RPW Exclusive: Jack Lehner Scores Best Career Ransomville Finish In Tuesday’s Super DIRTcar Summer Nationals

Column By: MARTY CZEKALA / RPW – RANSOMVILLE, NY – Jack Lehner recorded a career-high at Ransomville, finishing fourth in the Super DIRTcar Series’ Ron Martin Memorial Summer Nationals.

“The Ginja Ninja,” who spent the first 65 laps in fifth, made the pass with 10 to go on Gary Lindberg to finish in fourth, beating a 14th-place finish he scored last year.

“I didn’t feel all that great, but had my tire to come in a little bit. As we got rolling, I started to feel good in lapped traffic. My car steered OK through the rubber. Anytime someone slipped up, I was able to cut under them and that was key.”

In a caution-free 75-lap race that lasted 26:45, it was a mental grind to work the track, find a way to pass drivers and hang on to prevent the right rear Hoosier from going flat.

“The mindset shifted to save your tires, don’t miss the rubber,” Lehner explained. “Stay in front of the guy ahead of you. Baby the brakes and the tires as much as you can. It can be really hard on stuff. The last thing you want is a flat with a few to go. It worked out as good as it could’ve.”

Lehner doesn’t run here often, running in the capital area of New York on weekends. Even with the track taking rubber during the feature, he enjoyed some things about it.

“I thought when we got out there at first, the track was great. There were multiple grooves and slick in the middle. It needs to get worked on a little bit before the feature. Walked away with a decent finish, so can’t be too upset about that.”

DIRTcar decided to move from the Sportsman Last Chance Showdown to the SDS feature instead of working the track in between.

While Lehner ends a streak of four races outside the top 10, “The Ginja Ninja” records his best finish of the season, beating a fifth at Thunder Mountain. The driver of the No. 2 has continued to improve his performance.

With three heat wins in the season, Lehner continues improving while building a solid notebook in his big block-modified career.

“That’s really what we’ve been lacking in the past,” said Lehner. “Now we go back to places and have a little bit of notes. We would only know what gear to run. Now, we look back on what we did last time and take that into account. I feel like that’s what is helping us the most.”

Next week, the series heads to Lebanon Valley Speedway. While Lehner doesn’t have plans to race Saturday, he gets a head start by crewing with Dylan Madsen’s Sportsman, who sponsors his vehicle.

“Usually we run pretty decent. From what I hear, it’s been really nice. See what we’re getting ourselves into.”