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Dylan Lupton In Sacramento Bee's Newspaper

Dylan Lupton's weekly commute between Sacramento and Los Angeles will continue – his racing career depends on it, at least for the upcoming season.

But his weekday commute between his Elk Grove home and Jesuit High School in Carmichael got to be too much of a grind, so the 17-year-old decided to enroll at nearby Pleasant Grove High, in part to help with the family budget.
"Pretty much every week on Thursday I'll fly down to Los Angeles for testing or on the weekend for a race," Lupton said. "It gets hard sometimes and it's expensive."

The flights will continue at least through the 2011 season as Lupton fulfills his driving obligation with High PointRacing and competes in the Late Model class at the Toyota Speedway in Irwindale. It's a step up for Lupton, who won the S2 class last season at the famed half-mile track. He also won Rookie of the Year honors a year removed from a successful karting career.

"We're trying to put together something so we can also race at Roseville (All American Speedway) this season," Lupton said. "I've never raced at Roseville or Stockton 99, just at Irwindale and the Bullring in Las Vegas."

Lupton said the Late Model season at Toyota Speedway consists of races every other week, making it possible to race locally on off weekends. At his home track for the annual Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29, Lupton finished 16th in the Late Model division. Matt Scott of Pine Grove was eighth.

The S2 division is growing in popularity, Lupton said, because it's a cheaper alternative to running the more powerful Late Models. Lupton said he struggled in the first half of the season getting accustomed to the full-sized race car and the speeds on the half-mile oval. But once he started feeling comfortable behind the wheel, he put together three wins in five races and didn't finish worse than fourth. He outpointed teammate Roman Lagudi of Las Vegas 636-634 for S2 championship.

Lupton is used to winning track championships. In 2008, he won the Junior Jim Russell Kart Series Championship and in 2009 he won the Pro-Kart Tag Jr. Championships. He hopes his title streak continues.

"I moved from racing dirtbikes to karts in 2007, and the day I started racing cars I knew this is what I want to do with the rest of my life," he said. "When I'm not at the track, all I can think about is racing."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/02/18/3412845/lupton-17-sets-sights-on-more.html#ixzz1EMWOvOyP

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