Kyle’s month of may started slow but finished strong. Tri City on 5-1-09 was a rain out. On 5-7 Kyle raced at OKC Fairgrounds track for the first time. He took the lead in his heat race at the end of lap 1 and pulled to a half straight away lead by lap 4 when a caution flew. On the re-start the engine stumbled and he was passed by 2 cars and finished 3rd. In the B we had the stumbling issues still and pulled off the track. The next night at Devils Bowl Kyle flew to a 2nd place B Main finish. Putting him 18th in the A. He charged into the top 10 before the halfway point when his engine stumbling problem started in again hurting him on re-starts but he still maintened the 11th spot until running out of fuel with 2 laps to go.
We have had this fuel delivery/stumbling issue off and on all season. We have pulled the motor and fuel system and are having it checked over. Meanwhile we have installed our backup engine for the next few weeks.
With our back up engine in Kyle went to Lake Ozark speedway on 5-23-09. In the heat race Kyle charged from 8th to finish 2nd and lining up 6th for the A main he finished a strong 3rd. The next night at the WOW race at California Kyle started 8th again in the heat and finished 5th. In the A Main Kyle charged from a 15th place starting position to a solid 5th place finish which could have been even higher had his brakes not gone out near the end of the race. Hopefully Kyle can continue this momentum into the upcoming races.
Kyle is racing at a new level this year and it has been both exciting and frustrating. This year could be a break out year for him. It started out great with the heat race win at Devils Bowl but disappointment in the A main with car handling issues. Rain outs at OKC on the 27th and 28th and also at I30 on 4-18 were disappointing as Kyle is raring to go race as much as possible.
On 4-4 at LA Raceway Kyle started out awesome by winning another heat race. In the A Main, Kyle was running second and challenging Brian Brown for the lead near the halfway point of the race when a caution came out. As Brown checked up to slow down Kyle swerved to avoid running into the back of him and slid off the end of the track. This put Kyle to the back of the pack on the restart, but, in the end, he came back to finish 14th, a disappointing finish in what could have been a potential win or at least a podium finish.
On 4-25 the ASCS Sooner region opener began at Creek County near Tulsa. After starting 7th. In the heat Kyle passed several cars to finish 3rd. With finish and passing point tallied Kyle had qualified for the A Main 4th in points. He took the lead of the race on the second lap and looked like he may pull away from the pack until a caution flew for a spun car. On the restart while trying to protect the bottom from challengers Kyle spun and got hit damaging the car and flattening the RF tire. We changed the tire and he restarted at the back and passed a couple of cars before pulling off the track with problems. He was credited with an 18th place finish. Another what could have been night!
The good news is he is running very well and challenging for wins! It is just a matter of time until he puts it all together to show what he is truly capable of.
Racing season is upon us and Kyle had an exciting start last Friday night at the famed Devils Bows Speedway in Mesquite Texas. This was the opening night of the ASCS National Sprint Car Series and there were 67 Drivers from 17 states show up for this exciting event. Kyle started pole in the 3rd. heat race and jumped into the lead on the first corner and led every lap for a well deserved win! This qualified him for the A feature of the night where he finished 18th. Despite a problem with the LF Shock on the car. Kyle was a little disappointed with his final finish but to be 18th fastest out of 67 National level cars we can only look at this as an extremely positive night.
This race was taped for National Viewing and will be shown 5-2-09 at 6:00 pm Eastern time on the Versus Channel. It will be an hour long program showing the highlights of the Heat race actions and the Feature event as well as interviews of the top drivers including Kyle after his win.
This race was one of approx. 6 National Tour events that Kyle plans on running in 2009 as he will be competing in the ASCS Sooner Region for points this year.