December 10, 2024 | By Lyndal Scranton

Garner savors Lucas Oil Speedway Stock Cars title and Most Popular Driver

WHEATLAND, Mo. — One year ago, William Garner talked about the lessons learned and the fine line between winning a Lucas Oil Speedway track championship and finishing tantalizingly close to the big award.

"We had some heart-breakers where I know we could have won the show and let a couple get away from us,” Garner said last off-season.

Motivation was Garner’s rallying cry entering the 2024 season in the O’Reilly Auto USRA Stock Cars division. And it paid off nicely as the 24-year-old from Lebanon finished off his championship charge with four feature wins and nine top-five finishes to edge Jaylen Wettengel by 30 points.

“It means a lot for me and my whole team,” Garner said of his first Lucas Oil Speedway track title. “Everybody dreams about getting a championship at Lucas. It’s just a big achievement for my whole team and I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to run for the championship and come home with it.”

Garner said the extra motivation, combined with the continued improvement of his Franklin Motorsports team, was enough to get him over the hump.

“Going into it, I knew that each year my team just keeps getting better and better,” Garner said. “I knew going into it we had a pretty good chance if we could stay up front and not have DNFs, I knew we had a pretty good chance about running for it.”

Finishing races and avoiding disastrous nights came down to spending extra time in the shop, going over the car each week with the proverbial fine-tooth comb. It was about making sure all the parts were sound and the tires were good.

And behind the wheel, Garner was up to the challenge as well as he went 11-for-11 in finishing the top 10. The highlight was obvious, the night in mid-July when he won two features on the same night as the Stock Cars ran a make-up feature to start the evening.

Using a late pass to get around defending track champion Mason Beck in the first feature, Garner rallied from a seventh-starting spot to also claim the second one.

“That’s definitely one to remember,” Garner said. “That’s one of the biggest things in my career because each and every one of these Stock Car guys, there are so many good drivers. That night I was able to get that first win there and get back around Mason in that one.

“The second one I started back (in seventh) and when I got to third, I was like, ‘I have a good chance of getting this one, too.’ I just thought I was going to ride there, then I got to second and passed for the lead, I started getting pretty excited. I just kept myself calm where we could pick that one up too.”

Winning the championship wasn’t the only highlight of Garner’s season. At the recent Lucas Oil Speedway Championship Awards banquet, he received the prestigious Most Popular Driver trophy. Making that award more special is that it’s a fan-voted honor.

“The year before, Mitchell Franklin won it and I was glad to be able to keep that in the Franklin Motorsports shop,” Garner said. “An award like that means so much. It shows you how many people are paying attention to every driver and what they do and how you present yourself to everybody. It means a lot to get voted for most popular driver.”

Asked what he does to connect with fans, Garner said he just enjoy being himself and treating everyone who stops by his pit location with respect - especially youngsters.

“When people come by, I just try to talk to everybody and if there are any kids that come by, I try to give them some stuff like hero cards,” Garner said. “I let ‘em look the car all over and talk to them about anything. I pretty well just talk to them like they’re my friend.”

Garner said the focus now turns to 2025 with the goal of winning another championship.

“I’m gonna try to go back-to-back. It’s hard, but it can be done,” he said. “I got to thank the whole Lucas Oil team, all the workers. I have to thank (General Manager) Danny Lorton for giving us Stock Car drivers a place to race every week. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have that class around here. I’m just glad he’s sticking it out with us.”

Along with Josh and Mitchell Franklin and Garner’s girlfriend, Garyn Young, he gave a shout out to his large roster of sponsors: Icon Graphics, Franklin Motorsports, Eagle Machine, Mitchell Capital Management, Court Probationary Services, Leerose Puppies, E-co Equipment & Solutions, Bar T Cattle, G&M Transport, Johnny Fennewald Roofing & Seamless Gutters, Midwest Sheet Metal, Richardson’s Carpet, Devlin-Nichols Tax & Accounting, Hogan Land Title, Arrowhead Building Supply and Garner Construction.

“We can’t do what we do without everyone helping out,” he said.

Gift cards, season pass renewals available: Lucas Oil Speedway is offering gift cards in any amount - which can be used in various ways from tickets, to concessions to the Track Treasures Gift Shop - just in time for Christmas.

Season passes for the 2025 season, good for admission to all dirt-track events, also are available at a $50 discount for renewals through Dec. 31. Those renewals are $700 for adults and $600 for seniors (ages 62 and over). After Jan. 1, 2025, renewals will be $750 for adults and $650 for seniors (62 and over).

New season-pass buyers maybe purchase passes starting on Feb. 1, at $750 for adults and $650 for seniors. Meanwhile, renewals for Show-Me 100 three-day reserved passes will be Jan. 1st through 31st with new Show-Me 100 passes going on sale Feb. 1.

Contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or email her at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information.

Weekly racing in the Pitts Homes and Realty Weekly Racing Series will feature five divisions - Hermitage Lumber Late Models, Arctic Food Equipment USRA Modifieds, O'Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stocks, Clear Creek Golf Cars USRA B Mods and Hickamo Country Store Super Stocks.

The 2025 season is scheduled to fire up March 22nd with March Full Body Madness after Open Test & Tune on March 15th.