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Racing a lifelong passion for Lisa Lorton

By Lyndal Scranton (Wheatland, MO) -- One of the newest members of Lucas Oil Speedway team is not new to dirt-track racing.

Administrative Assistant Lisa Lorton has been around the sport all her life, even before she married Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton 34 years ago.

"I used to go to the races all the time with my Dad, who had a friend who raced," Lisa Lorton said. "Later, after I married Danny, he used to drive a race car and we did that as a family for years and years. Even the grandkids went."

While in her first few weeks on the job, Lorton knows about the pace of racing life - especially at the start of a new season. She said the Lucas Oil Speedway office has been a beehive of activity leading up to Saturday's season-opening Big Adventure RV Weekly Racing Series event.

Part of her duties are helping with every-day duties in the speedway office. Danny Lorton said she also will be taking over some of his old duties, such as handling vendor applications and getting them signed up on the midway along with coordinating media credentials. Vendors space is available to all, with the exception of food vendors. Once applications are received, they are reviewed for approval or not and the applicants are contacted.

Lisa also will be taking over the assigning of National Anthem singers on race events. Anyone interested in singing the National Anthem at one of the events can submit a audio and or video of them singing the National Anthem to her email address Lisa@lucasoilspeedway.com. The applicant will be contacted after the audio or video is reviewed.

"She helped me when I ran Randolph County Raceway," Danny Lorton said. "She ran the pit office for me there for the three years we were there."

Lisa Lorton said she is enjoying her job, which also involved some longer-range planning. For instance, she's spent some time in the past week contacting prospective sponsors for the annual Kids' Bicycle Giveaway coming up in July.

"I haven't been here very long and I'm still learning a lot of stuff," Lorton said. "But so far, everything about the job I really enjoy."

Lisa said she and Danny met in Moberly, where they both grew up. Their early racing paths even crossed (kind of) before they knew each other.

"What's funny is that over the years, you talk about certain tracks where things happened and things that you remember," she said. "There was a sprint-car driver who got killed in a race in Marshall. We were both kids and didn't know each other and our parents didn't know each other, but we were both there."

The Lortons have a daughter (Tara) and three grandkids - Trent (21), Lexi (18) and Kordell (16).

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