Sam Rameau may be a late arrival to the Northeast Modified party in 2022, but he is planning to party hard all season with a packed schedule over the next six months. To start things off, he is doubling the fun by running both the big money shows that make up Monadnock Speedway’s season-opening Spring Dash this Saturday and Sunday.
Why the lateness on racing in 2022? The 19-year-old from Westminster, Massachusetts native has been busy over in Boston, taking college classes and enjoying college life. But with the Spring semester now behind, Rameau is ready to shift the focus to Modified racing.
“It’s something we actually did on purpose, I’m actually driving home from school right now, just moved out this week. I didn’t want to schedule any races that would conflict with classes, I wanted to focus on one big thing at once. Now that I’m done with the school year, it’s time to racing. We got a busy season planned from here on out, and I’m really excited for it,” Rameau told Racing America.
Starting off at Monadnock means starting off at Rameau’s racing home, as the quarter-mile high-banked oval in New Hampshire’s Southwest corner is just up the road for him and his family.
“Monadnock’s pretty much my home track, I’ve been going there since I was a little kid, and we’ve won there the last two years. Double duty to start the season is a fun way to start things off, doing it at Monadnock I don’t think there’s a better way to start it. Hopefully, we can pull it off again in Tri-Track on Saturday, and see what we got for the Whitcomb 5 race on Sunday.”
Starting with Saturday’s $10,000-to-win Wonder Casino 100, the first of seven races for the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series in 2022, Rameau is trying for a home track hat-trick. He has won one of two Tri-Track races run at Monadnock in 2020 and 2021. But, with just one Tri-Track race scheduled there this season, plus the usual roster of Matt Hirschman, Ronnie Williams, Chase Dowling, and plenty of other Open/Tour-Type heavyweights entered, Rameau and the No. 06MA camp have their work cut out.
But, the race team has used their extended off-season to build up their arsenal for the season.
“We’re in good shape, we got a couple of new cars this year. We’re going to go there on Friday for the open practice and see what it’s got. Shake any bugs out before we race on Saturday. Again, we got the two wins, I’m confident we can make it three. A lot of long nights from my dad, Paul Smith, Aaron Bibbens, and all the guys who work for my dad; they’ve been busting it in the shop, and putting in a lot of work to get ready for this weekend.”
Come Sunday at Monadnock, Rameau will be back on hand to compete in the first round of the new Whitcomb 5 Series. Featuring the NHSTRA Modifieds, a class of Modifieds that utilize 604 crate engines at Monadnock, Claremont Motorsports Park, and Hudson Speedway on a weekly basis, and long-distance events at Lee USA Speedway; the Whitcomb 5 Series will consist of five 125-lap races across the four tracks during 2022, which will each pay a guaranteed $5,000 to the race winner.
“It’s a cool deal, a great way for weekly racers with their racecars and open competitor like myself to buy a crate motor, come together, and race for the same kind of money you’ll see in a Tour-type show. It’s a nice purse with great competition; guys that race there all the time and know the track like the back of their own hand. It’s going to be just as hard to win, it’s a longer race with a bit more strategy. Greg Whitcomb, him and his wife have done a great job with this great opportunity for weekly racers,” Said Rameau.
While this weekend may be jam-packed for Rameau, it’s just the tip of what’s to come for the rest of the year.
“We got 17 races planned. We got three, maybe four races planned on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. We’ll be doing the open show next month at Claremont and the Thompson 300 in October. We’re doing all seven of the Monaco Ford Modified Tri-Track Series races and all five Whitcomb 5 races. It’s going to be a lot to do between now and October.”
Rameau is determined to set the tone right out of the gate, believing that a Spring Dash Weekend sweep could put the rest of his competitors on notice for the rest of 2022.
“It’d be tremendous. We got some new guys on our team, I got a new spotter. It’d be incredible to go home Sunday night with both trophies and all that money. But, I’m really looking forward to having fun with all the guys, and shaking the rust off for a good year.”
You can see both the Monaco Ford Modified Tri-Track Series on Saturday night, and Whitcomb 5 Series on Sunday afternoon from Monadnock Speedway live on Racing America.tv.