From Joe Ramaker Racing
(Boise ID) Racing in a shortened schedule for 2009 did not slow Smokin Joe Ramaker as the Boise, Idaho driver raced to five main event wins leading in 8 of the 11 main events competed in and winning 7 qualifying heat races. Ramaker looks for a big year in 2010 beginning next month by taking his J&J/Ostrich Engines #98 to the ASCS Winter Nationals at East Bay Raceway in Florida.
Ramaker began the year with a strong performance at Electric City Speedway’s Can-Am Challenge by leading all but 3 laps of the weekend’s two main events collecting a feature win and a heat race win in the process. Mechanical gremlins soon sought to slow down the Ramaker team with a broken engine coming the next weekend against the ASCS-Northwest travelers in Great Falls Montana. “We were looking for big things when the Northwest teams came to our home track, but our engine didn’t perform well early in the weekend and then showed us why by breaking apart while leading our heat on night two. It was a big disappointment,” commented Joe about the engine failure.
The team responded by putting in a reliable Ostrich engine which already had 17 nights of racing on it. Although the engine was well run it did not show itself as tired and Ramaker went on a winning streak from July 1st to Sept 25th which would see him go undefeated in heat race action and lead every main event during that time, netting 4 feature wins and losing two other features to flat tires within the last 5 laps of the events. “It was incredible to see the victories keep coming. Every race I would show up and expect the streak to end but no matter where we went: Bozeman, Billings, Great Falls, Casper, Rock Springs, we were spot on and fast. We have a consistent chassis and engine system with our J&J/Ostrich combination that makes it easy as a driver to know what you have to work with night in and night out. I am excited for 2010 since we have most all of our component sponsors back for the season and we plan to race bigger events,” replied Ramaker when asked about maintaining momentum through the winter.
Look forward to further announcements concerning Smokin Joe’s plans for 2010.
Smokin Joe and the Ramaker Racing team wishes to express their gratitude to all those amazing companies which give Joe the winning edge. THANK YOU: J&J Auto Racing for building a bullet proof chassis which is so easy to drive, Ostrich Engines for making drive-able power that lasts, Simpson Driving Suits for keeping me safe and stylish, Hooker Harness systems for making belts that make me one with my car, DMI Components for creating innovative, strong and light parts which do not fail, Keizer Wheels for keeping our rotating weight low and shiny, and Sway-Away torsion bars for all your help giving me a smooth ride and solid setup. Without these component manufacturers racing would be less exciting. Please support them when you choose your next purchase.