Jefferson native Ryan Crane made a big step in his racing career this past weekend, as he made his debut in the ARCA Re/Max series, piloting a Dodge owned by NASCAR car owner James Finch at Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina.
Crane turned in a strong debut performance, piloting his unsponsored Dodge to an eighth in the Carolina 200.
“I know this was my first race in this type of car but having to manage my equipment to be there at the end is something I’ve been doing for years at Pensacola (Five Flags Speedway) and I really think we could have been in the top five. I made a mistake on pit road the first stop by driving off after the guys changed two tires, I guess I thought I was still racing a Blizzard series race,” laughed Crane. “But all in all, the car is in one piece, we logged some laps and it gives us something to build on for the future. My crew deserves more thanks than can be given especially James Finch and everyone at Phoenix Racing because I know we couldn’t have gotten this done without them.”
Sean Caisse recorded the win.
In other area racing news, the Southern Pro Late Model Series traveled to the Montgomery Motor Speedway in Alabama Saturday, with Dacula’s Russell Fleeman picking up the win, holding off a hard charge by 13-year old Chase Elliott, son of NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bill Elliott, towards the end.
Jefferson’s Bobby Hill brought home a second place from the recent season opener at Toccoa Speedway in the Hobby Class. David Grogan recorded the win.
Lanier National Speedway hosted the NASCAR Southern Modified tour Saturday night, with Andy Seuss picking up the victory.
Local divisions also competed. Jefferson’s Steve Hill recorded a second place finish in the mini-stock event behind winner Aaron Calvert.
Jefferson’s Joey Senter picked up an eighth place finish in the Georgia Asphalt Series event in Anderson, S.C. Saturday. Braselton’s Shane Sawyer finished 10th. Randy Porter was the winner.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
