Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (June 13, 2018) – Kyle Bellm finally shook off the ill fortune that has plagued him in recent weeks by racing to a runner-up finish in Saturday night’s 20-lap Sprint Car feature at Eldon, Missouri’s Lake Ozark Speedway.
It was Bellm’s third top-five run of the year aboard the Greenworks Nursery/Landscapes Awarded No. 14k Sprint Car.
The Nixa, MO, racer and the Christian County Collision Repair/Bybee Lawn Care team will look to build upon that by taking in Lucas Oil ASCS Speedweek Round Five at Creek County Speedway near Tulsa on Thursday and then an ASCS Warrior Region card at California, Missouri’s Double X Speedway on Sunday night.
Bellm’s Saturday night runner-up finish aboard the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision machine came after a Friday night go at Cameron, Missouri’s U.S. 36 Raceway.
“It was the first time with our car there and we just never got the setup right, I just never got comfortable with it,” Bellm said of the night that resulted in a 12th-place finish.
Bellm was back in his comfort zone on Saturday night at Lake Ozark Speedway where he has frequented victory lane in the past. And it looked to be another potential trip to victory lane for much of the night.
Bellm raced from fourth to second in his heat race and then climbed from fourth to third in the Dash to earn a front row starting position for the feature.
And, from there, Bellm put the VP Racing Fuels/Schure Built Suspensions/Schaeffers Racing Oil entry out front at the outset and paced the field for well over half the race before surrendering the point in traffic. Bellm tried to battle back into the lead before ultimately setting for runner-up honors.
“We probably should have won it,” Bellm says. “The track seemed about the same on top and on bottom. I ran the top, I probably overthought it a little bit. We were about the same speed, but running second he could see where he was closing.”
After a recent spate of bad luck, Bellm and crew were happy to back on the podium.
“The way things have been going, second isn’t terrible,” Bellm explains. “We can build on that, we can start putting together consecutive good finishes and maybe get a win at one of these races this weekend.”
Both tracks are ripe for a potential Bellm win with the No. 14k frequently among the front runners at both Creek County Speedway and Double X Speedway.
2018 Quick Stats: 12 races, 3 top-fives, 5 top-tens.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Speedweek Round Five on Thursday night at Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, OK) and ASCS Warrior Region at Double X Speedway (California, MO) on Sunday 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