Paul Passes Away!

It is with the deepest of sympathy that we announce that Paul passed away yesterday, Sunday November 22. Shaun stopped by Paul's shop and found him in the shop where he had been working on the car.

Kyle did not know Paul long but they had developed a very good relationship as driver owner and as friends. Paul really knew how to set a car up and always gave Kyle a good car to drive. For Paul racing was his life. It only seems fitting that he passed doing what he loved most. Paul... you will be greatly missed....

Canadian National 2009

It was a typical fall night at the National with 77 cars in the pits. The format and rules were kind of different. You had to draw a number for your time trail run. This assigned you to a heat race with the fastest 6 in each heat inverted and the balance assigned by time fastest first… in each heat the pole car would be the sixth fastest in the heat with the sixth place car the fastest, seventh would be seventh fastest eighth eight fastest etc. The top three qualified for the feature with the rest going to one of three “B Mains” with the top two transferring to the feature. Then… a Small Feature with the winner transferring… add in a couple guaranteed starters and 29 cars would start the feature. Confused… we all were. To add to the confusion if you won your heat race you got your qualifying time back but if you finished 2 or 3 you would start heads up in the feature…. Now are you confused???

Ok, now that the stag is set here is how Kyle did. True to form he drew a 107 number out of 111 for time trials. He went out fourth from the last. By this time the track was GONE…. Cars were running in the 15 and 16 second range. .. not good since fast time, set early, was in the low 14s. Kyle’s first lap was mid 15’s but them he hit his marks and put down a high 14 lap good fro 23^rd fastest. Great run. This put him 3^rd in his heat race.  This meant he had three faster cars behind him in the heat and on the first lap they all went by. Not good, except Kyle was patient and picked his way to third running away from the fourth spot. Yes….. in the feature. But… starting 17^th.

Feature time… Kyle got a great start passing 4 cars coming out of turn two. Over the next few laps he was able to pull away with the leaders as he worked his way up to eight place. THEN the red flag came out…. Didn’t need this. Once racing resumed Kyle’s car was gone… he dropped like a rock through the field not able to keep the car on the bottom or anywhere else for that mater. He finished 21^st.

All in all it was a good night, timed good, qualified good, was headed to the front…. End result just doesn’t tell the story…

Kyle Has a Successful weekend!

Wayland NY, 9/7- Kyle has adjusted well to the sprint cars after a three year absence. This weekend he took the next step toward completing the transition.

Saturday night he was at Sharon Speedway in Ohio. He has never seen the track let alone raced on it. This would be the 54th track Kyle has completed on in the US and Canada. He started 4th in his heat and finished 4th, flatfooting the large 3/8 mile semi banked track the entire race. This was good enough for the 17th starting spot. With 36 cars in the pits making the show was a good thing.

Paul, make a few slight changes to the car for Kyle, adjusting the 3T to where he thought Kyle would need it. His changes worked well. In the feature Kyle was able to run the low side, tucked tight to the inside and work his was up to a well deserved 10th place finish when the checkers flew.

Eriez, Sunday night.... Eriez is a track Kyle is familiar with having finish as high as second there back in 2002. His late model run at this track ended disappointingly with a valve cover leak back in 2007 as he was going to the front. Kyle stated 3rd in his heat and came out with a second place finish which put him into the redraw for the first time back in a sprint. With a pull of a pill he put the 3T in the third starting spot for the feature with good cars and fast company all around him. this is what Kyle has been waiting for for some time, starting toward the front and good competition. Once again Paul made a few adjustments for Kyle and as the feature got underway it was clear he changes were the right ones. As the race progressed it was clear the best cars were getting to the front. Kyle slipped back to 5th at one point but when the checkers fell Kyle finished third for his first podium finish in a sprint in a few years.

This combination of car owner, Paul and driver Kyle seems to be a great combination. Both guys are smiling a lot.... Up next will probably be the Canadian Nationals Sept 18th and 19th.

Quebec Nationals

8/14/09- Kyle was on hand at Autodrome Drummond  last night for the Quebec 360 Sprint Nationals. This event is relatively new and pays big money not only to the winner but the entire field. Needless to say the best drivers show up for the race. Making the field is NOT an easy task.

Kyle was driving the second car for  Zimbardi's as a team mate to his brother-in-law, Jared.  He finished 5th in his qualifier which gave him the 15th starting spot in the feature. Kyle finished the feature in 11th.

At this time details are a little unclear as this info was passed on via text messaging. More to follow.

Kyle Back In A Sprint Car at Stateline!

6/28/09- Mid week last week the phones were abuz with calls that had Kyle in the seat of a sprint car for the first time in three years last night at Stateline. Kyle drove the 3T PJ Motor Sports car to a 11th place finish. It was apparent in hot laps and in the heat race that there was some rust no this season vetrin. However that rush soon vanished in the feature as Kyle worked his way up from his 14th place starting spot to 9th. Late in the race he did loose two spots on a restart not wanting to pile up his new ride. After the race Kyle said, "I wasn't going to pile up a car trying to save 10th place."

We would like to thank Paul and his right hand man Shaun for their help and ride last night. Tom, you too...

Next up for Kyle, McKean County this Thursday night in the Late Model. Then Friday night, in the sprint car at Ohsweken, Ontario, Canada. (we think... not firm yet??).

It was great seeing Kyle back in a sprint car and the smile on his face after the race said a lot.... thanks again Paul.

Almost Raced....

7/26/09-With plans in place to run the sprint race at Arcade Friday looked good.... until Paul called Kyle having to cancel the trip due to family visits. So... Saturday night it was off to Stateline. Yup... once hot laps were in it rained. We are not sure of the rain date but I sure there will be one.

Up next.... Black Rock in a couple weeks (Kyle's birthday 8/7). Paul and Kyle have agreed to run what they want when they want, a situation that will work great for both. Better stay tuned for info on the races Kyle will be running. Kyle will be in the sprint car only for the balance of 2009.

Fast but Flat Ends the Run

6/12/09- Kyle started his heat race in 5th but quickly jumped to the high side and went to the front winning his qualifier driving away. The feature saw Kyle starting in the 10th place based on the redraw. Once again Kyle jumped on the high side and by lap 4 he was up to 3rd working on second. After a couple cautions it was apparent something was gone on the car.... it was a flat right rear tire. Kyle ended up finishing 11th... but was very, very fast.... Next up.... McKean County this coming Saturday night.

Double Features at AIR, Single at McKean

 5/10- Under cloudy skys and with cold temperatures , the crew at McKean County Raceway were able to get racing in last night. Kyle won his qualifier in convinsing fashion but was not happy with the car, so.... adjustments were made for the feature. The race was a good clean event with only a couple cautions. Kyle's car was not quite right but he drove the wheels of it coming home in 7th.

5/9- Last night Kyle had double features at AIR. The first race was the make up from the rain out on 5/1. A flat tire relegated Kyle to a 9th place finish. The car was very good until that point but the hit to the right front corner caused some other front end alignment damage that could not be repaired at the track. Thus Kyle had to adjust his driving the rest of the night.

Kyle came in second in the qualifier for the regular show. The feature saw Kyle come home in 5th.

With all said and done the car will get a good going over in the next two weeks since the next race is on the 22nd at AIR. One can not be disappointed with a top five and three top tens in a weekend..... but we know we can do better....

Kyle Wins At McKean!

Kyle picked up an impressive win at McKean County on Saturday night holding off a late charge from John Lacki. Earlier in the evening Kyle took the victory in his heat race.

The feature looked as though it was going to be a run away for Kyle yet you could see John coming on. Kyle had a straight away lead at one point but cautions took that away and allowed Lacki to close in. As they dealt with lapped traffic the race started to get interesting. In his usual form, Kyle drove smart and got up on the wheel when he needed.

Practice Goes Very Well

Wayland NY- Practice went very well at Arcade International Raceway on Saturday. The engine is strong and the gearing and setup worked fine after a couple adjustments. The track was smooth, dry, and dusty with the wind blowing very strong from the west. Tom and Kyle were able to get the car hooked up on this track. So.... we will see what the season brings. The season starts this coming Friday night at AIR with racing getting underway at 7:30PM.