Catchfence

Panama City, FL 10/13/09- It had been a few months since Ryan Crane had wheeled his familiar #10 pro late model around the half mile track that is his come track of Five Flags Speedway. After dabbling in some ARCA RE/MAX series starts throughout the season, it is now time to turn his attention to prepping for this year’s 42nd annual Snowball Derby weekend. The Florida driver bounced back in the seat as if he’d never been out of it; posting a solid fourth place finish in Friday night’s 100 lap event at Pensacola.

Crane showed perhaps a little rust in qualifying when he only managed the twelfth quickest lap out of the twenty-three cars that made up the field. When the green flag was waived Crane settled into his comfort zone of passing cars and making his way to the front. Missing the carnage that ensued was the key to having a shot at the end as several cautions slowed the field in the first half of the event making each restart key to getting through traffic.

With the 100 lap event being a four tire race, meaning competitors are not allowed to change tires unless they have a flat, Crane knew the key to success would be to have the most rubber left for the closing laps. With the #10 machine not handling the ideal way to save the tires until the end, Ryan managed to wheel it for all it was worth and produce a solid forth place finish in what was deemed a successful return to late model competition in over two months.

“It was nice to be back behind the wheel of one of these late models, because they are just so much fun to drive,” stated Crane, after the race. “We didn’t really have the best car tonight but it was a pretty good race for us. I pretty much had to call the shots from the seat during practice because Mike (Garvy) wasn’t able to make it, so overall I think we ran pretty well considering. This is just the beginning on prepping for the derby because we’ve got a lot of new stuff we plan on testing between now and then including a new car so it should be interesting over the next couple of months.”

Next up for Crane and company will be the Alabama 200 at the South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama on October 18th. The South Alabama Speedway is the same track the Ryan Crane Racing team kicked off their 2009 season at posting a ninth place finish in the Rattler Pro Late Model 125 back in March.

Be sure to stay tuned to the Ryan Crane Racing website at www.ryancrane10.com.

- Ryan Crane Racing Press Release