Successful racer back on local tracks after summer on the road

Sean Ammerman / Staff Photo

Henderson resident Justin Lamb, 21, holds his National Hot Rod Association trophy for winning the super stock class at the Jegs Pacific Sports National in California. The win marks his 20th association victory.

By Sean Ammerman

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2008 | 1:33 p.m.

Henderson resident Justin Lamb flashes some speed at a recent race.

Courtesy photo

Justin Lamb speeds off during a drag race.

After five months on the road, Henderson drag racer Justin Lamb was glad to return to the West and to winning.

The UNLV junior outraced a field of 87 and defeated rival Ryen Mclanahanin in the overall finals of the Lucas Oil National Hot Rod Association Division 7 event at Bakersfield, Calif., on Sept. 9, to take home a purse of $5,000.

Lamb, 21, carried the momentum into the Oct. 3 Jegs Pacific SportsNational in Fontana, Calif., a more competitive national event in which he won his super stock class.

“It was a good win because racing on the east coast, I had a lot of ups and downs,” Lamb said. “I took what I learned from the experience and got back to winning.”

Lamb spent from May to August traveling to dozens of association events across the Midwest and Southern states.

In his first summer on the road, Lamb experienced plenty of tornados, motels and perils of the road.

The biggest change for Lamb, who has raced dragsters since in elementary school, was adjusting to the humid summer air with vehicles sensitive to the weather.

“It was something you just had to experience to get used to,” he said. “I had three different cars and they would each get affected by the weather in a different way.”

Lamb estimated he traveled 7,000 miles in five months, spending most of that time on his own.

He raced his dragster and Chevrolet Cobalt and Camero vehicles on tracks as far south as Florida and as far north as Minnesota.

The summer culminated in the Mac Tools U.S. Nationals, held throughout Labor Day Weekend in Indianapolis, where Lamb advanced to the field of 10 drivers in the super stock division.

The Nationals are the biggest association event of the year with more than 1,000 competitors.

“I believe he’s racing the best he has in his life,” said Chris Lamb, his father. “He’s made a name for himself.”

Justin Lamb enjoyed the summer on the road, and won about $10,000 that essentially paid for the trip.

However, he was disappointed in not earning a win.

“The problem with drag racing is that a lot of it is based on luck and I had no luck at all this summer,” he said.

As part of a provision set forth by his father, Justin Lamb is working toward a degree in accounting between race weekends.

Balancing school and racing is something friend and competitor Colt Dwyer, of Southern California, can relate to.

“Drag racing is definitely a sport where you need a lot of brains and Justin is very smart,” said Dwyer, 22. “He’s actually gotten better as he has taken more classes. Sometimes its exhausting watching him balance the two.”

Justin Lamb will race next in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s ACDelco Nationals on Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

Sean Ammerman can be reached at 990-2661 or sean.ammerman@hbcpub.com.