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RAMOS IN LINE TO BE NEXT USAC WESTERN SPRINT
SUCCESS
8/19/2010
 The
USAC Western Sprint Car Series is an asphalt
series campaigning 360 cubic inch, non-wing sprint
cars at tracks such as All American Speedway,
Madera Speedway, Shasta Raceway Park, Stockton 99
Speedway, and Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.
Two weeks ago, the series was brought back into
the national racing spotlight when two of its most
talented former champions, brothers Tanner and
Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, Calif., finished 1-2 in
the USAC Silver Crown Series at Berlin Raceway.
The Swanson brothers are just the latest racers to
utilize the series as a path to a motorsports
career. Burney Lamar of West Sacramento finished
third in the series standings in 2000 and
eventually was signed by Kevin Harvick Inc. to
compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Ryan Kaplan won the series crown in 2007 and
competed extensively last summer in USAC National
Sprints for Bryan Clauson. San Jose’s Nick Green,
son of Hall of Famer Tim Green, won many races in
the Western Sprints before landing jobs with Dodge
and Petty Racing Experience as a driving
instructor.
The Western Sprint Car Series has also produced a
pair of Drive for Diversity female racers with
Rohnert Park’s
Jessica Helberg and
Wilton’s Laura Hayes both getting opportunities to
compete in NASCAR Late Model races.
17 year-old Luis Ramos III of
Clovis,
Calif.
is hoping to be the next success story for the
asphalt sprint cars. As a rookie, Ramos is second
in the points standings to series veteran Tony
Hunt. While Hunt is chasing his sixth career USAC
crown, Ramos is chasing a future in motorsports.
“Everyone in quarter midgets and Micros always
told me how smooth I was,” Ramos said. “I even
preferred the low lines at most tracks. They said
I would be good on asphalt and we knew that’s
where the money was.”
After winning 11 quarter midget championships
including two Monza Titles and four Gasoline Alley
Nationals wins, Ramos moved into the 600 Micro
Sprint car ranks. The 600 Micro Sprints in
California are a starting line for some of USAC’s
most talented racers and Ramos finished second in
the Multi division at Lemore Raceway in 2008.
Tanner and Kody Swanson also started their careers
in the Micro Sprints, racing up and down Central
California at tracks like Delta,
Plaza
Park,
and Lemore. A combination of experience in the
Micros and in asphalt sprint cars is something
that Tanner attributes to his success.
“An asphalt sprint car is one of the coolest cars
ever and a tough car to drive,” Swanson said. “If
you can wheel an asphalt sprint car you can win in
anything.”
Tanner Swanson won both the 2008 and 2009 Western
Sprint titles before moving on to the national
ranks. He won his first career National Sprint
race at Anderson Speedway in 2008, won his sixth
career National Midget start at O’Reilly Raceway
Park in May, and now has a USAC Silver Crown win
in his resume.
The USAC Western Sprint Car Series is poised to
include dirt races in 2011 under the new name USAC
Western Classic Racing Series. For a driver with
aspirations to compete for national USAC titles,
Swanson welcomes the move.
“If somebody can run well in the Western Series in
both types of cars it will help them a bunch,”
Swanson said. “The national series comes to the
West Coast at the beginning and end of the season
as well which gives drivers exposure with big car
owners.”
While Swanson is looking to run for the USAC
Silver Crown championship in 2011, Ramos is hoping
to move into the NASCAR ranks.
Ramos is planning to return to the USAC Western
Series in 2011 for another season driving the #21
entry for Kaplan-Genoso Racing. He will add in
some national USAC races to his calendar before
advancing into stockcars in the next few years.
His eyes are firmly on the championship for 2010,
however, with the series racing at Roseville’s All
American Speedway on Saturday night.
“I had a little bit of trouble at the start of the
season so we just need to be consistent,” Ramos
said. “It’s hard to compete with a five-time
champ but I think we have a great chance to win at
Roseville.”
On Saturday, racing action gets underway around
6 p.m.
at All American
Speedway. The track is located at the Placer
County Fairgrounds in
Roseville,
Calif. Adult tickets are just $15 and more
information can be found at
www.allamericanspeedway.com
The United States Auto Club is online at
www.usacracing.com
USAC Western Sprint Car Series can be followed on
Facebook as well. |
