Story By: DERICK KRINER A2DPR / LANE SNOOK RACING – MIFFLINTOWN, PA – No matter what time of year it is, finding your groove is something special for any race car driver and team. October proved to be the month that Lane Snook and team would find something that made the 23-car unstoppable.
Starting off the final month of the team’s season, BAPS hosted the Creekside Auto Late Models. After an invert put Snook in the 8th starting spot, speed showed as Lane made his way to the point. “We were able to make our way to the lead fairly quick.” Even after a few cautions and even a red flag, Lane picked up yet another BAPS Motor Speedway checkered flag.
Riding the wave of confidence, the Mifflintown-based team headed to the world-famous Eldora Speedway. “We qualified 7th in our group out of 24 cars. That put us starting 4th in the heat…made a mistake on the first lap, but was able to make our way back up to 4th.” A front-row starting spot in the B Main presented a prime opportunity to make the show. That is exactly what Snook did.
Most would think that rolling off towards the rear of the field would make it tough to have a great result. Finding the bottom groove to his liking, Snook advanced all the way up to the 7th position. With a car in the top five coming up lite at the scales, Lane wound up with a 6th place finish. “Half the challenge was just making the show, with so many good cars” stated Snook. “It was definitely cool racing at Eldora with the tough competition.”
Sometimes, finding your groove and something that works for you, can mean making changes to what you are used to. “I did some different stuff with the setup that I was told to do by people who had raced there before.” Not only did these tips help the young racer, Lane’s mindset might have also helped. “Went into the weekend knowing there was nothing to lose.” Sharing the hard charger award, for a track debut, was certainly a huge accomplishment.
Continued success would follow the 23 team to the Path Valley Speedway for the final weekend of the season. With a split program, qualifying took place on Friday night and the car and driver again, were in the groove. Quickest in time trials put the 16-year-old starting 8th in his heat, with the program being about points. 3rd place points in the heat totaled up to be the highest point total out of any driver on Saturday. “With a rubbered-up racetrack, we were able to lead every lap for a very successful last race of the season.”
That win marked Snook’s 5th of the year and was a perfect capstone to a sophomore season in the Limited Late Model ranks. 2024 was a great success and exceeded expectations for not only the team but also the driver. While 2025 still seems far away, it will certainly come quick. Practice over the off-season will come in the form of iRacing for the teenage racer and maybe also with watching races and replays to gain a mental notebook on tracks for 2025.
Lane and team would again like to thank all the great sponsors and friends who helped to make this season so successful. Here’s to 2024 and to an even more stellar 2025!