Who are you?

I was born on May 3, 1971 at Madison General Hospital (now Meriter Hospital) in Madison, Wisconsin.  My parents are Mike & Sandy Ramsell, who will be celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary later in 2015.  I have two sisters, Kelli & Kati, and two nieces, Taylor & Samantha.


How did you get into auto racing?

In 1980, our family went with another family to Jefferson Speedway in Jefferson, Wisconsin.  My first night I was scared after seeing cars get wrecked, but that went away by my second and third visit.  After that, they say the rest is history.  

In the late 80's, I met Karen Whitford, who I worked with at Walmart.  Her son, Wayne, raced at Jefferson and Columbus 151 Speedway and started to go with them to watch him race.  In 1992, Madison International Speedway re-opened and I worked in the concession stands for the first two seasons.  The money I made on Friday night paid my pit pass and food to help Wayne on Saturday night at Jefferson.  In 1994, I took what I learned from my marketing classes to help Wayne, thus starting my public relations career.  Wayne won the Limited Late Model track championship at Madison in 1996.  

A few years later, I got to know Jeanne & Larry Starr who did the PR at Madison.  With their help, I was able to get a job in the tower at both Madison and Jefferson as a scorer.  In 2002, the Starrs left Madison and I was asked to replace them as the PR director for the track, and still scored at Jefferson on Saturday nights.  

In 2003, I focused just on Madison as it was under new ownership and I had the opportunity to work under Roy Kenseth, Matt's dad.  That was a cool year as that was also the same time that Matt won the Sprint Cup championship.  

I left Madison in 2004 and went to Rockford Speedway later that year.  In 2007, I started working with the ARCA Midwest Tour until the end of the 2009 season when I went to work for ASA Racing.  I left ASA Racing in April, 2013 to work for Speed51.com until June 1, 2015.

Currently, I work at the Pete McCormick Agency full-time and still cover racing as a freelance when my schedule permits. 


What are some of your favorite moments in racing?

Too many to name!!  But here are a few highlights...

- Meeting Richard Petty in May 2013
- Meeting Darrell Waltrip in November 2015
- In 2014, went to 35 different tracks in 16 states and two countries.
- Being part of the ASA Free State 500 on January 31, 2010 in South Africa. (Click the 2010 South Africa videos link on here)
- Getting an opportunity to work full-time with Speed51.com 
- Assisting Bob Dillner during a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Phoenix
- Doing PR for Cody Coughlin and watching him lead him lead his first laps at Daytona from his pit stall

What kind of a personal life do you have?

When I am not working, I like to spend time at home with my cat Toby or do things with my sisters and nieces.  Sometimes I will head to Florida and bug mom & dad.

I am involved with Collegiate DECA, an association for marketing students.  I got involved in 1990 when I was a student at Madison Area Technical College.  Today, I judge at the regional, state and international level, along with mentoring and public speaking when my time allows.  This includes allowing students to shadow me when I work race events.  

For fun, I like going to theme parks where I have logged about 24 trips to Disney World in Florida and about four trips to Disneyland in California.  One of the big highlights was being in Disneyland in 2005 for the start of the 50th Anniversary celebration and seeing Julie Andrew in person.  Also enjoy visiting historical and famous sites.   Also a fan of theatre shows, mostly Broadway musicals.  Sports I like to watch include baseball, football, hockey, basketball, tennis, swimming and more.

Dating life?  HA!  Honestly, that has sadly been non existent in my life and I hope to change that...soon.  Family and friends know that I am gay and I appreciate their support.  This was something that I kept pretty personal and private for quite some time, but with the current trend of society being more accepting to the LGBT community, it has become easier for me to live my life without keeping a secret from everyone.