GRUNDY, VA :: Ryan Stiltner began his quest to win the Lonesome Pine Raceway track championship in dominating fashion on Saturday night. Stiltner started on the pole and led all 60 laps on his way to his first win of the season in the season opening race at Lonesome Pine Raceway.
“It’s an awesome way to start the season,” said Stiltner. “We started on the pole and led all 60 laps. The car was awesome, the crew was great and it’s just awesome. We’re pumped up about the season.”
Stiltner qualified on the pole with a 16.412 second lap. Stiltner took off at the start of the race and led the entire race on his way to a convincing win.
“I’ve always wanted to win the season opening race somewhere,” said Stiltner. “When you win the first race of the year, you make a statement that you’re the guy to beat. I know we’re the team to beat this year. It’s just something I’ve always dreamed of ever since I started racing. We had an awesome car and it was awesome to lead flag-to-flag and dominate that way.”
Stiltner’s win was a relief after he struggled at Kingsport Speedway in Tennessee on Friday night. He started 13th and finished ninth at Kingsport, a race that he felt was disappointing.
“Kingsport was disappointing to say the least,” remarked Stiltner. “It was nice to be able to put that behind us as quick as we did and go out and dominate the next night. It says a lot for our whole team that we didn’t let one bad race keep us down. It was nice to rebound that quickly and win a race the very next night.”
Stiltner will be back in action next weekend when he races at Kingsport Speedway on April 12th and Lonesome Pine Raceway on April 13th.
