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Getting by with Help from Friends, Luza Ready to Take SLM Plunge at Deep South Crane Blizzard Series Opener

By Chuck Corder

Good things come to those who wait. Even if waiting is the hardest part.

These words are usually saved for motivational posters and cheesy song lyrics. But, sometimes, the cliché becomes the reality.

It certainly did for Ryan Luza.

After winning the Allen Turner Hyundai Pro Late Model track championship last season at Five Flags Speedway, the 19-year-old Texan driver hoped the title would springboard him into a Super Late Model ride.

But, for months, crickets was all he heard.

“We knew we needed to move up, but there weren’t any opportunities,� the college sophomore said. “Nothing seemed to come together.�

As the calendar turned to 2016, Luza and his family-based team began making plans for another PLM season. That is until February when two of Luza’s own crew members and longtime family friends stepped up to the plate. Thanks to some timely sponsorship, Luza has his SLM team.

He will be a part of an anticipated dynamite field for Friday night’s Deep South Crane Blizzard Series opener, the Universal Fabricators 125, which will run in conjunction with the Southern Super Series.

“I’m ready. I’m really excited,� Luza said. “I’ve been counting down the days since I knew we were going to be able to do this. I haven’t even really sat in a Super Late Model before. So I’m gonna have to learn as much as I can in a little amount of time.�

The Beef “O� Brady’s Pro Trucks (40 laps), The Dock on Pensacola Beach Sportsmen (25) and Butler U-Pull-It Bombers will all share the marquee with the SLMs on Friday.

Gates open at 4 p.m. Friday with qualifying scheduled for 6:45 and racing slated for 8. Admission is $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, military and students; $5 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids 5 and under.

Luza knows his learning curve will be steep come Friday, but, like any good driver, he remains confident in his abilities to come home with a quality finish.

“Just handling the horsepower, I know the car will drive a lot different,� Luza said of the jump from PLMs to SLMs where the motors carry 200 more horsepower. “Pro Late Models are all about momentum. This will be opposite of that, and adapting is crucial. I look forward to conquering that challenge and having a good run.�

Helping Luza transition to this whole new world will be longtime short-track veteran Mike Garvey, who will serve as crew chief for the No. 14. J.C. Umscheid, Luza’s crew chief during last year’s victorious PLM run, will remain on as spotter.

Just last week, Luza and his father drove from their suburban-Houston home to Garvey’s shop in Pensacola to get outfitted in the seat.

“You can’t show up and not fit in the car,� Luza said with a laugh. “I’m excited to get to work with Mike Garvey. He knows the track and these cars very well. I know I’ll have a lotta butterflies before the race. But, usually, as soon as the engine starts, all that goes away. I’m really excited.�

Excited and also thankful to Mark Zabransky along with John and Roxanne Cabori, the three individuals that have helped offset costs of running a SLM team.

John Cabori first met John Luza, Ryan’s father, when the two became business associates a few years back. John Cabori, a regional sales manager, supplied chemicals for John Luza’s pest control business in the greater Houston area.

Zabransky, an airplane mechanic, is Roxanne Cabori’s brother. Zabranksy and the Caboris watched intently as the younger Luza began making waves in the PLM racing world about four years ago.

“They wanted to step up and help my racing career,� Ryan Luza said. “I can’t thank them enough. It means a lot. I just feel blessed by God to have people that want to be a part of our team and are invested in my future as a racer.�

Before providing their hard-earned money, both John Cabori and Mark Zabransky have long provided their hard-earned free time for Luza’s late model program.

Zabransky utilizes his mechanic skills to work on the cars’ engines and John Cabori helps with much of the labor-intensive duties, such as tires.

“They’ve been our crew for a while now,� Luza said. “They’re pretty hooked on it. It’s not just money that’s at stake for them, but they’re busting their butts to help us, too.

“We don’t have a lot of money to hire a crew, other than J.C. and Mike, to come help us. If it wasn’t for Mark and John, it’d be just me and my dad doing to it, and that’d be next to impossible.�

With a close-knit group and Good Samaritans all around him, it helps to explain why Luza feels as though he’s driving for more than simply himself each time he climbs behind a steering wheel.

While it was painstaking to endure, he can now focus on the business at hand.

The wait is finally over for Ryan Luza.

“I want to win. I’d love to win,� he said. “But a top-five is what I’m really hoping for. And, I know we have a team capable of that, for sure.�

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