Eldora Speedway
Pennsylvania teen earns Dream ride from Kane
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Lane Snook gets rolling at Eldora. (joshjamesartwork.com)
ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 3) — Bruce Kane has heard plenty about Lane Snook over the last calendar year.
Based in Glen Burnie, Md., Kane is only a few hours south of where the 18-year-old Snook has racked up plenty of checkered flags at his home track Port Royal (Pa.) Speedway and throughout Central Pennsylvania. Last season alone, Snook piled up 21 Limited Late Model victories aboard his family-owned No. 23 Rocket Chassis, quickly establishing himself as one of the sport’s up-and-coming talents and earning a spot on DirtonDirt’s Top 25 Drivers 25-and-Younger list. | Complete Dream coverage
So when one of Kane’s primary backers in Jerry Foster lobbied him to put Snook in one of his No. 15K Rocket at Eldora Speedway’s Dream XXXII, the Maryland car owner didn’t wait.
“Our sponsors … Jerry … they really wanted him in the race car,” Kane said. “We listen to our sponsors. The kid has a lot of talent. … Our gameplan is to help take the boy to the next level.”
Kane, who’s also fielding an entry for Wil Herrington of Hawkinsville, Ga., plans on having Snook in his race frequently from this point forward the rest of the 2026 campaign — believing in the teenager from Port Royal enough to work toward a fuller-fledged schedule for next season.
The Maryland car owner plans to simultaneously field select events for Chambersburg, Pa.’s Kyle Lee in Super and Limited Late Model action while integrating Snook into his BKR program.
“We're really going to build up our stuff for next year,” Kane said in a phone interview Wednesday. “So we're just trying to get acclimated to finish the year out and let (Snook) and Kyle race together, and let them learn off each other. And then next year, (Snook) will race some more.”
Without thinking too far ahead, Snook’s trying to make the most, of course, of his first Eldora crown jewel experience this weekend. These aren’t his first competitive laps around Eldora, though, as he entered last October’s Burlile Ohio Valley Late Model Dirt Series portion of the Dirt Track World Championship. He started ninth and finished 20th in the 25-lapper that drew 74 cars. He posted a 24th-to-sixth run in the same race a year earlier.
Ultimately, Snook felt like his pair of top-10 runs with the World of Outlaws Late Model Dirt Series in his backyard — seventh May 14 at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway and 10th on May 17 at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway — is what spurred this opportunity with Kane.
“We ran good in the couple Outlaw races we ran back at home. Jerry Foster gave me a call that Bruce wanted to put something together,” Snook said. “We talked … and (we finalized plans) last week on my birthday. We started putting together, rode with them in the hauler down here, and now we’re here. … We definitely have something to build on. We’ll see how it all goes.”
Aside from sharing the pit area with more than 80 of the nation's top Dirt Late Model drivers, the magnitude of Dream week won't come as a complete shock to Snook.
The 18-year-old got a firsthand look at Eldora Speedway's biggest event last year while helping crew for Drake Troutman's Team 22 Inc. operation, giving him an early taste of the energy, atmosphere and demands that accompany one of the sport's premier crown-jewel events.
“Now we just get to race it. I’m excited for sure,” Snook said. “We’ve been working hard all day, so I haven’t been able to take it in a whole lot.”
Snook’s Kane-fielded entry materialized so late that Kane actually sent his race car in the trailer without any decals. While the car was ready to go from a mechanical standpoint, its lettering and finishing touches didn’t get done until the hours leading into Wednesday’s 6 p.m. hot laps. In fact, Snook mounted his seat an hour before Wednesday’s hot laps with the help of Victory Seats owner Chris Ferguson.
“Now we gotta set in the steering wheel up,” Snook said in an interview on his walk back from the 5 p.m. drivers' meeting.
Getting Snook equipped for a last-minute Dream ride over the last week has been difficult for Kane beyond the time crunch, too. The Maryland-based car owner has been battling acid reflux and gastroesophageal issues that have sapped his energy during the hectic lead-up to Dream Week.
Kane actually didn’t make the trip to Dream week as of Wednesday, but hopes to arrive Friday.
“It was rough, especially for me,” Kane said. “If I was healthy, it wouldn’t have been a problem. Being sick, it was an issue.”
Kane has spent the week texting both of his drivers — Herrington and Snook — doing his best to keep spirits high and confidence buoyed amid one of the most competitive weeks of the year. He believes his equipment is capable of putting both cars in Saturday’s Dream finale, but only if his drivers avoid getting caught up in the pressure that comes with going against the sport’s biggest names.
“That’s the gameplan. That’s what it’s all about, giving them an opportunity,” Kane said. “Like I tell them, I just texted Wil today and I’ll text Lane, too. I said, ‘Hey, the main thing is go out there and have fun. If you have fun, the results come. If you put pressure on yourself, the results don’t show up.’ ”
What are Snook’s expectations this week at Eldora? Every lap is simply learning experience.
“Honestly, we want to learn as much as we possibly can,” Snook said. “Whatever the outcome is, is what it is. I hope we can make the show obviously. I mean, you have the best drivers in the country here. This is probably the toughest show, if not the toughest show, to make. Just as long as we keep it one piece and just learn about the car, about what I need to do to get more comfortable. It’ll all be good.”
If anything, knowing he has built a reputation that makes car owners and sponsors eager to invest in his future — namely Kane and Foster — is especially gratifying for Snook, who simply wants to make them proud.
“It’s cool that I got to know Jerry through Drake because he drives his modified for him,” Snook said. “I got to drive his modified for him at Ocala (in Florida earlier this season). Just knew Bruce a little bit through Jerry. I know Jerry’s been bugging him to put me in his car. … Yeah, I’m grateful and thankful for it, for Jerry and Bruce believing in me. We’re going to try and make the most of the opportunity.”
