After finishing as runner-up an agonizing five times in 2023 in the USRA Stock Car class, William Garner has solved the puzzle to find his way to victory lane this season at Lucas Oil Speedway.

Garner, a 24-year-old from Lebanon, Mo., has four feature wins this season and leads the division championship standings by 43 points over Jaylen Wettengel.

“It makes it nice going into a race knowing that you have a fast, competitive car and you’ve had the runs you’ve had,” Garner said. “It gives you confidence.”

Garner and his fellow USRA Stock Car competitors will get a unique test this Saturday night during the first Diamond Full Fender Challenge.

The Full Fender Challenge will find the USRA Stock Cars running their usual program, along with the Super Stocks with heats and a feature of their own as a guest class. Both of those feature winners will earn $1,500 and the top 12 from each will advance into another 20-lapper with starting positions drawn.

The winner of that combined main event will earn another $1,500.

“Hopefully we can go out and put on a good show for the fans and next year maybe have a little big bigger purse.”

The Super Stocks ran at Lucas Oil Speedway as the regular full-body division through 2020 before the USRA Stock Cars became part of the Summit USRA Weekly Racing Series the next season.

Right now, Garner is focused on Saturday’s doubleheader and a possible first Lucas Oil Speedway track championship. He was second to Mason Beck a year ago after coming home second so often. This year he’s been able to turn the tide without any magical formula in his Franklin Motorsports chassis.

“Nothing really different,” Garner said of his driving. “There at the beginning of the year we were just trying stuff and bouncing ideas. Me and my Dad (Jeremy) were talking about different stuff, and me and dad decided to try something. It worked. We had to tune on it for about two races and since then the car drives really good.”

A highlight came on July 20 when Garner won two features on the same night. He came from behind to capture the opener, which was a makeup from the High Limits Diamond Classic postponement from a few weeks earlier. Garner called it one of his career highlights.

“That was by far the best one because these Stock Cars are so competitive and there are so many good drivers,” Garner said. “That night I was able to win the first one. The second one, I got up to the front and once I made the pass for the lead, I was like ‘Man, I have a good race car, I just have to keep hitting my marks’ and we were able to win it, too. It’s hard to do that, especially with these guys.”

Finishing off the regular season with a track championship to go with the his title in 2022 at Dallas County Speedway would be another big feather in his hat.

“It would mean a lot,” he said. “Just winning a championship at Lucas is doing something. Anybody that wins a championship there is a good driver and they’ve had a lot of success. That helps your career and helps you get your name out there more by winning a championship there.

Garner was quick to point out that the team’s success goes far beyond him behind the wheel. He gave special shout-outs to Josh and Mitchell Franklin, his family and all of his sponsors.

“If it wasn’t for all of them, we wouldn’t be running how we are,” Garner said.

Team sponsors include 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.

Fans get a racing program featuring both ends of the dirt track spectrum on Saturday with 410 Sprint Cars and 305 Sprint Cars also in action.

Pit gates will open at 4 p.m. Saturday with grandstands opening at 4:30. Hot laps are at 6:30 and racing gets underway at 7:05.

Ticket information:
Advance discount tickets online only (13+) - $22
Adults (13+) - $25
Military & Seniors (62+) - $22
Youth (6-12) - $10
Kids 5 & Under - FREE
Family Pass - $60
Pit Pass - $45

Camping (Daily Rates):
Dry Camping - $15/night (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person)
Reserve Dry - $25/night (limited availability) (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person)
Reserved Electric & Water - $40/night (up to 6 people) ($5 additional a night per person (limited availability)

For ticket or camping information on any Lucas Oil Speedway event, contact Admissions Director Nichole McMillan at (417) 295-6043 or via email at nmcmillan@lucasoilspeedway.com.

For information about Lucas Oil Speedway, including schedules, point standings and other news, visit lucasoilspeedway.com.

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 and purchase a license 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.

USRA OFFICIAL SPONSORS: American Racer Racing Tires, Beyea Headers, Chevrolet Performance, Christie Door Company, Fast Shafts, FK Rod Ends, 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, 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, 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 Day Motor Sports, KS Engineering.