Massachusetts teen Sam Rameau all-in for whelen modified tour season

A story by Connor Sullivan/Speed51.com

After turning 14 years old during the summer of 2016, Sam Rameau and Rameau Family Motorsports wasted no time breaking into the ranks of Tour-type Modified competition straight out of go-karts. After three years centered mainly around the Modified Racing Series, the Westminster, Massachusetts young gun is set to take on the pinnacle of Modified competition in 2019.


Sunday night Rameau posted on his Facebook page that he and his family are assembling an over-the-wall pit crew for a full-time run at the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Monday afternoon Rameau confirmed exclusively to Speed51.com that he will be competing for NWMT Rookie of the Year honors next season.


It is a change that Rameau has been working towards since the start of the 2018 season, which culminated with his Whelen Modified Tour debut at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park during the season-ending Sunoco World Series.


“I knew at the end of this season right before the North-South Shootout that’s our plan, we’re going to run the full NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour season, and we are very excited about it,” Rameau told Speed51.com.  “Right now we’re trying to put a crew together, hopefully we’ll have a full crew and a full plan together before New Year’s.”


Back in October at Thompson, Rameau was originally leaning towards a majority schedule on the NWMT centered around New England tracks and taking the time to run outside the tour with the family team. But over the last month, the team’s attitude changed.


“My dad, who owns the team, and I had the attitude of, ‘If you’re going to do something you might as well do it to the fullest.’ We discussed it, we thought about doing a partial tour schedule with some races elsewhere, but then we decided to give the tour a hundred percent effort and see how it goes.”


According to Rameau, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is the place he wants to be at this point in his young racing career, whether it be for his own career in the Modified ranks or a potential move to an even higher level.


“It’s really cool, especially with people like Ryan Preece, Justin Bonsignore, and everyone that has succeeded at that level and beyond in the highest ranks of NASCAR. It’s going to be cool to race against those guys and hopefully someday be one of them.”


Now 16 years of age, Rameau’s growth in the Modified Racing Series has been noteworthy, culminating his first two feature wins in a Tour-type Modified this past season at Lee USA Speedway (NH) and Beech Ridge Motor Speedway (ME). It has boosted the faith in both himself and his race team to succeed in the goals they have set for the 2019 season.


“It gives me faith for sure,” Rameau said.  “My team manager and I were discussing what our goals are going to be for the season. We’re going for Rookie of the Year, a top ten in points, and at least one top-five finish; those are our goals. It would definitely be great to get all that, even if we don’t get a top five finish, Rookie of the Year would still be huge.  It’s awesome to have on your resume. I can’t wait to get started at Myrtle Beach.”


Anyone interested in joining the Rameau team can contact Sam Rameau via his personal Facebook account.


Speed51.com will have more on Rameau and the entire Tour-type Modified silly season throughout the winter months.