10/15/2014
Ramey Takes On Two Weeks of Special Events
(Photo by Hale Photography)
SWEET SPRINGS, Mo. – To close out his outdoor racing season, Gunner Ramey’s team made the trek from Sedalia, MO down Interstate 44 to Tulsa, OK and the city’s nationally-known race track that is Port City Raceway for two nights of action during the Pete Frazier Memorial, then was slated for action back near home in Sweet Springs, MO for the prominent Show-Me Showdown one week later.
Ramey started off the schedule on October 3 at Port City with a bad pill draw, starting him in the final grid position of the final heat race. The #28 car quickly moved up two spots, and when passing for fourth, disaster struck; the car he was looking to pass darted down to the low side of the track, forcing him into the berm. Ramey got up on two wheels and nearly flipped. He expertly navigated the car back to the ground on all fours, but was relegated to the pit area with moderate damage to the front end.
The crew quickly had the car ready to go for feature action, where Ramey would again have to climb from the back of the field, starting 20th of 21 cars. He picked off two cars on lap number one, and a three-car tangle on lap two moved him up another three cars for the restart. Running in 15th for five laps, a car got by him on lap 6. When a red flag emerged shortly later, Ramey was running 18th, but again, three cars ahead of him were involved, meaning he’d move back up to 15th. Upon the restart, an extended battle for 15th broke out, lasting nearly 15 laps. After a caution flag with one lap remaining, Ramey was in 14th spot for the green-white-checkered. A red on the ensuing start sent four cars either to the pit area or to the tail of the field; the Sedalia, MO racer moved into the top ten by default, and held the position for the final two laps, using patience to avoid trouble and waiting for others to make mistakes throughout the race to snag the final spot inside the top ten.
Back in action for the Frazier Memorial finale, Ramey had a much better draw to start the night off, rolling out P2 for his heat race. Early on in the heat, he raced side-by-side for the lead, eventually falling back, and when the rear end drifted a bit too far out, he dropped to fifth, where he’d finish the race.
14th is where the Honda-powered Cleveland Chassis would begin the feature race, but a red on the initial start bumped him up two markers to 12th. Ramey vaulted into the top 10 on when green-flag conditions resumed, but the car behind him was not satisfied. The pair contested a vigorous fight for the spot for several laps, before Ramey could no longer hold on. While he gave everything he could to repeat his top-ten finish, he fell one position short, and the crew headed back to Missouri with respectable 10th and 11th place finishes at the hotbed for micro sprint racing talent.
After a week of waiting, and the rain-forced cancellation of the Thursday and Friday portions of the Show-Me Showdown, Ramey was raring to go for Saturday’s events at Sweet Springs Motorsports Complex. The amended race format put the cars on the track first for group qualifying, where he stopped the clock 16th quick. He was then lined up front row out for the night’s first restrictor heat race. Ramey sailed to the lead through the first turn on the first lap, never looking back on his way to the heat race victory.
When feature time came, the combined points from heat race finish and qualifying time situated the bright orange and black machine in the 11th spot for the main event. When the track was worked at intermission, the inside line of the track was made quite dominant, meaning that it would be tough to pass throughout the race. However, Ramey’s task was to make the best of what he was presented, and navigated his way up four spots in the early going, but his progress stalled out there. Regardless, the young man brought home the seventh place finish, closing his season with 21 top tens in 24 races, nearly a 90 percent rate, winning three events, and failing to finish a feature race just two times all year long.
Though Ramey’s 2014 season is finished, he has plans to run the offseason’s 30th Annual “Tulsa Shootout,” taking place December 31-January 3 at the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, OK in the #28 600cc restrictor entry.
Season Stats
24 races, 3 wins, 15 top fives, 21 top tens, 2 DNFs
Social Media
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RameyRacing28
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions
