By Nick Schwein
It would have been easy for Luke Cranston to be satisfied where he was at.
But the sprint car driver has learned throughout his multiple years of racing that if you don’t try to move up, you’ll end up regretting the opportunity.
So Cranston took a chance, and it paid off in a big way Saturday night in the United Rebel Sprint Series feature at RPM Speedway in Hays.
Cranston, who started eighth, worked his way into third and remained there for several laps. But when the final caution happened with only eight laps remaining, the driver who grew up in Ness City decided the time to take a chance was then.
“I didn’t know for sure, but I knew I had to try it,” Cranston said. “I learned a long time ago doing this that if you don’t try it, then you always end up kicking yourself in the butt later on if you sit back there and get third and don’t even try something. I was going to give it a shot, and it worked for once. I’ve got to write that one down.”
On the restart, Cranston shot to the inside and by Tracey Hill, then continued that momentum into turn one as he threw a slide job on leader Nate Berry.
Cranston slid his 305 sprinter up the track, Berry tried to cross back under him, and the two battled down the backstretch for the lead.
“Our car didn’t take off there at the end on the last restart,” Berry said. “I was trying to do the best I could and cross back under him, but I just didn’t have enough there and spun the tires. I was trying to do the best I could.”
Cranston beat Berry into turn three and pulled away for the win.
“I knew he was going to push me up the track in three and four, so I tried to pinch it off,” Berry said. “I just pinched it off too much and set the car sideways. That kind of hurt me. I think if I could have kept the car straight, I could have maybe drove back under him. But it was a good race, and he drove me clean. That’s putting on a show for the fans.”
Cranston eventually increased the lead to as much as two seconds in the waning laps before the checkered flag flew.
“If you can get even close, you have the chance of even throwing a slider on the next corner,” Cranston said about the battle down the backstretch for the lead. “Usually, if you can throw two in a row, you’ve got it. I love racing on that type of track. I love the hammer-down, slider her up to the cushion and throw it off there. It’s just so much fun.”
Berry dominated the race early, leading the first 16 laps — at times by a wide margin. Hill tried to stay close, but Berry maintained a comfortable edge until the seventh lap when the first caution happened.
“I didn’t know exactly who was behind me, but I knew Luke Cranston, Zach Blurton and all those guys were behind me. I knew I couldn’t mess up and had to hit my marks every lap. I was doing that, and I think we probably could have had it in the bag if it wasn’t for that last restart. But that’s racing, and it’s part of life.”
By that time, Cranston had worked his way to fourth, right behind Zac Taylor. The two staged an epic battle for the next few laps before Cranston took over the third spot and the final caution flew.
“Zac’s a really good driver, and I was worried we were going to be stuck back there,” Cranston said. “I probably would have been happy with it because those guys are good. That’s the new age now, and those guys are fast and hard to beat.”
But Cranston took the chance on the restart, and it paid off.
“It was an awesome race track. These guys did a heck of a job preparing the track,” Cranston said. “They went out and reworked it and made it to where it was real racy.”
Berry finished second, followed by Hill and C.J. Johnson, who started ninth.
“I’ve got a lot of great sponsors here. It’s pretty cool,” Cranston said about winning at a track only an hour away from where he grew up. “I had a buddy of mine from high school who came to watch, and he hasn’t been to a race in a long time. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Cranston also won the Keizer Aluminum Wheels hard charger award moving from his 8th starting spot to win.
United Rebel Sprint Series
RPM Speedway
Hays, KS
Saturday August 29, 2015
A-Main:
1 Luke Cranston
2 Nate Berry
3 Tracey Hill
4 CJ Johnson
5 Zac Taylor
6 Zach Blurton
7 Jeremy Huish
8 Jeff Radcliffe
9 Ray Seemann
10 James Riner
11 Koby Walters
12 Brian Herbert
13 Jordan Randles
14 Keefe Hemel
15 Darren Bowman
16 Craig Jecha
17 Kris Moore DNF
18 Jed Werner DNF
19 Ryan Walters DNF
20 Steven Richardson DNF
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Hard Charger Award: Cranston (+7)
B-Main:
1 Jed Werner
2 Jordan Randles
3 Craig Jecha
4 Brian Herbert
5 Ryan Walters
6 Austin McLean
7 Kayden Taylor
8 Ken Lutters
9 Cody Lampe
B 2 Feature
1 Keefe Hemel
2 James Riner
3 Darren Bowman
4 Steven Richardson
5 Kris Moore
6 Aaron Ploussard
7 Brandon Sprott
8 Howard Van Dyke
9 Darren Berry
Heat race winners – Hill, Cranston, Radcliffe, Zac Taylor