Ramsey fifth in record field

Jim Ramsey’s second consecutive Barona Speedway fifth-place main event finish occurred during the October 10 race which saw a track record car count for the Pure Stocks division.

Ramsey was one of 17 Pure Stock drivers that night. “It was a tough field out there,” he said. “I was pretty happy to get in the top five.”

Barona Speedway initiated the Pure Stocks class for the 2009 season, and the October 10 race was the eleventh in the division’s history.

The previous car count record had been 15 vehicles. “It’s really a growing class. Every week there’s another car or two starting up,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey had no pit crew other than himself for the October 10 race, as crew chief Tim Deegan’s foot was swollen the day before the race.

The pill pick gave Ramsey the outside of the front row to begin the eight-lap heat race, but he was fourth when the checkered flag concluded the heat.

“I didn’t do well in the heat,” he said.

Ramsey began the main event on the inside of the fourth row. “The car in front of me was slow, and I was pushing him,” he said. “I couldn’t get around him.”

Ramsey lost positions from his initial seventh-place start. “Finally I got by him and I worked my way back through the field,” he said.

Ramsey eventually moved up to fourth place before Mark Littlepage passed him on turn two of the final lap of the 20-lap race. “The car ran great,” Ramsey said.

“It was a good night of racing,” Ramsey said. “That was one of the best races we’ve had all season.”

The Pure Stocks were the second division to run a main event that night. The Pony Stocks began the main events with the annual Ed Hale Classic.

“The track was really nice,” Ramsey said of the main event.

If weather permits, the Pure Stocks will close out their season October 24. The track has also scheduled a 100-lap Pure Stock enduro race for November 7.