Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (September 26, 2018) – Kyle Bellm and the Nixa, Missouri-based No. 14k Sprint Car team certainly made their presence known at last weekend’s $10,000-to-win Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour “Jesse Hockett/Daniel McMillin Memorial” at Wheatland, Missouri’s Lucas Oil Speedway.
But, after a top-five run in the Thursday night opener, a broken wheel center on Saturday night ultimately derailed the Greenworks Nursery/Landscapes Awarded team’s hopes for a finish near the front.
“We were fast all weekend, we just didn’t have a whole lot of luck,” Bellm summed up.
Bellm kicked off the three-race set by working forward in the Christian County Collision Repair/Bybee Lawn Care machine from fourth to second in Thursday night heat race action and then from fourth to win his qualifying race.
Gridding the feature field in fifth, Bellm ultimately drove the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision entry to a fifth-place finish to start the weekend out on a strong note.
“We went from fifth to second right away, but there was some patchy rubber from the get-go,” Bellm said of the Thursday night feature. “I knew it would lock down and I probably got a little too timid too soon and got passed by a couple of cars.”
Friday proved more of a struggle with the VP Racing Fuels/Schure Built Suspensions/Schaeffers Racing Oil entry finishing out the night fifth in “B” Main action.
“We just plain missed it on Friday,” Bellm says. “I ramped it off a rear bumper at the start of the heat that put us back to fifth from third. Then we went fifth to second in the ‘B’ and I went to the top when I shouldn’t have and got passed.”
Gridding Saturday’s first last chance qualifier from the front row outside, Bellm was well on the way to securing the ninth starting position for the feature until a wheel center broke as he led the way to the white flag.
It was a broken wheel center that cost the team a potentially strong finish on the night.
“We easily had a top-ten car, it just wasn’t meant to be,” Bellm concludes.
Tentative plans call for Bellm and crew to be back in action with the ASCS Warrior Region on Friday night, October 5, at Eldon, Missouri’s Lake Ozark Speedway.
2018 Quick Stats: 30 races, 3 wins, 13 top-fives, 18 top-tens.
Up Next: Tentatively at Lake Ozark Speedway (Eldon, MO) on Friday, October 5.
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.
(Megan Renee photo)
Article Credit: Lonnie Wheatley