Ramsey and Allen fourth in season debut

The Brooktown Racing team of Jim Ramsey and Dennis Allen finished fourth in the first Cruiser division race of 2005 at Perris Auto Speedway.

Despite an early collision which bent the left front tire rim by nearly a foot, the duo finished fourth in the March 12 main event.

“We were actually pretty satisfied with fourth considering the trouble we had early on. Our car is still competitive,” said Allen.

The Cruiser class involves two drivers, one who handles the steering wheel and brake pedal and the other who controls the gas pedal. Ramsey steered the 1977 Thunderbird while Allen operated the throttle.

Eleven cars participated in the Cruiser races, and Ramsey and Allen started the heat race on the inside of the fifth row after a ninth-spot pea pick. They concluded the heat race in fifth place. “We actually ran the heat race pretty good,” Ramsey remarked.

That gave them a third-row start for the 12-lap main event. “We were actually bumping the cars ahead of us on the takeoff,” Ramsey noted.

“Our car’s a little lighter than some of the big ones, so we got a pretty good jump off the start,” Allen explained.

Allen added that the third-year team’s experience was also of assistance. “The key is to not watch the light. The key is to watch the flagman,” he said.

Allen estimates that watching the flagman for the green flag rather than watching the light provides about a half-second advantage.

Ramsey and Allen went around the car in front of them. “Jim thought he saw an opening on the right side. He drove into that opening,” Allen noted.

The Thunderbird was hit from behind and spun, and a third car then drove into the Thunderbird’s right front tire. “The good news is it straightened us back out,” Allen said.

The left front wheel was bent visibly enough to be noticed in the stands, but Ramsey and Allen weren’t aware of the exact problem from their view in the car. “I thought I had a flat,” Ramsey noted. “We ran the whole race with that wheel.”

Even though the left front wheel is the one used to steer the car, Allen believed that it handled well. “It drove pretty straight and drove okay,” he remarked.

The lost ground was more of a hindrance than the bent wheel. “We ran really hard and we kept up with every car. We just got behind on the start,” Ramsey explained. “We had the first three cars in our sights on the straightaway.”

The drivers saw the damage after they exited the car. “I’ve never seen a rim bent like that,” Ramsey said. “People couldn’t believe we ran 11 3/4 laps with that wheel looking like that.”

The tire was not damaged. “The tire was okay. The rim was just toast,” Allen noted.

Ramsey and Allen had planned to run an LTD this year and use the Thunderbird which has raced since 2003 as a backup car. The LTD was not ready by the opening race, so the body-damaged Thunderbird was used.

“We’re actually more like an open-wheel car,” Allen remarked. “All four of them are exposed.”

That is making the Thunderbird a fan favorite. “We’re kind of the new

Rustbucket,” Allen said.

“Rustbucket” was a 1959 Impala which was driven in the Cruiser class at Perris until track officials opted to enforce the requirement of stock parts, which are harder to find for a 1959 Impala than they are for a 1977 Thunderbird. The rusty Impala with the number “911” was a fan favorite at Perris.

“It was really exciting to get back out and start the season again,” Ramsey remarked.

“Finished fourth with a bent wheel. I thought that was pretty good,” Allen noted. “It was pretty exciting. Jim really does a good job.”

Adding to the Brooktown Racing excitement was the fact that three Brooktown Racing cars were in the Cruiser competition. Kevin Martin and Ben Hunsacker finished sixth in the main event, and Scott Urquhart and Dave Hill debuted Urquhart’s new car, not completing the main event but being awarded an eighth-place result.

“I was really happy that Scott got out there,” Ramsey said. “It was kind of neat. We had three cars in the Cruisers.”