Wed, 16 Dec 2009, 07:26 PM Lamb Looks Back On Stellar 2009 Campaign

Courtesy of Luke Bogacki

Justin Lamb

22-year old Justin Lamb is no stranger to success on the race track. The UNLV student is a graduate of the junior dragster ranks, and has excelled at every level of progression throughout his racing career. The 2009 season marked another successful campaign for the Nevada based youngster, his best to date in terms of national recognition and on-track success.

Lamb started his season with a bang, winning Super Gas at the season opening NHRA Winter Nationals in Pomona. A few weeks later, he nearly duplicated the feat, taking runner-up honors in the same category at the SummitRacing.com Nationals at his home track, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Lamb displayed his versatility on NHRA's Western Swing over the summer, as he claimed a Super Stock triumph at the Mile High Nationals in Denver, then dominated the Fram Autolite Nationals in Sonoma two weeks later, earning the victory in Super Comp and runner-up honors in Super Stock. At the season ending NHRA Finals, Lamb narrowly missed in his bid to join Jeg Coughlin, Jr. as the only drivers to win NHRA national events in four categories in the same season when he dropped the Competition Eliminator final to Dan Fletcher.

That event in Pomona is a story in itself, as Lamb had emergency surgery to have his appendix removed the Tuesday before the race. Against most of his doctors wishes, he went on to the event, racing only in Competition Eliminator. Though Lamb spent most of the weekend in bed, and drove with pillows under his seat belts to keep minimal pressure on his fresh scars, the team managed to advance to the final. There, sportsman kingpin Fletcher admittedly didn't expect to have the performance advantage; but after the pair left with nearly identical .02 reaction times, Lambs car lost traction and darted toward the center line, forcing him to abort the run and close the season with a runner-up finish.

In addition to his six national event finals rounds, Lamb also scored on the divisional level with a victory at Las Vegas in Competition Eliminator and runner-up finishes at Chicago (Comp) and Sonoma (Super Gas). Lamb's familiar Race Tech Dragster also found it's way to the winner circle without him at the wheel on two notable occasions. Friend Ryan Herem drove the machine to his first NHRA National Event victory at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Topeka, KS, and Peter Biondo wheeled the car to a $22,000 windfall in the Ultimate Gambler event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway's Thanksgiving Bracket Nationals (which marked his second consecutive victory in the event with Lamb's machine).

While 2009 can certainly be looked at as Justin Lamb's most successful season behind the wheel, it's just an extension of what is quickly becoming a phenomenal sportsman career. Lamb's three national event victories in 2009 give him six career national event wins (in four different categories: Top Dragster, Super Comp, Super Gas, and Super Stock). He finished the season as the 13th place national finisher in both Competition Eliminator and Super Gas, giving him 6 NHRA Top 50 finishes. He also took third place honors in Division 7 Competition Eliminator standings, and finished tenth in Super Gas, marking his ninth and tenth top ten divisional finish. All told, Lamb scored seven victories in fourteen final rounds in 2009.

"This was a great season, there's no other way to put it," said Lamb. "I'm a young guy, but the significance of this isn't lost on me, and I feel very fortunate just to have the opportunity to race and compete at this level, much less enjoy this kind of success. But, like any driven individual, I'm focusing on the future and not the past. We had a great 2009, and we've built an awesome team. My focus now is to keep this momentum rolling and build on our success. I firmly believe 2010 will be even better yet."

Lamb will continue to compete along the NHRA circuit in 2010, once again running Competition Eliminator, Super Stock, Super Comp, and Super Gas. The team is preparing to take delivery of a new Race Tech Dragster for Justin to drive in Super Comp and bracket competition, as his younger sister Ryen will take over the driving chores of the teams current Race Tech ride.

In addition to his parents, Chris and Carole, sister Ryen, partner V. Gaines, and friends Peter Biondo, Kyle Siepel, Ryan Herem, and Larry Allen, Lamb also thanked his marketing partners, whom he credits with the teams continued success. Those partners include Matco, Sunstate companies, Madcap Racing Engines, Goodyear, Joe Gibbs Oil, Redback Boots, Palmer Electric, Racetech Dragsters, B&B racecars, and Arnie Martel Racing.