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As the month of September marched on, races became more scattered for Lane Snook and team. The team took to the Path Valley Speedway on September 14th, for a night of racing at the Spring Run ¼ mile. Snook put the limited late model in victory lane earlier in the season at the tight bullring. Speed and confidence continued for the 23 team.

Lane would roll off from the 7th starting position in the feature. A lesson in patience and perseverance was shown to the young 16-year-old. “I was able to move my way up to second throughout the race and battle for the lead,” stated Snook, “but with harder tires and lots of cautions at the end of the race, we ended up second.” Coming up one spot short of his second triumph of the season at Path Valley, but still garnering a podium finish.

This would be the last time the 23 car would roll onto the track in September, but the driver would take a few weeks to gain valuable experience and knowledge from friend Drake Troutman. Lane was able to travel with the Lucas Oil Late Model tour racer to the Knoxville Late Model Nationals and Brownstown Speedway. Snook found the experience to be different but in a good way. “It’s definitely cool traveling all over the place and getting to watch some of the best, and to see how they do it.” Lessons learned over the course of the trip could help the young racer who is still learning the ins and outs of the Late Model scene.

“I’ve learned a lot about different ways of how to set the car up and understanding why they do it.” As many older racers and crew chiefs will say, every driver should learn how the car works and how to work on it. These are valuable skills for the Mifflintown native to learn. “I’m grateful to Drake for allowing me to come help him and for him teaching me stuff about cars and how the cars work.”

Another thing that most drivers or past drivers will tell you is that trying to just show up to the track and spectate a race can be challenging or even unappealing “It’s pretty weird going to the racetrack and not racing,” stated Lane. However, the lessons and information could help down the road as the 3 time winner, in 2024, looks for more success in the coming weeks to close out the season.

The upcoming schedule for Lane features a trip to BAPS Motor Speedway on October 12th. A little road trip follows the next weekend as Eldora is on the schedule for the Dirt Track World Championship. The final weekend of the season will take place at Path Valley with a doubleheader weekend of October 25th-26th. That, for now, will close out the sophomore season for the team.

As the last month of summer break appeared on the calendar, Lane Snook and team had a busy month ahead of them. After the last few months of impressive runs and finishes, and August featuring some big shows, anticipation was high for the young 16-year-old driver.

The month started off with an appearance at the Path Valley Speedway on August 10th. The fifth starting spot would be where the 23 car would roll off from. A few missteps landed the Mifflintown racer back in the 9th position, partway through the feature. However, the high side of the speedway was inviting to Snook, and he took to it, passing back the positions lost, and then some. Lane was able to stand on the podium box, scoring a 3rd place finish.

A week later at the BAPS Motor Speedway, the top step on the podium would be his. A strong heat set the young racer up for a front-row starting spot. Around the halfway mark of the feature, “we were able to pass for the lead” and win a second Limited Late Model event of the season.

Big money was on the line the following Friday, as the rained-out Zimmerman Tribute race was run alongside the Lucas Oil Late Model program, at Port Royal Speedway. A promising start to the night with a strong 2nd place effort in their qualifying group, put them on the pole of a heat race. Bad luck befell the 23 team, as they had “a left rear blow off the bead racing for second.” Luckily, the good time in qualifying allowed them to start on the pole of the B-Main, and Lane was able to win that event. Passing was at a premium in feature, as Snook advanced a few spots, going from 21st-18th.

Switching gears back to short tracks, the now 2-time winner, would break through once more and pick up his third feature win of the season at the Path Valley Speedway. Lane was able to grab the lead, almost right away, and “drove off to the win.” Snook stated that “the confidence is pretty high, especially on the short tracks.” Evidence being that all three of his triumphs this season have come on smaller tracks. Lane also stated there has been “less pressure” when talking about getting more wins, after scoring his first a few months prior.

To round out the month, another small track was on the card, as the team went to Clinton County. The handicap style invert to the feature lineup, put Lane starting 7th. At the end of the feature, another podium finish was added to the resume of the 2nd-year Limited driver, scoring a 3rd place result.

Rain pushed what would have been the final event on the team’s August schedule to a later date, as the Renninger Memorial got moved to a part of Monday’s Labor Day Classic at Port Royal.

As the season starts to wind down, the team and Lane now stand at three wins. “I just wanted to win at least 1 race this year.” While most wins and podium finishes have happened at smaller tracks, “we are finding more speed on the big tracks” said Snook. This is an area the young racer looks to improve upon in the remainder of the season.

The month of September features a few races for the Mifflintown-based team. BAPS is up next for the team on September 14th. The rest of the month is still up in the air, but the team does plan to race a few more times before the month is out. The hope is for August’s momentum to carry into a few strong closing months of the season.