SEEKONK, Mass. — Sitting behind the wheel, or behind the desk, Sammy Rameau seems to get the job done successfully. The 18-year-old, Westminster, Massachusetts, native is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology, with a double-minor in Environmental and Business Management. When he’s not at school, he competes at speeds over 100 mph in his Tour-Type Modified, a 600-horsepower, ground-pounding machine, racing inches apart from his competitors.
Whether it’s the Dean’s List in college, or Victory Lane on the track, Rameau finds time to do it all. His most recent racing success came at Monadnock Speedway in Winchester, New Hampshire, in August of 2020, when Rameau celebrated a victory in the Tri Track Open Modified Series feature, against some of the top talent in the Northeast. The 100-lap race marked a major high-point in Rameau’s career, especially since earlier in that day in practice runs, he crashed after suffering a flat tire. The team rebounded, put the car back together, and Rameau drove it from the rear of the field to the victory.
“A few years ago I won at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and Lee USA Speedway back-to-back races, and that was super special,” Rameau said. “But the win at Monadnock was cool because I’ve been going there since I was three, watching my dad at the races. Racing against guys like Matt Hirschman, Ronnie Williams and Ron Silk — those are guys that win all the time. To beat them, it was cool. I saw my dad and all of my crew standing there in Victory Lane and I just broke down. It was super emotional.”
MATT KIMBALL LOOKS TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP WITH TRI TRACK
NEW HAMPSHIRE STANDOUT HOPES TO BE CONSISTENT IN 2021
BY SOUZA MEDIA/KYLE SOUZA
SEEKONK, Mass. — When the Tri Track Open Modified Series season takes the green flag on May 1 at Monadnock Speedway, the field will be stacked full of talent. One of the talented stars is rising New Hampshire racer Matthew Kimball, who is a former Mini Stock champion and currently a competitor in the Sportsman Modified division at multiple tracks in the Granite State.
Kimball, who does have limited starts with Tri Track, is hoping to be able to run the entire six-race slate in 2021. His most important goal will be to be consistent, learn more about the Tour-Type Modifieds, and come home with solid top-10 finishes. He also plans to compete full-time at Monadnock in the Apex Racing No. 11 in the track’s Sportsman Modifieds and hopes to chase the NASCAR Division I National Championship, if the first few weeks of the season go well.
“It’s always good to try and get your name out there and this is a great opportunity to do that,” Kimball said. “We want to win races, but we are going to go race-by-race, and see what the schedules look like, so we don’t have conflictions. We’re going to take this year step-by-step. We would like to finish top-10 in the Tri Track points.”
Kimball, who won the Mini Stock title at Monadnock in 2018, started his career in go-karts, and moved to the Mini Stocks at the age of 13. From there, he sat behind the wheel of a modified at full speed for the first time at age 15, and the experience was different from anything he had dealt with before — but he found success quickly.
Modified Racing Series set to Return to Claremont Motorsports Park in 2021
Claremont Motorsports Park and The Modified Racing Series are pleased to announce the return of one of New England’s finest modified touring series to the NH oval in 2021. The series and track will join forces for a spectacular fall day of racing that fans won’t want to miss. Labor Day weekend, 2021, the sound of tour type modifieds will once again thunder from Thrasher Road.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring The M.R.S. back to Claremont”, stated track promoter Mike Parks. “Tour type Modifieds were the lifeblood of the speedway for many many years so to bring them back is an honor”. Parks went on to say “Jack (Bateman) and general manager Willie Doucette are bringing the series back to its roots for 2021 and we are excited to be a part of that process”.
Late Model Racers Across Region Already Preparing for Big April
Waterbury, VT — Even with snow still on the ground, the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) season is coming up fast. Racing gets underway just after the calendar turns to April, with a doubleheader at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway on April 2 and 3 followed by the inaugural Northeast Classic at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on April 17.
The triplet of events is a big way to kick off the 36th season of ACT competition and 30th for the ACT Late Model Tour. The first-ever visit for the series to the historic Hickory oval — known as the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars” — will be followed by the start of the point-counting season at New England’s most widely-recognized racetrack.
Late Model Challenge Cup Ready for 2021 Debut on Grand Scale
Nine New England Tracks Registered with Point Fund That Could Exceed $20,000
Waterbury, VT — After a one-year delay, The New England Late Model Challenge Cup (NELMCC) is finally debuting in 2021 — and it will be even bigger than originally planned. American-Canadian Tour (ACT) officials confirmed today that nine tracks have signed up for the first season of the series that will pit weekly Late Model racers from across the region in a summer-long battle for pride, glory, and some serious prize money.
The inaugural Challenge Cup was originally slated for the 2020 season before being pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The basic format remains the same, with registered drivers taking their 10 best eligible finishes at participating tracks towards the season-long point standings.