GLENDORA, California -- Performance Motorsports announced today that Jose Luis Ramirez will pilot the # 77 Jugos Del Valle Ford Taurus in the NASCAR Grand National West Series. Also announced was the signing of Bob Johns as crew chief for the 2005 season.
Jose Luis ran his first season in NASCAR adapting to the ovals after coming from a primarily road racing background. His goals were to compete for the rookie of the year and finish in the top ten in points. He was able to accomplish the latter finishing 10th. His highlights for the year included a 6th place finish at Stockton 99 Speedway and a 10th place finish at California Speedway holding off former series champion Eric Norris who finished 11th. He signed a contract with Performance Motorsports at the first Toyota All-Star Showdown in 2003 and vowed to return to the United States the following year as a competitor in the prestigious event.
Bob Johns comes to Performance Motorsports after a long history of running with competitive drivers. His resume include stints with Ron Hornaday and Bill Sedgwick. " I'm pleased to join up with Performance Motorsports. I've raced against those guys for a lot of years and know how serious they take this sport. Jose Luis has a tremendous amount of talent and is a very exciting driver to watch. Joe and Larry have been good friends for a long time and I look forward to working with them and all the other crew members".
Performance Motorsports also plans to field an entry in the NASCAR Busch Series with Jose Luis as the driver. Events planned for this venture include California Speedway, Mexico City (Jose Luis' home track), Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Associate sponsors include Mission Foods, Guerrero Food Products, Rudolph Foods, Superior Gear, Joor Bros. and Auto Marine Engineering.
In NASCAR's drive for diversity, this is the real deal.
