short track STARS SIX DECADES IN THE FAST LANE LANE RACING

Terryville, Connecticut

BY DOUG KENNEDY

FOR THREE GENERATIONS and nearly 60 years, the racing Lane family of Terryville, Connecticut, have been on the fast lane of racing. “Lane Racing was started by my dad, (John) and now my son, Brandon, is taking it over,” said Tim Lane, the second generation racing Lane.

Outside of these three, several other family members have raced, including Sam Lane, the cousin of Brandon, who together, raced Motocross under the auspicious of the Milford Riders. Tim’s brothers, Michael and Todd, also raced for a number of years. According to Tim, both Michael and he were extremely successful racing karts both nationally and locally. Upon retirement, Michael got involved in doing race car wraps while Todd currently owns a dirt modified for Dryzone Racing.

“I come from a family of racers and it’s in my blood,” said the 26-yearold Brandon. Brandon has had the opportunity at times to race against both his dad and his uncle Todd.

THE VERY BEGINNING

John, the patriarch, owned an automotive business called D and J Automotive. “He had a three bay garage,” said Tim. “Each year, he would build a new race car in bay number three. They were all homemade with no factory parts at all.”

For John, now 83 years old, the racing bug bit when he attended a race at Fonda Speedway back in the 1950s. From that point on, he was hooked. His favorite driver was Steve Danish, who raced the number 61, the number that John would choose for his own race car. John raced mainly at asphalt tracks in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, including West Haven and two since closed tracks, Danbury Race Arena and Plainville Stadium.

Beginning in 1995, the Lanes decided to build a classic modified. Two years later, it was ready to compete on the racetrack. Now, there’s a replica of that modified that Brandon will take to auto shows. “That car connected all three racing Lanes,” said Brandon, who actually grew up in Milford, Connecticut.

Third Generation Gets Going

Brandon’s racing career began in 2000 when he was just four years old. A little over a year later, he recorded his first win on October 13th at Norwalk Kart Club. “I actually swept that weekend,” said Brandon. “I won a heat race and both features.”

In 2005, Brandon began racing on dirt, something he has been doing ever since. He stayed with the kart through 2007 but then took a four-year hiatus from racing to compete in Motocross.

During Brandon’s early days of racing, his grandfather and grandmother would attend all of Brandon’s racing. According to Tim, John got really excited as a spectator. This prompted his wife, Winnie, to convince him to return to racing. This time, instead of racing a modified, he chose to race a street stock, citing financial considerations as the main reason. This came in 2004, exactly 30 years after he had initially retired.

Meanwhile, Brandon returned to racing in 2011 driving his grandfather’s street stock. They only raced twice the first year but in his first race, he started 25th and finished 7th. At the end of 2011, Tim and Brandon purchased the team’s first Sportsman Northeast Modified.

The 2013 season was a big one for Brandon as he not only graduated from high school and also enlisted in the Marine Corps, where he spent his time at Parris Island. After not racing at all for the next year, he became part of the Marines Reserves, which allowed him time to race a partial schedule.

“The biggest accomplishment for me was always qualifying for a race,” Brandon said. “I never missed one. I would show up and just qualify for the race.”

By 2018, Brandon was sporting a 358 modified that he raced for three seasons. “It gave me the opportunity to race against seasoned modified drivers,” said Brandon.

A big boost to Lane Racing and Brandon came in 2020 when they secured a sponsorship from All Green Hydroseed. It was the team’s first real major sponsor and a company that is headquartered in Brandon’s home town of Terryville. With a shortened schedule in 2020, the pandemic year, Brandon was able to finish 7th in points at Lebanon Valley.

During the 2021 season, Brandon felt competitive finishing no worse than 9th out of 17 races he ran. However, in mid-August, the team had an engine failure. That prompted the team to make the next step to a Big Block Modified. They purchased a Troyer Chassis from car owner Scott Hamlin. Brandon’s uncle, Todd Lutinski, was involved greatly in getting the car ready for 2022. Al Heinke, the owner of Mohawk Northeast Construction provided the motor. Heinke was also the guy who provided Brandon’s first 358 engine. Maria from FK Rod Ends has been a part of Brandon’s racing program since his early days in kart. They manufacturer heim joints for racecars.

“He gave me the opportunity to move up with good equipment at a reasonable cost,” said Brandon of Heinke. “Without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Family Affair

At the track, Tim, is considered the team’s crew chief, while Vinny Clancy, a close friend of Brandon’s, helps during the week and also at the racetrack. Grandpap John comes to every race that Brandon runs. Brandon’s girlfriend, Bethany Edwards, who works as an occupational therapist, provides team motivation, and does public relations work and marketing while his mom, Ann-Marie, is in charge of selling t-shirts for the team.

Tim raced in a number of different types of race cars, including a quarter midget, a kart, Motocross, a mini sprint, a pro stock and then a modified. During his racing career, Tim’s cousin, Lenny Fletcher, would build the motors for the team. Tim retired from racing in 2000, when Brandon was four. These days, he works as a medical service engineer for GE Healthcare.

As a US Marine Sergeant, Brandon learned to drive heavy equipment while in the Corp. His current job is to drive heavy equipment for Schultz Corporation, a company that specializes in constructing regional bridges. The relationship between Schultz and Brandon is great and in addition to working through his race schedule, they also supply some sponsorship on Lane’s Big Block.

Being a racer and a Marine were two things that Brandon always wanted to do, and he was able to accomplish both. His dad and grandfather also preceded him as a Marine as well.

The performance of Brandon in his final three events of the 2021 season prompted Howard Commander, the owner of Lebanon Valley Speedway, to declare that Brandon Lane was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future. “We are certainly ready to rock and roll for the 2022 season and we are planning on doing it on a full schedule as well.”