Alvarado sophomore ready to excel on TMS’ dirt track

Zane Lawrence started off by racing go-karts at age 6, moved to mini sprint cars at age 10 and is now in his second season running dirt track races at age 16.

In his spare time, Lawrence is a sophomore at Alvarado High School.

“A lot of the kids at my school race motocross, but some have gone out with me to the dirt track and checked it out and they think it’s pretty cool,” said Lawrence, who lives in Lillian. “It’s kind of a cool deal.”

For Lawrence, the “coolest” part of his young racing career will come this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. He’s part of the field in the Texas World Dirt Track Championship, a two-day event Friday and Saturday that features ASCS Sprint Cars with limited modified and factory stock divisions.

Lawrence is set to make his debut at TMS’ dirt track, and is ready to run at a prestigious event that draws drivers from across the country.

“It’s one of the biggest races of the year,” Lawrence said. “It’s the one everyone wants to race in and everyone wants to win.”

Lawrence is going into the race with some momentum. He had a season-best seventh-place finish in his last race on May 7 at Golden Triangle Raceway Park in Beaumont.

“It’s looking up, getting better and better,” Lawrence said.

At 16, Lawrence does not know what the future may hold. But he would love to see his racing hobby turn into a full-time job.

“That would be nice to make a career of it,” Lawrence said. “It’s fun and I’ve always been told that if it’s not fun, you shouldn’t be doing it. At the end of the day, we’re there to win races.”

Racing starts at 6 p.m. Friday with practice and ASCS heats starting at 7:05 p..m. On Saturday, racing gets underway at 7:05 p.m. Grandstand tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under on Friday, and $25 for adults and $10 for children on Saturday.

Fans can save $5 on adult tickets by purchasing their tickets at a participating O’Reilly Auto Parts Store. Tickets can also be purchased at the track’s website or by calling 817-215-8500.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Alvarado sophomore ready to excel on TMS’ dirt track."