Ryan Lawler Scores Biggest Win of His Career In Historic Winchester 400

Since making the transition from Legends Car racing to Super Late Model racing, Ryan Lawler has made a name for himself by winning races and doing so in style.  He won his first-ever SLM event at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway (NC).  Now, he’s tearing up the PASS South Series, looking for a championship after already grabbing two wins this year.  He’s also won events in the ASA Late Model Series.

But on Sunday, Lawler did something to top all of that.  Lawler competed in his first Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway in Indiana.  And he didn’t just compete in it… he won it in style.

Lawler backed up his record-setting pole run on Saturday afternoon and beat a field of 39 other Super Late Models, including those piloted by NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers Kyle Busch and David Stremme, to win one of the most prestigious short track events in the country.

“This is awesome,” said Lawler after the event, still looking at the track that he had conquered.  “This is by far the biggest win of my career.  This is amazing.  It’s wicked and wicked fast here and I love it.  I just really wanted to win here.  That is why we came here.  We came to win.  After that first test session here, I was hooked to this place.”

Lawler showed all weekend long how hooked to Winchester he was.  Lawler was always near the top of the speed charts during practice, then put his #31 Grapevine Suzuki / Hamke Race Cars machine on the pole on Saturday afternoon with a new track record for Super Late Models at Winchester. 

“You just drive this place.  You get up on the wheel at a place like this.  You don’t have to worry about overdriving this place.  If you overdrive it, you are going to hit the wall.  You just get up on it here.  And that is what I like.”

Ryan hoists the special winner's trophy, a Winchester rifle, for his Winchester 400 victory.  (Ron Harner photo)

Lawler started on the pole, but fell back to second and ran in the top-five most of the day.  Lawler never took the #31 to the front of the field until lap 311.  It was a position he would never give up.

“When Stremme came in to pit (around lap 310), we were thinking about coming in too.  I told my guys I thought if we both came in to get tires, he was better than us straight up.  He came in and got tires and we stayed out.  It was hard to pass all day long.  I got my car where it could drive real well off the corner, so we decided to stay out.  I guess it was hard to pass because late in the race the #16 (John Van Doorn) couldn’t get by me.”

From there on out, it was all Lawler.  But lap 400 couldn’t have come soon enough.  Lawler had never even come close to running a race as long and tough as the Winchester 400.

“We ran a bunch of ASA races that were 200 laps, but we didn’t finish any of them.  I think the longest I’ve run was 150 or so.  I’m tired now, that’s for sure.  I don’t have any sort of workout program for this.  I don’t train.  I just race.  It was tough out there.  But now that we’ve won, I’m good to go.  Those last 50 or 60 laps, though, I was driving the car as hard as I could.  Those last 10 laps or so, my vision was getting blurry and I was tired.  I was just so focused on winning this thing.”

For the win, Lawler got one of the most unique trophies in all of short track racing, a mounted Winchester rifle. 

It was just one of many memories that Lawler will have of his record-setting weekend.

Ryan is congratulated by his dad Patrick in Winchester victory lane.

“It won’t sink in today just what we’ve done,” added Lawler.  “I’m just blown away.  The t-shirts they print up and knowing that we’ll be on there next year.  The trophy that we get is so cool.  I signed this big thing that has all the past winners from here in the big races.  That is a part of the history here.  I guess I’m a part of it now.  

“When I came up here and tested with Stremme, we did a press conference and there was a guy in there that was talking about the history of this place.  He gave me a little pamphlet on it.  I read up on it.  It’s a pretty cool place here.  And it’s pretty cool to know that I’m a part of that history now.”

Lawler won’t have a lot of time off, though, to enjoy the victory.  He’ll be back on the track this coming weekend, competing in the ASA Late Model South race at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, the 20th.  Then, he’ll return to the track gunning for the PASS South title at Greenville-Pickens Speedway on Oct. 27th.