Enrolled at Short Track Racing University, the 19-year-old would have earned straight-A's in his freshman season behind the wheel of a powerful Super Late Model.

Racing throughout the Southeast and beyond, Lawler grew from a wide-eyed rookie from Texas, who had already succeeded on the Legends Car circuits, to one of the most promising short track talents in the country.

With a race victory at Hickory Motor Speedway and a runner-up finish in the PASS South Super Late Model championship standings, plus two triumphs in the ASA Late Model competition, Lawler emerged as a top contender wherever he went. He also ran up front in select NASCAR Elite Division events from coast to coast, including the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale, CA.

With his impressive first season in a Super Late Model now in his rear view mirror, it is now time for Ryan Lawler to make sure that his sophomore season is even bigger than the first. On Friday and Saturday, January 26th and 27th, Lawler hopes to kick off a stellar 2007 season with a strong run in his first start of the year at Speedfest, held at USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida.

"I'm pretty pumped up," said Lawler. "We're going down there to test on Wednesday, and I think we'll be pretty good down there. I've been talking to Bill Boger, who owns Clay Rogers' car, about what they ran there last year. Since they ran real good out there last year, they were a big help to us, so hopefully we'll turn it into a good run at Speedfest.

"It would be great to kick the season off with a bang, because we ran good all season last year, but we struggled in the last couple of races. That was kind of a bad way to end the season; I think we can get it back going this weekend."


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