By Joe Ramaker
Smokin Joe Ramaker opened the fourth of July weekend by driving his Ostrich powered J&J to his second win of the Big Sky Sprint season at Gallatin Valley Speedway in Belgrade Montana. Ramaker used the race as a tune up for the upcoming ASCS-NW speedweek which starts Monday in Medford Oregon racing north for six nights to the Fred Brownfield Memorial in Elma, Washington Saturday.
“With all the rain and snow it has been tough to sit through the spring and only get to race twice by the time July gets here, but we have made the most out of the races we have ran and this new J&J is really hooking up hard. Running second in our heat helped us judge the track tonight and by the feature we knew where would be fast. After getting by Deitz on the third lap I knew it would be key to experiment with lines every couple laps in case the track took rubber. Once we were out front it was so easy to drive this J&J that I never felt rushed,” said Smokin Joe in victory lane. When asked about the rest of his season Ramaker mentioned a few major races he and crew are aiming for, “We are going west for the ASCS-NW speedweek to get ourselves up to speed against the best of the nation since our season has been so light in Big Sky Country. I am looking forward to running the Fred Brownfield Memorial race. Fred was very special to me and it is an honor to race in a way that honors his memory. Then we are heading north to Edmonton Canada for the Gold Cup which we have been in position to win a few times but has eluded us. It is time for us to bring it home.”
With big plans for the season you too can follow Smokin Joe in his Ostrich Powered J&J chassis by going to twitter.com/joeramaker for live updates from the races. Or you can visit our sponsors: Kronebusch Electric, Ramaker Construction, Ostrich race Engines, J&J Auto Racing, Simpson, Lo-N-Bro Powdercoating, and DMI Components.