ROSSMORE, Ont. – August 5, 2016 – Justin Ramsay lived up to his nickname as the ‘Rossmore Rocket’ in the month of July. The defending Brighton Speedway Pro Stock champion claimed the second of two wins last Saturday night to finish the month with an even half-dozen victories so far in 2016.
“There’s a couple of weeks where we maybe should have had a win, but stuff happened and we didn’t win. It was nice to pull off a win after a couple of weeks,” Ramsay commented excitedly.
Ramsay is coming off a busy doubleheader weekend that also included a stop at Humberstone Speedway for Sunday’s All-Canadian Championships. Ramsay’s fifth-place finish was his 12th top-five result in 16 total races this season.
“The car’s feeling good. It was working awesome at the All-Canadian until it started doing something funny. We had to pull the transmissions for (inspection). Apparently at some point in the last month, I shifted in to reverse and smashed the rear gear out of it. In the All-Canadian, I couldn’t get up through the field,” Ramsay explained.
The fix is minor and with some help from sponsor K-D Transmissions, Ramsay will be back in the field at Brighton on Saturday, August 6. He had also hoped to compete at Merrittville Speedway on August 1, but a handful of body damage to the car during a rough weekend forced him to keep it on the trailer.
Prior to his Saturday win at Brighton, Ramsay lost the front bumper on his Empey Tire/ABC Taxi No.03 before charging through the field to the victory. A little anger mixed with Ramsay’s hunger for a victory certainly didn’t hurt his effort.
“It makes me drive a little harder,” Ramsay laughed. “Saturday, because I knew I was going to Humberstone Sunday, I was just cruising. I was going to try and go to the top and cruise through the field. Somebody got spun out and I didn’t even touch the brakes. I didn’t even have time to stop.”
“By that point, I figured I better get the win because by the looks of all the stuff smashed off my car,” Ramsay said with a laugh, adding the damage was mostly cosmetic.
While Ramsay went to victory lane twice in July, he still battled through a handful of issues, including the injured transmission. It hasn’t slowed him much as he enters August with a 170-point advantage over Wade Purchase in the championship standings. It’s a comfortable cushion, but one he knows could evaporate quickly with the wrong focus.
“I’ve been paying attention to it for the last three weeks. I had a pretty good points lead and it shrunk. It’s crazy how fast it fluctuates up and down. I have been paying attention to it more,” Ramsay admitted. “It doesn’t change the way I drive. It’s still the same deal.”
In his quest to seal a second straight track championship at Brighton, Ramsay has also done his fair share of travelling with more scheduled this season. The visits to Humberstone and Ohsweken speedways have helped his efforts at Brighton despite the difference in the tracks, Ramsay said.
“It helps me. You can get a better feel for the car. It gives you more seat time and you know how the car is going to react. I like going to new tracks and racing new people,” Ramsay commented.
He plans to make at least one more start at Humberstone this year and will race at Merrittville Speedway for the third Duel on the Dirt series race on September 10. He’ll get to face his travelling counterparts on home turf for the final series race at Brighton’s Applefest Shootout on September 25.
For the next month, Ramsay is focused on locking down his second championship. And the ball is in his court.
SEASON STATS
16 Races – 6 Wins, 12 Top-5s, 16 Top-10s
UP NEXT
August 6 – Brighton Speedway Pro Stocks
KEEP UP WITH JUSTIN
Facebook: facebook.com/DirtyFastRacing
Twitter: @Dirty_Fast_03
Justin Ramsay’s 2016 Pro Stock season is supported by several dedicated corporate sponsors, including: Empey Tire, K-D Transmissions, ABC Taxi, APC Auto Parts Centres, Just Havin’ Fun, Hotch’s Auto Parts and Dirty Fast Racing.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
Photo Attachment: Justin Ramsay drove to two wins during July Pro Stock action at Brighton Speedway. (Rod Henderson photo).
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