Busy Opening: Sam Rameau to Start 2021 at Martinsville & Thompson
WESTMINSTER, Mass. — Sam Rameau and Rameau Family Motorsports are about to get down to business quickly with their 2021 season. It will begin with three races in the span of 10 days, starting with the opener of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour on Thursday, April 8, at Martinsville Speedway. Following a trip to Virginia, the team will travel back to New England to compete in the debut race for the Outlaw Open Modified Series on Sunday, April 11 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, worth $10,000 to the winner.
“It’s going to be busy for sure,” driver Sam Rameau said. “The preparation that goes into all of it is surreal. I’m comfortable saying that with the hours my guys have put in inside the shop, we are comfortable for whatever is going to come our way this week.”
Martinsville Speedway, a track filled with NASCAR history, will play host to the Whelen Modified Tour for the first time since 2010. Rameau has never taken laps around the .526-mile paved oval, but knows the prestige that surrounds the track and the upcoming Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 200. He hopes to park the No. 06 in Victory Lane and bring home the familiar grandfather clock that Martinsville offers as a trophy.
“It’s probably the most prestigious race I have ever run other than the Musket 250 at New Hampshire,” Rameau said. “The team has been putting in 80 hours per week. Going to these races on the Whelen Modified Tour, we are going to take what we can get. We aren’t going there to finish second. To win a grandfather clock… I would do anything for it. With the Modifieds going back there, and the people that have won there before… whoever wins this race did a good job as a driver and has a good team behind them.”
The Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 200 will air to a live audience on NBC Sports Gold “TrackPass” at 8 p.m. on Thursday night.
After 200 long laps in Virginia, Rameau will travel home approximately 11 hours and plans to compete over the weekend at Thompson in Connecticut. With the folks from the American-Canadian Tour and Pro All Star Series leasing the track for the season, Thompson will host the debut of the Outlaw Open Modified Series on Sunday, April 11. The race is 125 green flag laps and worth $10,000 to the race winner. Rameau has plenty of experience on Thompson’s high-banks from running with the Whelen Modified Tour.
“My father and I sat down and we said at the beginning of the year that we were going to do three Whelen Modified Tour races, the six Tri Track Open Modified Series races and we decided we were going to do Thompson,” Rameau said. “Without my guys working so hard at the shop, none of this would happen. We have some amazing sponsors that are back with us and a few more joining as new sponsors for the year. The preparation has been surreal. We will be ready.”
Fans can watch Rameau compete at Thompson by visiting Speed51.TV and purchasing their pay-per-view option for Sunday, April 11. The Outlaw Open Modified Series will qualify and race on Sunday.
For more information on Rameau Family Motorsports, visit sammyrameau.com and follow Rameau Family Motorsports on Facebook. For more information on Souza Media, follow on Facebook or visit kylesouza.com.
Sources: Kyle Souza/Souza Media
Adam Glanzman NASCAR