HUMBOLDT SPEEDWAY

LAURA RAMEY; THE NEW FIRST LADY OF HUMBOLDT SPEEDWAY!

by Scott Lee Stewart

 

   It's not very often that a driver shows up and 3 weeks later becomes a crowd favorite, eclipses a no holds barred Late Model Show, and wins her first feature all in one night. Unless that driver is Laura Ramey.

Laura really has it goin' on: shes cute, drives like Tony Stewart, and she's evidently just as tough. After several weeks of "all most", and "close", Laura fought off Pure Stock phenom Jeremy Willard, and racked up her first win at The Hummer. Willard was second, but with a mighty roar, coming clear from the back of the pack once again. Eddie Coulter turned in an outstanding effort to finish third. Newcomer Josh Thomas was fourth, with Mike Aielo fifth.

   The evening's big show was the Show Me Late Model Series at The Hummer. And show us they did, after 2 "B" features, 22 Latemodels started the "A". It was an incredible show, lots of passing, lead changing, and the sound of all those engines at full throttle is an experience not soon forgotten. In the end, Dustin Mooneyham racked up the $1,000.00 paycheck. Justin Wells, who had won the 5 previous features, came in a strong runner up. Hummer ledgend Randy Zimmerman was third. Rex Merritt took fourth, Chuck Comer was fifth.

Then came Jess Folk, Jr., who could have very easily put on a "how to win" clinic in the Modified A feature. "Pee Wee" calmly held off  some incredibly stiff competition in the form of his brother, Whitey, who put on quite a show in his own right while taking second. Dan Daniels racked the third spot, Chris Deaton and John Allen rounded out the top five. Note: John Allen has lost some real squeakers this year, and the trophies have been hard to come by. However, the man has run strong each and every race: look for him to make a strong run for a track championship this year.

   It has been a long dry spell, but Tyler James returned to the spotlight at Humboldt with a commanding win in Factory Stock. Hard charging John Rosson was second, followed by Derrek Wilson, Billy Shadden, and Colton Bunn.

Finally, there's the "B" Mod feature, a titanic clash between Jay Lamons, Jr and Ronnie Wayne Bolin, tha sadly ended when Lamons slipped out of the groove and hit turn 2 wall, ending one heck of a race for the lead. Bolin blasted away for the win, while Levi McGowen, always a factor, was runner up. Tim VanGotten overcame a series of problems for third, followed by Jimmie Davis and Jerry Kustenborter.