After turning in a good season in 2023 at Lucas Oil Speedway, William Garner is shooting for a great one in 2024.

Garner knows the margin between good and great can be small. The 23-year-old from Lebanon wound up second in O’Reilly Auto Parts USRA Stock Cars points a year ago, finishing 94 points behind Mason Beck. It felt a whole lot closer.

“We had some heart-breakers where I know we could have won the show and let a couple get away from us,” Garner said. “This year, we have big plans.”

Garner ran near the front consistently, with 13 top-fives in 18 features, but only captured one feature victory at Lucas. He came home second five times, losing a couple of those by less than a car length. He knows it was so close to being a spectacular season.

It’s one reason he has high hopes—and plenty of motivation—for what’s coming up.

“If we could turn some of our runs we had last year into wins this year, and start out real strong, I think we’ll have a good season,” Garner said. “We’re gonna try to do our best to win the points at Lucas this year.

“We were making up ground last year and had a real good chance. We just let it slip away and hopefully this year we can seal the deal.”

Garner and the 20-year-old Beck, from Urbana, are two of several talented young drivers who are part of the highly competitive division. Garner said that while he and Beck occasionally “give each other a hard time” they are good friends and enjoy the competition.

Things are starting to ramp up in the race shop as Garner just about has his Franklin Chassis ready for a new-look wrap on his No. 7 machine. He plans to open the season at the Arrowhead Speedway in Colcord, Okla., in a few weeks before turning his attention to the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Garner said no matter the prize fund or race track, he feels better equipped to find victory lane after the near-misses and lessons learned of last season.

“Just how hard you have to work,” Garner said of what he’s learned the most since he began racing. “That shows you at the end of the night, at the end of that week, how hard you worked and how your work is paying off. The more work you put in, you’re gonna have better results most of the time.

“Each year it feels like I get a little smoother and calmer in the race car. That seems like it helps a lot. Just more knowledge helps a bunch, too.”

Team sponsors include Bar T Cattle, Leerose Puppies, G&M Transport, Eagle Machine, Franklin Motorsports, Garner Construction, Mitchell Capital Management, Richardson's Carpet, Icon Graphics and Apparel, Johnny Fennewald Roofing & Seamless Gutters, E-Co Equipment and Solutions and Midwest Sheet Metal.

The 2024 Lucas Oil Speedway schedule begins with an Open Test & Tune on Saturday, March 30, from 2-6 p.m. Fans can call Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or email nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com for more information about any event on the 2024 Lucas Oil Speedway schedule.

About the USRA: For more than two decades, the United States Racing Association has attracted more and more racetracks and dirt track racers each year through fair, logical and cost-effective rules accompanied by an organization that puts the racers, racetracks and their fans first. During the 2023 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series, more than 60 of America's finest dirt ovals hosted more than 1,000 nights of racing.

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USRA competitors can register for the 2024 Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series online at USRAracing.com/Register or call (515) 832-6000 to register by phone. You can also download the application at USRAracing.com/Downloads and then submit your completed form by email at office@usraracing.com or fax at (515) 832-7958.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Christie Door Company, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, KS Engineering, KSE Racing Products, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Nitroquest Media, PEM Racing Gears & Drivetrain, RacinDirt, Summit Racing Equipment, Sunoco Race Fuels.

USRA PARTICIPATING SPONSORS: ARMI Contractors, Boubin Tire & Automotive, Brodix Cylinder Heads, Day Motor Sports, PBM Performance Products, YouDirt.com.

USRA CONTINGENCY SPONSORS: AFCO Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Bryke Racing, BSB Manufacturing, Champ Pans, Deatherage Racing Opticians, Edelbrock, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Gunshepherd.com, Hyperco, Integra Racing Shocks & Springs, JE Pistons, Keyser Manufacturing, Landrum Performance Springs, MD3, MSD, Performance Bodies & Parts, QA1, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, RacerWebsite.com, Real Racing Wheels, Rush RaceGear by Austin Witt, Sweet Manufacturing, Swift Springs, Sybesma Graphics, Total Power, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Wilwood Disc Brakes.

USRA RACETRACKS: 105 Motor Speedway, 81 Speedway, Alien Motor Speedway, Ark-La-Tex Speedway, Arrowhead Speedway, Bolivar Speedway, Boothill Speedway, Caney Valley Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway, Crawford County Speedway, Creek County Speedway, Cresco Speedway, Deer Creek Speedway, Diamond Park Speedway, Electric City Speedway, Elk City Motorsports Park, Fairmont Raceway, Fayette County Speedway, Gondik Law Speedway, Hamilton County Speedway, Humboldt Speedway, Hunt County Raceway, I-35 Speedway, I-90 Speedway, Lakeside Speedway, Lawton Speedway, Legacy Speedway, Longdale Speedway, Lucas Oil Speedway, Mason City Motor Speedway, Midway Speedway, Mississippi Thunder Speedway, Monett Raceway, Nevada Speedway, Northwest Missouri State Fairgrounds, Ogilvie Raceway, Outlaw Motor Speedway, Rapid Speedway, Red Cedar Speedway, Red Dirt Raceway, Rocket Raceway Park, Route 66 Motor Speedway, RPM Speedway, Sabine Speedway, Salina Highbanks Speedway, Salina Speedway, Sandia Speedway, Sports Park Raceway, Super Bee Speedway, Texarkana 67 Speedway, Thunder Valley Speedway, Tomahawk Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Tulsa Speedway, US 36 Raceway, Vado Speedway Park, Valley Speedway, West Texas Raceway, Winneshiek Raceway.