Assistance Has Come To Aid LJ Lombardo’s Chase For Victories

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – DANBURY, CT – When the cars took to the track for hot laps this past Saturday at Lebanon Valley Speedway, many noticed a once bare quarter panel was not bare anymore.

LJ Lombardo, the driver from Danbury, CT, now has a sponsor gracing the main sponsor area. That was Snap-On Tools distributor Paul Wehnau.

I had the chance to sit down with LJ recently to talk about the new sponsor and the second half of his season.

“Paul (Wehnau) has always been a big part of The Valley,” he said. “He started helping Frankie (Harper) last year and when we told him we wanted to go to the valley, he told us he wanted to be apart of a big block team. We thought it would be a good opportunity to get him to be in both classes and figured we would join together with Frankie and make a big team out of it since Robbie (Albreada) is the crew chief on both cars.”

Even with the new sponsor LJ has gained, its not all about the money.

“Im super grateful for the sponsorship from Snap-On Tools and Paul,” he said. “We hope it’s a stepping stone to get to the next level. Paul is the type of guy who wants to do the best he can for us and have fun while doing it. He loves racing and it’s a huge part of his life.”

While LJ had success at the Orange County Fair Speedway in years past, it’s been an up and down season in his first year at the Valley. However, he did capture his first Big Block win on the High Banks back on June 10th. LJ hopes to build off that win for the second half of the season.

“I go to the race track to win,” he said. “Everyone does. When we load up the car, we want to win and put on a good show week in and week out. We want to turn people’s head. My goal at the banquet at the end of the year is for people to think ‘that kid really earned it this year at the valley.”

While running The Valley of Speed weekly, LJ is keeping his options open for big races towards the end of the year other than Mr. DIRT Track USA.

“We talked about this the other night at the shop,” LJ said. “We’re going to try to run Brett Deyo’s show at Malta, Eastern States Weekend for sure and possibly the Outlaw 200 at Fulton Speedway.”
Being a one car, one motor team is tough, especially for traveling when you’re running for poitns at a weekly track.

“Running your own team is totally different than driving for someone,” he said. “Even if this is the last year I run with my dad, not many can say they do this with their dad as a hobby. My crew has been with me since I was 3 years old, and we do add new people. It grows every year, but the solid core that has been there with me this long is the best part about it.”

The sky’s the limit for LJ and his team.