Legacy in Every Lap: Lane Zardo Set to Shine in 2026

The Fyre Place & Patio Shop OSCAAR Hot Rods presented by Bromley Automotive have always had eye-catching cars - from body styles to the paint schemes - since the inaugural season. 

The 2026 campaign will be no different if early indications are a sign of the times, as evident when Lane Zardo revealed the No. 46 Ford Thunderbird at the Motorama Custom Car and Motorsports Expo in March.

“It was one of my grandfather's favorite paint schemes, so something in me always wanted to do it,” Lane Zardo revealed. “Now the paint was super expensive, and I gotta thank my stepfather, Steve Perry and Rick's Auto Body for hooking me up with the paint. But if anything happens to the body this year, I'll never do that paint scheme again. But I did it once, and I'm very proud to show it off. I'm very proud to show not only my grandfather's paint scheme, but it's the first ever CASCAR Championship car. It's a tribute to that car, so I'm very excited about that. 

“Then the body itself, me and my cousin Travis Burton, who also sponsors us with Gordon's Basement Waterproofing, we worked our absolute tails off all winter on the car. We got a good deal on a ‘62 Thunderbird body, and we actually made money, because we were able to sell the windshields, some of the door trims, the steering box and then scrapping up the car, we actually made a few 100 bucks. Then we got a free body and we customized it big time, but I'm very excited to show it off and I just hope I can go two laps without scratching the roof this year.”

Zardo will be debuting the car on-track in the Bill Zardo Memorial at Flamboro Speedway on May 23. 

“Honestly, I can't thank the Todishs when they owned Sunset (Speedway), they did a great job having an event for my grandfather,” Zardo started. “Then obviously that closed down and Flamboro would always do one even though Sunset did one themselves. Sunset was my grandfather's home the last portion of his years, but Flamboro was my grandfather's true home - like that's pretty much where he was born as a race car driver. Obviously all the old boys started up at Pinecrest (Speedway), but Flamboro just felt like where his home was once again. 

“I can't thank the Todishs enough for what they have done to help my family get over what happened with my grandfather and keep my grandfather's name going. But, also Flamboro, John Casale, and OSCAAR as well. My grandfather kind of ended his career there, as well, like 15-20 years ago, when he stopped racing super late models, it was called OSCAAR. Then he hoped back in the Hot Rod, and that's why they have memories for him. 

“So now that they got the Don Biederman Memorial and Brian McLean Memorial as well, it's got a whole memorial night feeling to it now. It's very special to have people want to remember my family. It's really cool because I walk into the shop and I see photos. I see my best friend. I don't see any super hero or anything like that, but a lot of people do tell me stories, and it really makes him feel larger than life.” 

When asked to share one of those stories from over the years, Zardo was too quick to mention there’s several that could be shared. He settled on sharing one that Marty Monette shared to a group of him and his friends not long ago. 

“He told me that when he was growing up, he would come out to watch at Flambro and the pit entrance was on the back of the straightaway halfway through,” Zardo recalled. “Guys would come out and kind of get a little bit sideways or whatnot. Every single weekend, Big Block Wild Bill would come out and just light up the car, just have his car screaming. Well, I guess one night - I don't know if it was colder weather or whatnot - but got a little bit too throttle crazy, and had the clip bent up the wrong way. Like he just slid out and went right into the wall.”

“But then he was also saying that each driver had their own spotter stand that they would build at Flamboro, and he used to go grab all the beer cans like in the pits, so he would make a few bucks. He used to go to the Zardo pit and there'd be no beer cans; there'd only be whiskey bottles.

“I mean, to be honest, I have countless stories about my grandfather. One of my favorite stories is the day that he died. He worked the last day he was alive. He came home, made my grandmother dinner. He was coming out to the shop to call me and my brother stupid and work on his race car, and he died right in front of his race car. I mean, that's such a cool way to go. So the stories I got of my grandfather, you wouldn't be able to type them all out, but a lot of people have really cool stories about him, which makes me feel really good.” 

Beyond the first event of the season at Flamboro, he is hoping to run the full OSCAAR campaign alongside his commitment in the Super Stock with Ken Grubb. There are a couple races that do conflict with the pair of schedules.

“I do have a driver on call, but I have to wait and see if it's worth announcing before I do,” Zardo teased. “But it's a pretty cool driver and one hint is I have driven his car at one time.”

If the pieces are able to come together with a run at the championship, Zardo notes it would be a big celebration if they were able to capture the title, saying “my shirt would come off and I can’t guarantee my pants would stay on.”