Ramirez, owner of Team 20, dies at 61
Leon Ramirez, the owner of the Super Late Model team of four-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion Jimmy Owens and longtime racing supporter, died Sunday, the race team announced today. The Woodward, Okla., resident was 61.
Newport, Tenn.'s Owens dedicated his recent Lucas Oil Series victory at All-Tech Raceway in Ellisville, Fla., to the ailing Ramirez (pictured at left) and missed an event at East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla., last week to visit the family.
"Leon was much more than just a car owner," the team wrote on its website. "His friendship to driver Jimmy Owens and many others associated with Team 20 will be cherished forever. Leon always exuded such class and was a huge supporter of not just our team, but countless others involved in dirt racing."
Ramirez, who worked in the oil-field business and founded Boomer Well Service and Boomtest, was also the team owner and father of Dereck Ramirez, 35, the reigning United States Modified Touring Series champion.
Besides Dereck, Leon Ramirez's survivors include his wife Becky, two more sons and five grandchildren. The funeral is 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb., 19, at the Woodward High School gymnasium with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Find a complete obituary at billingsfuneralhomewoodward.com.
Correction: Fixes spelling of Dereck.
