Lanie Buice isn’t lacking for confidence — or good performances — of late, that’s for sure. After several years of success racing on tracks throughout the Southeast U.S., no larger than 3/8-mile, the 18-year-old Jackson, Georgia, native has taken to larger tracks and more powerful cars like a duck to water.
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Buice finished 8th in her ARCA Menards Series debut on a much bigger track — the one-mile Rockingham (North Carolina) Speedway on April 19.
It helped greatly that she received strong advice before the race from NASCAR Hall of Fame legend Mark Martin (Dale Earnhardt Jr. also chimed in on social media after Buice took blame for a wreck she caused, but was able to bounce back from).
And then in another ARCA race Friday night at the even bigger 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway, Buice once again finished 8th in the 26-car field.
Now she’s shooting for something bigger and better.
“I want to be running upfront, want to be running top 3 and obviously always in contention for wins,” Buice told Motorsports Today. “We’ll just continue doing that and push for those finishes and be good.”
A Higher Finish Once Again Evades Buice Due To Contact
Buice may have finished higher at Kansas, but she was involved in a last-lap wreck with Isabella Robusto, sending Robusto into the inside wall. The contact slowed Buice down, but she was still able to finish the event.
“I was a little worried there for a second,” Buice said. “I thought I was going to take the wall down, honestly. But I did my best in what I’ve learned in short track racing to keep it together. I ended keeping it out of the wall.
“I hate it for Isabella. I hated that she wound up in the wall. I’m super sorry for her and their whole team.”
Kansas Speedway is considered much faster than Rockingham, but Buice felt just the opposite.
“Honestly, I feel like this track felt a little slower than Rockingham,” she said. “I feel like Rockingham was slow and tight, and the walls were so much closer that it felt like the G’s were a little bit stronger and we were rolling a little bit faster.”
Buice will go back to her regular seat in the CARS Tour series but plans to be back on the ARCA circuit soon, courtesy of her role with Rev Racing and NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity program.
“I had a great time today,” Buice stated. “I’m really thankful for the opportunity and just want to continue to push forward and to continue to get strong performance-wise.
“It was definitely different than anything I’ve done before. If I can just continue to learn these big races and continue to move forward, I feel like we’ll have the momentum.”
