zuidema for second. Ramstrom, in turn,
was now looking under Berghman. Neither was able
to make the pass. Fred Astle and O’Sullivan were
going at it for the sixth spot.
All battles ceased on lap 9 for a single-car
spin involving Derek Ramstrom. A few laps later,
Chris Magee made hard contact with the outside
wall on the backstretch but green flag racing
remained.
Shortly after, Berghman was able to
take over the second position from Zuidema.
During the extended green flag run, Berghman
began to chase down Connors. Zuidema continued
to fade as he lost positions to Macedonio and
O’Sullivan. Ramstrom was already back, knocking
on the door of the top five at lap 23.
The final dash to the checkers was set up
after an incident that involved Astle and Andy
Johnson.
On the single file restart, Connors
was easily able to retain his lead. Zuidema fell
off the pace. Connors scored a popular victory
over Berghman and O’Sullivan. Macedonio and
Ramstrom completed the top five.
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 8/28
4th place
Pro Stock Points Top 10 at 8/28
POS. - CAR # - FIRST NAME - LAST
NAME - POINTS
1 - 48 FRED ASTLE, JR - 432
2 - 1M NORMAN WRENN - 422
3 - 14 JAY MACEDONIO - 414
4 - 15 GEORGE BESSETTE - 406
5 - 08 MICHAEL O'SULLIVAN - 404
6 - 35 DEREK RAMSTROM - 392
7 - 13 JAMES BANFIELD - 330
8 - 11 DAVID BERGHMAN - 324
9 - 36 DAVE SILVIA - 322
10 - 51 JEFF CONNORS - 314 |
Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 8/21
15th place |
Wiscasset Raceway - Sunday, 8/17 - 30th
Tough day at the Tundra 250. After a win in heat #4,
early in the 250 Derek was hit in the right rear and
driven hard into the back straight wall with the #35
suffering major damage.
PASS NORTH
FINISH ORDER & REPORT HERE
Johnny Clark Makes Good on Favorite Tag
at Wiscasset 250 By Mike Twist
It's a $30k Payday in PASS North
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 8/14
with
BUDWEISER WMT 150L Special
15th Place
Be careful what you wish for! The #35 Ramstrom
Race team was praying for Mother Nature to cooperate and
after a torrential storm early in the day it dried up.
Thompson Speedway did an outstanding job drying the
track after about an inch of rain fell in a half an
hour. The Whelan Modified Tour was on hand and practice
times were somewhat limited. Derek took the #35 out for
practice and a few adjustments were made.
During the warm up laps Derek was coming out of turn
two, cleaning the tires when something in the front end
snapped causing him to lose control. His car leaped into
the back stretch wall causing substantial damage to the
front end. Derek pitted before the green was shown and
the crew determined that he should just attempt to run
it, although it was evident he would be unable to be
competitive. Derek made it 28 laps and decided to pull
the car behind the wall as he was concerned his low
speeds could be a hazard to the other competitors.
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12th for Derek at the
Atlantic CAT 250
at Scotia Speedworld, Halifax, NS
The weekend's journey started out
with the #35 Ramstrom Race Team heading down
to Thompson International Speedway. After
our arrival, the weather did not co-operate
and the race ended up being cancelled. We
traveled back to West Boylston to switch to
our PASS car and started the long drive to
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
We arrived on Friday in time for a practice
and heat race that could not occur due to
rain. That pushed everything to Saturday. We
finished 3rd in the heat race. That gave us
a starting position of 12th for the 250
Green Flag Race. Derek worked his way up to
5th, when he made a pit stop on lap 128. In
short order, Derek felt he a problem with
his right front wheel, and he had to pit
again under a green. Unfortunately, this
caused him to lose four laps and he ended up
placing 12th overall.
Please be sure to join us down at Thompson,
August 14th for the Thursday Night Thunder
Race in which Derek is the point leader.
In addition, Saturday and Sunday August 16th
and 17th we will be in Wiscasset Maine for
the Toyota Tundra 250, we would love to see
you there! |
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Thursday
Thunder - Thompson - 8/7
Rained Out |
Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 7/31
2nd to Mike O'Sullivan after a
rain delay.
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Derek WINS His 1ST
PASS Race
The ALL-STARS 200
Derek
took his
first PASS win over Mike Rowe in 2nd (#2, right) and Ben Rowe in
3rd (#4, left).
TRACKSIDE NOW RACE REPORT HERE
All-Star Proves Heartwarming for Ramstrom,
Heartbreaking for Clark
Mike Twist SPEED51 Race Story HERE
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3rd Place for Derek!
Race shortened to 131 laps by
rain.
1st - Johnny
Clark 2nd - Travis Benjamin
More at
Green-White-Checker
HERE
Speed51 Race Report
HERE
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 7/24
Rained Out |
Derek Heading North to Oxford Plains for
TD Banknorth 250 on Sun. 7/20
Will drive a car owned by
Seekonk (MA) Speedway regular Denny Stampfl of Norwood,
MA.
FULL STORY
RACE RECAP STORY
Derek drew a starting spot of 5th in Heat 2.
His best Saturday practice time of 16.65 put Derek tied
for 42nd fastest out of 86 cars present.
Derek makes the race!! with a
finish of
3rd in Heat 2
and is locked into a starting spot
of 14th out of 42.
Full Grid Chart HERE
Repeated rain showers on
Sunday forced the race over to Monday where fans and
competitors faced yet another 3 1/2 rain delay which
moved the race start to 7:30.
Derek posted a 16th place finish
after battling back from spins at lap 9 and around lap
240. Derek was up into 12th at lap 98.
Follow the full race progress at Speed51's
LIVE
RACE UPDATES HERE
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Thursday Thunder - Thompson - 7/17
USG
50 Lap Pro Stock Special Event
Top 3: Fred Astle Jr., Derek 2nd,
& Norm Wren
Courchesne
Story HERE
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Derek from Last to
the Front
at the Full Fender Frenzy 75 |
 5th
place for Derek after Martin penalized and Ben
Rowe
declared the winner. Contending for the win,
Derek is
pushed into the grass and into the wall in
"Physical PASS
Feature" at Thompson on 7-12.
Courchesne
Story HERE
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It's Rowe....No,
Martin....No, Rowe....at Thompson
By Mike Twist
Green-White-Checkers, Restarts and Rough
Driving Produce PASS Drama
“I feel bad for Ramstrom,” said Clark.
“From my angle, he got used up pretty bad.”
“The #14 [Martin] ran him all over the
place,” said Rowe. “The #35 [Ramstrom] was
clearly the best car and the #14 didn't want
to give it up. Rick is hard; he's one hard,
hell of a racer.”
Ramstrom didn't
hide his disappointment after the race. “It
was tough…this is my favorite track,” said
Ramstrom, who unofficially finished fifth.
“We've had three consecutive wins here and
everything was going good. I wish we could
have got this one because it would have been
bigger. It would have been my first PASS
Super Late Model win and it would have meant
a lot.”
and it would have
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PASS
Race Report
Ben Rowe Declared
Full Fendered Frenzy Winner
NAPLES, ME, JULY 14, 2008
– The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) North super
late models made their annual trip to Thompson
International Speedway Saturday night for a 75
lap shootout and The Full Fendered Frenzy
definitely lived up to its billing. The wild
night featured great racing, two attempts at a
green, white, checkered finish and a post race
ruling by PASS officials that declared Ben Rowe
the event winner. Although Rick Martin took the
checkers first, he was penalized for jumping the
final green flag and relegated to second place
in the official order of finish.
Martin took the lead at the initial green with
Trevor Sanborn in tow. The duo was able to pull
away from the pack early on. A lap six restart
allowed Sanborn to take away the top spot for
three laps before Martin regained the point.
Sanborn continued to challenge Martin and retook
the lead on a lap fifty restart. Sanborn’s lead
would once again be short lived as the bumps in
turn one sent him skating up the track ,allowing
Martin and local PASS stand out Derek Ramstrom
by for first and second. Ramstrom’s run through
the field was well received by the Thompson
faithful, who have witnessed three consecutive
weekly super late model wins by the West
Boylston Massachusetts teenager.
Ramstrom and Martin put on
a fearsome battle for the lead, but Martin
slammed the door on Ramstroms’ repeated attempts
to make a move on the bottom. The first green,
white, checkered attempt of the night proved to
be Ramstrom’s undoing; Martin moved up the
speedway , making contact with Ramstrom who in
turn made contact with the concrete, ending a
great run that could easily have resulted in
Ramstroms’ first PASS North victory.
The second green, white, checkered attempt saw
Martin jump out in the lead with teammates Ben
Rowe and Trevor Sanborn in hot pursuit. When the
checkers flew the unofficial top five were
Martin, Rowe, Johnny Clark, Sanborn, and
Ramstrom. But Martin’s two car length jump prior
to the drop of the green prompted series
officials to declare the finish unofficial and
the resulting review reversed the top two in the
order of finish.
Naples ME (July
14, 2008)
Statement PASS President Tom Mayberry
concerning the PASS super
late model finish at Thompson International
Speedway on Saturday July 12.
“One of the signature procedures of the Pro All
Stars Series is great race restarts, side by
side, with the flagman always starting the race.
This is to provide a professional show for the
fans and the competitors.
After reviewing this event it was determined
that the #14 car of Rick Martin had numerous
borderline restarts. On the final restart at lap
74, with no respect for PASS race procedures or
his fellow competitors, he left on his own with
a two car length lead. As all the drivers were
told in the drivers’ meeting, you cannot steal a
finish by jumping the restart. We felt his
jumping of the restart cost any other driver a
chance of winning and cost the fans an exciting,
side by side finish.
Therefore, after careful review and much
consideration we have penalized the #14 of Rick
Martin one position and there will be a
significant fine. We feel this action is
necessary to maintain the integrity of our
restart procedures.”
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RAMSTROM
RACING TEAM
Race
Report
The Ramstrom Racing Team
had their work cut out for them Saturday night
at Thompson Speedway following a rollercoaster
ride that gave gray hairs to more than a few
crew members.
The team arrived at the track with the car that
Derek runs at Thompson every Thursday night to
display on the midway, along with the PASS race
car. Derek ran a couple of practice runs and
thought the car was handling well. Having won
three Pro Stock features at Thompson had the
team feeling upbeat. Waiting for the elusive
PASS feature win had the team feeling cautiously
optimistic. Derek was ready to head out for
another round of practice when the car failed to
start. The team worked feverishly to get it
started and missed qualifying. As luck would
have it Derek had his Thompson car on the midway
and he drove it to the pit area to prepare it
for the PASS feature. With literally minutes to
spare the team figured out the ignition problem
and the car fired up.
.
Derek was to start at the rear of the field for
missing qualifying. Derek showed his ability to
work the big 5/8 mile speedway and began passing
cars and was in the second place by lap 52
behind the #14 car of Rick Martin. Derek battled
him, trying to get by and on lap 65 Derek tucked
under him coming out of turn four and Martin
turned into him, sending him in the grass. Derek
held on and kept fighting, trying desperately to
make a clean pass Lap 64 brought out a caution
and Derek tried to take him on the restart but
he was sent high into the marbles coming out of
turn 4. Derek caught what the team thought was a
final lucky break when another caution flew at
lap 74. This final restart was anything but
fortuitous as Derek was once again bounced off
the fence and he was sent back to the fifth
position with no possibility for a win in the 75
lap feature.
Derek climbed out of the #35 machine following
the race knowing he ran the absolute best and
cleanest race he could. Many well respected PASS
veteran drivers said that Derek ran a fantastic
race, and sometimes hearing those words mean
more to a young driver than a win.
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Derek Battles for the Lead
before a
Driveline Failure Drops the #35 to 20th
Speed51 race report by Mike Twist-
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Derek Keeps Up The Domination
In Thompson Pro Stocks
3rd Win in a Row!
Story at the Shawn Courchesne Courant.com Racing Blog
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Sunday, June
22nd, was a very short day for Ramstrom Racing. On lap four
of Derek's heat, the motor made a pop and the power went
away. Derek rolled around at the end of the pack for the
remainder of the heat. Pulling the valve covers revealed an
out of position push rod and a bent valve.
It looks like the Thompson car will have to be entered in
the All-Stars 200 on Saturday, June 28th so that the PASS
North points chase can continue. |
CHARTER NIGHT AT THOMPSON
Thursday, June 19th
2 IN A ROW FOR DEREK!
"Derek Ramstrom has found
victory lane at Thompson International Speedway. And he
doesn't want to give it back.
For the second consecutive week the 16-year old high
school sophomore from Worcester, Mass. won the 30-lap Pro
Stock feature at Thompson Thursday."
Story at the Shawn Courchesne Courant.com Racing Blog
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Thompson Race Report:
Crowd favorite Derek Ramstrom of
Worcester,
MA,
pulled his Charter Communications #35 into Pro Stock
victory lane for the second straight week. George
Bessette took the lead from polesitter Jim Banfield
on lap four. Jay Macedonio cleared Banfield while
last week’s winner Ramstrom joined the top three.
Norm Wrenn was reeling in
the trio as the race approached halfway.
Macedonio peeked inside of
Bessette exiting each corner. Ramstrom applied
similar pressure to Macedonio as the three cars
battled at the head of the field.
Ramstrom got a run on Macedonio on lap 17
but could not make the pass stick.
Lap after lap the top three
battled. Macedonio tried a move on leader Bessette
exiting turn two on lap 19. Macedonio bobbled;
slowing quickly. Contact with Ramstrom ended
Macedonio’s bid at the win.
On the restart, Ramstrom used the coveted
outside groove to take the top spot from Bessette on
lap 20. Fred Astle, Jr., who had been quiet to this
point in the race, moved by Wrenn and into third.
With five laps remaining,
Ramstrom had checked out on the field with Astle
making a bid on Bessette. Over the final laps,
Zuidema was getting racy for the fourth spot.
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Derek & Don Hoenig, the owner of
Thompson Speedway, are front page news on the June
22 edition of the
"Racin Paper" |
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Derek and Rick are
in a nice front page feature article of the local
West Boylston Paper
"The Banner"
HERE |
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THE WIN FOR DEREK!
at the 6/12 Thursday Night Thunder
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"It seems there's a new sheriff in
town when it comes to the Pro Stock division at Thompson
International Speedway."
"Ranstrom started on the pole and led every lap, easily
driving away at the end to notch his first win at
Thompson."
Story at the Shawn Courchesne Courant.com Racing Blog
Ramstrom Racing Report:
Last night was a great night at
Thompson International Speedway in Thompson CT for
the #35!
After winning his qualifying race earlier in the
evening, Derek sat on the pole (1st) to
start the feature race. Once the green flag dropped,
he never looked back becoming the youngest driver
(16) to win a feature race at Thompson International
Speedway. Much to the dismay of NASCAR , but to the
delight of the crowd, he was also the first driver
in the 77 year history of the track to do NASCAR
style victory burnouts on the track before he drove
to Victory Lane.
Next
week it is Charter/Derek Ramstrom night at Thompson
so Derek will have two cars there, he will be
signing autographs for the fans and hopefully be
putting the #35 in back Victory Lane once
again.
If you have never been to a race,
next week would be a great time to go!
In addition, anyone who has been
thinking that they would like a
sponsorship/advertising spot on the #35 and/or the
hauler, space has been filling up fast since this
win. To reserve a space for you and your company,
you can contact Rick Ramstrom via phone
(1-508-853-6606) or
email
Ramstromracing@yahoo.com
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| MAY 29TH
THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER |
Thompson International Speedway began it’s
official TNT (Thursday Night Thunder) May 29th
following the rain out the week before.
Derek started third in the heat and moved
quickly to second, settling down and finishing
second. The #35 started in the third position in
the feature and Derek made some quick work of
moving to the point position. For the next 15
laps Derek was hooked up with such a commanding
lead he was a full straight away from the second
place car. Praying for the race to stay green
wasn’t enough as a car hit the wall and brought
out the yellow. The track crew cleaned up the
oil that the car had leaked and put down Speedy
Dry betweens turn 1 and 2.
Derek was starting 1st with the #48 car in
second. The green flew and Derek was battling to
keep the lead when he slid in the Speedy Dry and
spun out. Good news/bad news: He lost the lead
but keep the car from hitting anything. With
only a handful of laps left and the brakes going
away Derek didn’t have time to get to the front.
The Ramstrom Racing Team was thrilled with the
run that Derek had. His rookie season in a Pro
Stock at Thompson is looking promising.
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150 Laps
at White Mntn. - 7th Place
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The Ramstrom Racing
Team headed north again on May 24th for a
PASS North race at White Mountain
Motorsports Park.
The team had worked
really hard during the week to put the car
back together after a tough race at
Wiscassett the week before.
Derek finally
caught some luck and got a good start in the
heat race and he finished second. Derek
liked the setup and handling of the car
during the heat race and only minor
adjustments were made.
The #35
Ramstrom Racing machine started the feature
race in the 5th
position and Derek did a great job keeping
it in the front for the first 125 laps.
Around lap 125 the
car was obviously wounded and Derek was
struggling badly trying to keep it from
going backward.
He held on very well
and fought off a lot of hard charging racers
to finish in the 7th
position.
Once the car was
brought home and torn down it was discovered
that the right front shock was completely
destroyed, making Derek’s run all the more
impressive.
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125 Laps
at Wiscasset - 16th Place
May 18th at
Wiscasset was a rough day for Ramstrom Racing. A
draw for the last spot in the heat, a tangle
with another car and a last place finish in the
heat, and starting last for the feature were
just the beginning of the #35's troubles.
At the green Derek was on the move and after a
couple of laps was by 6 or 7 of the 24 starters.
By midrace - and after a Lucky Dog to get back
onto the lead lap - Derek restarted after one of
the yellows in 9th.
Then two separate incidents damaged and
redamaged the nose requiring multiple pit stops
for repairs. Derek kept running but off the pace
to
record a 16th place finish and fall to 12th in
the points standings. |
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Photos by Chris Roy,
Jamie WIliams,
and Norm Marx |
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How I Spent My Summer
Vacation
Actually, Derek Ramstrom probably
looks at racing more like summer school.
By Chris Roy - May/June 2008 Issue of ShortTrack
Magazine
www.shorttrackonline.net
Derek Ramstrom is a sophomore at St. Peter-Marian
Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Worcester,
Mass. Like a typical boy his age, he goes to school,
likes to hang out with his friends, plays paintball,
goes snowboarding, and loves riding his dirt bike. And
like most of his friends he doesn't have his driver's
license quite yet.
But that doesn't stop him from driving almost every
weekend from March through November.
Derek Ramstrom has been driving race cars since he was
six years old. He started racing quarter midgets in 1997
at the "Little T" at Thompson Speedway, the track that
has produced racers who have gone on to success in
NASCAR's Camping World East Series and Whelen Modified
Series, plus NEMA Midgets, ISMA Supermodifieds and
weekly racers across the region.
Always a quick learner, Ramstrom won three different
championships in 1998; the Thompson Speedway Quarter
Midgets Series, the Quarter Midgets Northeast Regional
Series, and the Silver City Championship. He competed
and remained champion of all three divisions until 2003
when he became the Quarter Midget National Series
Champion. In 2004, Ramstrom won his second-straight
Quarter Midgets National Series championship before
graduating to the Allison Legacy Series.
After a solid 2005 in the Allison cars, Derek stepped up
to the Pro All-Stars Series Outlaw Late Model Division
for the 2006 season. He competed in both the Central
(New Hampshire) and North Divisions (Maine), and won the
first Central Division race at Canaan Fair Speedway in
July. He went on to compete in all the races in both
divisions with the objective of
getting as much seat time as he could. It paid off as
Ramstrom became the first PASS Outlaw Combo Series
Champion at the age of 14.
As the 2007 race season approached Derek and his dad,
Rick, decided to move up to PASS Super Late Model
Series. At age 16 Derek became the youngest driver ever
to compete in the division.
"Being the youngest driver in PASS is very challenging,"
admits Ramstrom, "because I have to show everybody that
is associated with PASS that I am able to compete at
their level and to earn their respect.
In the biggest race of the PASS Season, "The PASS 400
Weekend," at Beech
Ridge Motor Speedway, Ramstrom took giant steps in that
direction. After losing a lap with a tire-problem on lap
two, Ramstrom came back strongly to finish third.
A solid rookie season ended with a seventh in series
points, six top tens, and the Most Improved Driver Award
at the annual Banquet. In three trips to the PASS South
Super Late Model Series, Derek had two top tens,
including a third at Greenville Pickens, SC.
"Our plans for 2008 are to run the full PASS North Super
Late Model schedule," Ramstrom declares, "as many PASS
South Series as the budget allows, and we are going to
run all the Thompson weekly Thursday night shows and try
to claim the championship, which is very exciting since
it's my local home track and I love the big fast
five-eighths mile."
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Saturday, May 3rd - Speedway 95, Hermon, ME
RAINED OUT
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51’s Short Track Draft -The Original -The
Underclassmen
"Our Panel
Of 30-Plus Picks The Top-51 Short Track Racing
Prospects - Under 18 Years Of Age"
THE #6 PICK: Derek
Ramstrom
FULL STORY HERE
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Season Opener
- 9th Place
"THE CABIN FEVER 150"
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Derek made progress towards the front as the race unfolded,
missing a variety of tangles that had the yellow out more
than a dozen times.
The 9th place finish was a the result of a cool head and a
steady drive.
“The Cabin Fever 150”, PASS North’s season opener had Mother
Nature on its side. The weather couldn’t have been better,
both Friday and Saturday.
The Ramstrom team headed north on Friday hoping to get a
little practice time in. They arrived at the track, took
some practice laps at which point Derek noticed that the car
wasn’t quite where he wanted it to be. It seemed to be a
little sluggish so a great deal of time was put into getting
horsepower into the motor. The team arrived on Saturday,
with some reinforcements and went to work trying to tweak
the carb and fuel pump situation.
Derek started last in the heat and spun the car on the first
lap, not drawing a caution but really losing a great deal of
distance from the lead cars. Rick decided to run the heat as
a practice and just worry about getting the car into the
consi. Once again Derek started last in the consi and had to
finish 7th or better to make the feature race. He did well
and made it into the feature with a 6th.
The #35 machine was starting 27th in the feature (out of 31)
and had a ton of work to do to get to the front. Derek
wasn’t too happy with the setup and the car began getting a
little hot so he pitted and the team took out a spring
rubber and took some tape off to try and cool it down. Back
on the track and at the rear of the field Derek began
inching his way to the front. He said on the radio that the
car was sputtering on and off and obviously that was a major
concern to the team.
At that point the team was just hoping to finish the race
but Derek had an outstanding run, avoided a ton of crashes,
had excellent restarts and ended up finishing 9th. A stellar
performance from Derek and the entire Ramstrom Team.
The next PASS North race is at Speedway 95 on Saturday, May
3rd. Derek begins his weekly run at Thompson Speedway on
Thursday, May 22nd. |
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