Ramsey and Allen buy former Factory Stock from Denton and Krueger

Brooktown Racing drivers Jim Ramsey and Dennis Allen have purchased a 1975 LTD from Scott Denton and Keith Krueger which will be converted from a Factory Stock to a Cruiser vehicle for use at the Perris Auto Speedway.

Denton and Krueger initially drove the LTD as a Factory Stock at the Cajon Speedway, which closed after the 2004 season. After the demise of the Cajon Speedway paved oval, the LTD was driven on Barona Speedway’s dirt oval in 2005 and 2006. Denton and Krueger blew a motor in the LTD during the 2006 season which was not replaced.

Denton has been contemplating a less intensive racing career since the birth of his older daughter, Dara, in November 1992. Two years later his younger daughter, Dacy, was born. “More interested in spending the time with kids right now,” Denton said.

Denton is also working on a 1955 Chevy. “That will keep me busy for a while,” he said. “No more race car for now,” Denton said, “maybe later.”

Denton and Krueger decided to sell the car. “I had put it on the Internet for a while, on Craig’s List, with no luck, so I opened up the phone book,” Denton said.

Denton started with fellow Fallbrook drivers. “I called Dennis up,” he said. “I knew they were doing the two-man team out there at Perris.”

The Cruiser division involves two drivers; one controls the steering wheel and brake and the other operates the gas pedal. Denton felt that Ramsey and Allen might be aware of another Perris driver who might be interested in the car.

Denton contacted Allen in December. “I called him up and asked him if they wanted to purchase the car, if they knew anybody. He said that he would contact Jim Ramsey and he’d be back in touch with me,” Denton said. “Jim called me back, had a few questions for me.”

Ramsey and Allen looked at the LTD and made a deal. Denton even included an extra hood and extra doors. “When you get these older cars it’s hard to find parts sometimes,” Allen said. “We’ll have enough body parts to keep going.”

Somewhere during the negotiations Denton’s break from racing lost probable continuity; Ramsey indicated that Denton would be welcome to drive as a Brooktown Racing alternate. “I’ve always wanted to do the Cruiser. That’s what we built the Factory Stock for. It was supposed to be a dual-purpose car, but we never got around to it,” Denton said.

The deal was finalized in early January, and Ramsey transferred the car to his home in mid-January.

“It’s got a few dings in it, but it’s going to have a few anyway,” Ramsey said.

“We’ve got some things to do to it. We’ve got to modify the roll cage for Perris, and we need to have a six-point; it’s only a four-point,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey and Allen began racing at Perris in 2003. The 1977 Thunderbird they drove when they began their racing career is still running, although its appearance is no longer suitable for the Fallbrook Christmas Parade. Since most Cruisers don’t last longer than two years, Ramsey and Allen had obtained a 1978 LTD as the planned eventual replacement for the Thunderbird. That LTD, although three years newer than the former Factory Stock, would have required complete conversion into a race car.

“This one all we’ll have to do is beef up the roll cage and put another seat in it,” Allen said.

A full roll cage would need to be built for the 1978 LTD. “The other one would have been more expensive to get going,” Allen said.

The task of converting the gas pedal to the driver’s side is relatively minor for a Ford. “On these it’s really easy because it’s a throttle cable,” Allen said. “You can just move them over and make some modifications and away you go.”

Allen noted that Chevrolet throttles utilize rods and are more difficult to convert.

The 1975 LTD uses the same motor as the Thunderbird. “The motors are all interchangeable, so that’s good,” Ramsey said.

The new Cruiser will have a C6 transmission instead of a C4. Since the LTD currently does not have a working motor, replacing the engine with a working motor is a prerequisite before other tests on the car are performed. “We’ve just got to swap the motor before we can get a lot of stuff done,” Ramsey said. “[We’ve] got a lot of work to do to it.”

If weather permits, the Cruisers will begin the 2007 season February 10. Ramsey and Allen doubt that the LTD will be ready by then, but they are targeting the February 24 scheduled race for the LTD’s debut as a Cruiser. “Just depends on how long it takes us to get it going,” Allen said.

The Thunderbird will be used until the LTD is ready. “I don’t want to tear the other one apart until we have this one ready to go,” Ramsey said.

The LTD and the Thunderbird will both utilize number 77. Cruiser points are given to the car rather than to the driver, and since they are given to the car number a replacement car with the same number can add to the previous car’s points. “That way, whichever one you run, you keep getting points,” Allen said.

“We’re excited about it,” Ramsey said of the new Cruiser.