Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (July 22, 2015) – Seven seems to be the number sticking to the driver of the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car, as Kyle Bellm posted a pair of seventh-place finishes in Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour points this past weekend in Montana.
The leading Rookie of the Year contender, Bellm is also ranked seventh in series points going into this week’s events at Wyoming’s Gillette Thunder Speedway on Wednesday night and then Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, SD, on Friday.
It’s a ranking Bellm looks to improve upon over the latter portion of the season.
“Fifth is still within reach, we just have to put together some good runs the rest of the way,” Bellm said.
If the past weekend is any indication, climbing another couple of positions or so on the point charts is well within reach for the driver of the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair Sprint Car.
Bellm rallied forward from 12th to seventh in Friday’s feature at Electric City Speedway in Great Falls, MT, and then ranked as the High Point driver after Saturday heat race action at Billings Motorsports Park before a packed right rear wheel forced him to settle for seventh again after running among the top five most of the way in the feature event.
“It was a good weekend, we’re getting closer to getting a win,” Bellm says.
Bellm’s first Big Sky action was Friday at Great Falls’ Electric City Speedway, where he climbed a handful of positions in the feature after advancing from eighth to fifth in his heat.
“The track was fast after the rain delay,” Bellm says. “It was pretty narrow so it was tough to pass, but we finally managed to pick up a few positions.”
From there, action continued at Billings Motorsports Park on Saturday night where the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines machine was dialed in.
“We were good, we should have been a top-five car at the very least,” Bellm comments.
After racing from fourth to win his heat race and earn top point honors for the night, Bellm redrew the six to start third row outside in the feature.
An early slide job would prove to be detrimental for the driver of the Scheaffer’s Oil machine later in the event.
“I slid someone on probably the fourth or fifth lap, hit the cushion and it knocked the mud cover off,” Bellm explains. “The wheel filled with mud and the vibration was terrible the rest of the race.”
Still holding on among the top five despite the vibration, Bellm was ultimately fortunate to escape with a seventh place finish.
“It vibrated so much that it cracked the wheel and air was leaking out,” Bellm says. “We were fifth on the last caution but the tire was almost flat, we were able to limp it home though.”
With another pair of top-tens in the books, Bellm makes his first Wyoming start on Wednesday night before tackling Black Hills Speedway on Friday.
“I’m looking forward to this Wyoming track, I hear it’s in between the size of the two tracks we were just at so we should be good,” Bellm explains. “Hopefully we can make a good week of it and get a couple of top-fives.”
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Wyoming’s Gillette Thunder Speedway on Wednesday night and Black Hills Speedway in Rapid City, SD, on Friday night.
Keep Track: Keep track of Kyle Bellm’s on-track action including schedule and results at http://www.kylebellm.com/, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KyleBellmRacing?fref=ts or on Twitter at @kylebellmracing.
If you would like Kyle Bellm Racing press releases e-mailed directly to you, send your e-mail address to Lonnie Wheatley at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Penning the recurring series of “The Wheatley Chronicles” articles on www.sprintcarmania.com, Lonnie Wheatley provides media, public relations and more for select tracks, drivers and events. For more information, Wheatley may be contacted at lonniewheatley@gmail.com.
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley