Ramsey finishes inaugural Pure Stocks season seventh in standings

Barona Speedway’s first Pure Stocks season saw Jim Ramsey finish seventh in the final points standings.

Ramsey secured the seventh-place finish with a ninth-place main event finish in the season’s final points race October 24. “Not too bad,” he said.

Ramsey attained the seventh-place season finish despite missing three races entirely, failing to start a fourth after breaking an axle during practice laps, and failing to finish an additional race.

“Overall, I was happy with where I finished,” he said.

Ramsey drove in the Cruiser division at the Perris Auto Speedway from 2003 to 2007.

After the 2007 season the Perris track replaced the Cruisers with the Factory Stock division, and Ramsey drove a 1975 LTD during the 2008 Factory Stock season.

Barona Speedway also has a Factory Stock class, but that division is more comparable to the Street Stock class at Perris.

Last year the Perris Auto Speedway schedule gave the Street Stocks seven consecutive Saturdays without racing at Perris, so some of the drivers visited the Barona track in late August.

This year Barona Speedway promoter Todd Salazar created the Pure Stock class to accommodate the Factory Stock cars from Perris.

Ramsey acquired a 1970 Monte Carlo from Ray Bundy which had been driven as a Cruiser at Perris.

He took the Monte Carlo to a March 22 practice, primarily to ensure that what was legal at Perris didn’t violate the Barona track rules.

Ramsey’s first competition in the Monte Carlo, as well as his first Barona Speedway race, took place March 28. He finished third in that night’s heat race and fourth in the main event.

The October 24 race was the twelfth in the division’s history and saw 19 cars, breaking the division car count record of 17 cars set in the previous race October 10.

“That is so neat to see all these people come out and race,” Ramsey said.

A total of 42 different drivers competed in the division throughout the year.

Ramsey began the October 24 heat race on the outside of the third row but finished ninth after hitting a car which spun out in front of him.

He began the main event on the inside of the seventh row.

Ramsey was in fifth place in the main event before Mark Littlepage, who entered the night leading the point standings, pushed Ramsey’s car into Nanci Harper’s vehicle.

“I was pushing her sideways,” Ramsey said. “I couldn’t have let off or she would have rolled over.”

While Ramsey was pushing Harper down the straightaway, other cars passed them. Littlepage was unable to benefit from the action, finishing eleventh in the main event and losing the season championship to Mike Rebello.

“It was a wild night,” Ramsey said. “Nobody had the championship locked up in any division.”

Ramsey had finished fifth in his two previous main events. Crew chief Tim Deegan, who missed the October 10 race due to a swollen foot, did not return for the October 24 race and Ramsey had no pit crew for the season’s final points race.

Ramsey accumulated 1,155 points for the season. Sixth-place Wayne Rebello ended the season with 1,270 points.

Perris utilized its half-mile oval for the Cruisers and the Factory Stocks. Barona Speedway is a quarter-mile dirt oval.

“I’ve really got that track dialed in now,” Ramsey said.