Taylor Ransom finds the deck stacked against him at Motor Mile Speedway but he’s fighting against all the odds and finds himself in contention for the Limited Sportsman championship.
A pair of top-five finishes has put the 24-year-old from Roanoke, Virginia second in points, 10 points behind former Survivor castoff and Lee Pulliam Performance driver Julia Landauer, who has won both races this season. While Ransom knows he’s racing against big money, he says his season is a testament to hard work.
“I think it says that, money helps out a whole lot but just because you don’t have the newest stuff doesn’t mean you can’t run good or win,” Ransom said. “All you can do is never give up.”
Ransom has raced for seven years. He raced in Street Stocks, where he has seven wins at Franklin County Speedway, prior to moving up to Limited Sportsman four years ago. His early season success has given him hope that he can win a race at Motor Mile Speedway soon.
“I believe we can win,” Ransom stated. “It’s just me and my dad most of the time. Everybody else has a whole crew. Doing stuff yourself takes a toll on driving too, especially on a long day. Overall, I think we can get a win. We just need to be consistent, stay up front and it will come eventually.”
Ransom had not planned to race for the championship, but with only a 10 point deficit to Landauer, the veteran driver has decided to make a run for it.
“The way this year’s gone, we’ve been consistent, run well and had luck,” Ransom explained. “I hadn’t planned on running for the championship but this year we are, just because we are a low budget team and second in points. We might as well now. We’ll keep running consistent, keep the nose clean, finish races as best as we can and if a championship comes, it will come.”
Ransom says he has no plans to move up but he may venture out to Caraway Speedway some and is considering racing in the Mischa Sell Memorial race at Ace Speedway. Because Ransom is a lower budget driver, he is often dependent on his sponsors, 611 Steak House, Omni Source, Kevin Signs, Star City Tap and Star City Paint and Body.
Ransom is the son of Kevin Ransom, who won a Street Stock championship at Franklin County Speedway in 1997. That is what got Ransom, who works at the Ronaoke Memorial Hospital during the week, into stock car racing.
Taylor Ransom will be racing this weekend at Motor Mile Speedway in the Limited Sportsman class where he hopes to end Julia Landuer’s winning streak and score his first career Limited Sportsman victory – a victory that would be popular with him and with the fans.
