Balancing Act for Lutz
Ryan Lutz of Miller Place, NY plans to run 5 Legends Car races at Riverhead (NY) Raceway and defend his win from last year.
“(I am) incredibly thankful for the parents I have that let me pursue my dream I have in life,” Lutz said. “… My dad and Renee, they sacrifice a lot for me and let me do what I love and I cannot thank them enough.”
Lutz also thanked his brother Craig, Kyle Ellwood, 600 Racing, and engine builder Chad Honeycut.
Lutz’s is driving part-time while advancing his career. The NASCAR Technical Institute student has a goal to work for Team Penske after graduation. Lutz is becoming more knowledgeable through his job at MDM Motorsports.
“I cannot thank Mark (enough) for giving me such a great opportunity.”
…It’s cool to be working on a car and to have the owner of the company come up next to you with a smile that he’s excited to get that car into victory lane so it makes work a lot more smooth and everyone wants to win so it makes everyone have a good time.
“Everyday someone teaches me something so I’m very, very fortunate to have such a unique job at such a young age. It’s amazing that last year I was sitting on the couch watching Austin Dillon drive a truck around Texas and now I’m actually working on those trucks, ARCA, and K&N cars. I’m living the dream and loving every step of the way!”
“The people they have there have so much experience and so many stories to tell that there is a lot of information going around that you can learn off really quick. It’s a really good feeling to have that you know the cars you’re working on can go out and win any race they go to. It’s not just working for a paycheck. It’s putting everything you got into it so you can learn as much as you can so you can be successful later down the road.”
MDM Motorsports will field an entry for Austin Dillon in this weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta (GA) Motor Speedway. The team has three cars in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. Harrison Burton is running full-time in the No. 12 and earned the pole in the season opener at New Smyrna (FL) Speedway. Sheldon Creed, and Vinnie Miller will compete part-time in both NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Racing Series.
Ranier Racing with MDM earned 5 wins with Kyle Benjamin, Spencer Davis, and Corey LaJoie in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East last year.
Ryan’s brother Craig is entering his sophomore season on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Craig recorded 2 wins at New London-Waterford (CT) Speedbowl from 2013-15 and finished twice in the top 3 in the point standings.
Craig works on his own cars with his father at their shop. The team is building a new car ahead of the Performance Plus 150 at Myrtle Beach (SC) Speedway March 18.
“I think he’s doing the best job he can. … He’s the busiest one out of all of us (on race day) and it shows how good of a character he has. …. I think this year will be one of his best years … and hopefully, he puts some solid runs together.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
Racing-Reference.info
SpeedbowlHistory.com