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Woodhull Raceway Driver Profile: Blake Lawson No. 18 NAPA Crate Sportsman

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WoodhullRaceway:
Media Contact: Megan Dupuy - woodhullracewaypr@gmail.com
For Immediate Release – April 20th, 2017 –

(Woodhull, NY) - For most drivers at Woodhull Raceway, they start out in mini stocks or even go-karts and work their way up to bigger and faster cars. This was not the case for this week’s driver, as this young man jumped in head first with only five laps of racing experience under his belt.

Blake Lawson, 14, got into a Crate Sportsman for the first time on Woodhull Raceway’s opening night last weekend. Lawson, son of Woodhull familiar face Donnie Lawson, is in 8th grade with a strong passion for racing.

“I’ve never raced anything before, just a little bit of go-karts,” Lawson said. Later during the interview, one of Lawson’s pit crew members said it was in fact only five laps.

Lawson was confident in himself even with very little racing experience. He grew up around racing and was an avid helper on his dad’s car. What he may lack in laps on track, he makes up for in hours working on these powerful machines in the shop.

“I grew up around racing my whole life and I help on my dad’s car every week,” Lawson noted.

Blake is a third generation driver for the Lawson family, but a fourth generation Lawson being involved in some level of motorsports. His dad and grandfather both raced, while his great-grandfather served as a race official and owned a car at one time.

“I’ve put it in and out of high gear and used the hand clutch,” Lawson said when asked if he’d at least been able to hot lap the car.

The only seat time Lawson got was practicing putting it into to gear on his road back at home. The real education came on Saturday night, as Lawson put his first laps on the car at speed.  Lawson was learning and seemed to gain confidence with every lap that clicked off the lap board.

It didn’t come without a few anxious moments for the crew and his family in the stands.  But the main goal of turning laps and driving the car onto the trailer was accomplished.  The youngster did a fine job of giving the leaders room when they approached- something not easily done on the third-mile bullring at Woodhull.

Even with practically no seat time, Lawson was confident and had one thing that he felt might challenge him. That was the tight confines of the corners at Woodhull. Woodhull Raceway is a track like no other, with close quarters racing and high-banked corners.

With being a brand new driver to the raceway, we asked what his goals are for 2017?

“To just get good at driving, so I can improve for the upcoming years,” said Lawson.

What does Lawson love about racing?

“The accomplishment of finishing the car and bringing it to the races. Nothing beats rolling your car off the trailer after working on it all week, knowing you’re about to go racing.”

Lawson is a great driver in the making. He’s got a solid crew behind him and family who can give him all the tips he needs to help him in his maturation as a new dirt driver. Look for Blake Lawson all season long in his family-owned No. 18 throughout 2017 on the High Banks.

Stay tuned all season long for more of Megan Dupuy’s driver profiles, as she travels the pit area at Woodhull Raceway to help tell the stories of the drivers that put on a show each week.  Megan is finishing her sophomore year at Mansfield University, where she is studying to pursue a career in public relations.  She has returned to Woodhull Raceway for her second season as Media Intern- an experience she hopes to make useful in a future career in motorsports media and marketing.

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