Shootout Part 2- Woodhull
Kyle Win's B Main
7/31-
Woodhull NY- Part 2 of the Shoot Out took place last night at Woodhull NY, a very different type of track with it's tight
38% banking and long straight aways. Kyle ran this track with ESS in 2000 when he was 15 and if memory serves correctly the
track won with Kyle spinning out twice.
This trip would prove
different. With 31 cars in the pits, Kyle still managed to start toward the back 8th in the first heat. He did move up two
spots which transfered him to the B Main outside pole. The B Main saw Kyle win handedly. This is the first checkered flay
in this car, be it a B Main.
Kyle started the feature on the inside
of the tenth row in19th. When the checkers fell he came home in 13th with a good solid run.
Cassie was in the pits helping her brother doing the things she did for years... timing laps,
getting the lineups, and checking the hiems and car prior to racing. Good to have her back!
Clinton County 360/410 Shoot Out
7/20- The night started with Kyle drawing a 47 out of 50, which put him at the very tail of his heat
race. Going into the heat race the car was very questionable acting very evil. He spun once and just followed at the back.
Once pit side Kyle determine the left front torsion bar had gone bad thus allowing the left front to drop, hitting the ground
when he entered a turn. Needless to say this totally upset the car.
B
Main was next where Kyle finished 5th from further back but was two spots out of a transfer spot. Car count was 44 car for
24 spots.
Up next Woodhull tonight... part two of the shoot out...
Clinton County 7/19
Rain out???? Not sure why but races were called for rain mid afternoon. It appears the weather was fine from
3PM thru the evening and into today with no chance of rain from7Pm on. Not sure if they had rain during the day but from what
weather.com said... not much of anything???
Up next... 7/30 at
Clinton County a 410/360 joint event ... that should be fun with 50 -60 cars in the field....
7/9 Clinton County
Rain wins! It did not look good at all upon arrival at the track... very dark skies, flood warnings
in the area, and no people in the stands, who could blame them? The evening progressed as though the weather was clear and
sunny. Kyle got hot laps in then.... rain, rain,and more rain. So... car is completely dirty, fire suit is completely dirty
and crew all had fun playing in the mud....
Next week we will
try it again.
LITTLE VALLEY
Kyle was back in a 360 sprint last night at Little Valley driving the back up car for Zambardi's.
It was kind of strange watching two cars looking the same racing on the track at the same time. Jarad started 6th in the first
heat and finished 2nd while Kyle started 6th in the second heat and finished third.
Jarad started the feature 4th with Kyle right behind him on the starting grid in 6th. On the start of the
race three cars mid pack got together causing a red flag situation and a delay of a good half hour. Once underway not much
on anyone moved anywhere, the long straight aways just take horse power once you get through the turns. Kyle could get through
the turns nicely with the car handling great but just could not catch the cars in front of him. Once the race was restarted
it went caution free. Jarad was able to pick up one spot finishing 3rd and Kyle finished where he started in 6th.
Next up is Clinton County this coming Friday night back in the seat of the
410.
A Good Night????
The night started with Kyle "can't draw a
number" starting last in his heat, however the officials were not happy with how long it took the field to get on the
track and linded them up but the order they arrived on the track. This put Kyle up to 6th instead of 10th.... anyway he finished
3rd.
Feature time... Kyle started 3rd
but dropped to 6th in the first couple laps. The track was very rough and you really had to choose your lines or the ruts
would get the best of you. Kyle settled in and started to work his was back to the front. At the half way mark he was up to
3rd with 2nd in sight, realling him in as the leaders worked lapped traffic. As this was going on the distance between Kyle
and 4th place was growing. The car was working well, Kyle was running good lines, and he was moving forward. Well..... Kyle
finally made a move under 2nd place going into turn three. The driver gave Kyle the line as they were side by side between
three and four. 2nd place hit one of those ruts as did Kyle, the touched side to side, not doing any damage but Kyle had all
four wheels 1-2 feet in the air. This is wen you hold your breath... the car landed on all four, stalled, and the caution
came out. To the back we go... to the front we go... ended up 10 or 11th in a five lap dash....
The team IS there. The finishes are coming as you can see the improvements
working... Back in action next Friday night....
Mechanical Failures Hi Lite Night
New brakes are on the car and working great. Kyle
is much more comfortable and can now drive the car like he can with the new Brakeman brake system just installed. In
the heat race he was reeling in the leader when he felt an engine problem and shut it down. Pit side the crew found a broken
rocker arm. Next u was the B main where Kyle was able to qualify for the feature.
Feature time found Kyle bringing up the rear starting in 24th position. This has
never been a real problem for him but when the first caution came out on lap 2 the top wing rear support failed causing the
wing to fall down in the back. So pit side once again making it an evening.
This teamis very close to success. The car is to Kyle's liking and the
team works well together talking with Kyle on set up at every step. Off for two weeks then look out....
SUCCESS IS ON THE HORIZON
5/15/10- It was a nice night for racing even though
it had been a strange day for storms around the track. The track never did get hit by a storm.
Kyle lead five laps of his heat race finishing 2nd. You could see he
changed his line into the turn just prior to dropping to second. Kyle said he could not set the car as he needed due to brake
concerns and not being able to slow the car down.
Feature time, Kyle started 5th. It took only a couple laps to go to 3rd keeping the top two spots well in
hand. As the race wore on a couple cars got by Kyle putting him back to 5th. At this point Kyle was changing his line once
again and several of us could see he had an issue. Not to give in he worked his way back to second when the 3rd place car
went off the back straightaway of the track bringing out a caution. On the ensuing restart Kyle took third and looked to have
it well in hand with 2 laps to go. Wellllll.... now the rest of the story.... the announcer said there were two laps left,
Kyle heard on his radio two laps left but they ran 2 white flag laps??? anyway three more laps, right or wrong. On the very
last lap the 4th place driver dove in under Kyle going into turn one taking away Kyle line and practice of setting the car.
Coming out of turn two Kyle went low on him taking the spot back, hammered the throttle, the car pulled a wheelie, taking
away his steering, and he was reacquainted with the implement tire in the turn. Night over...
We need to resolve the brake issue. The problem has come
to light because Kyle is driving so hard into the turns. He needs to slow down quick, fast, and consistantly. Once he is comfortable
with the car greater success is on the way. The handling of the car is now there to Kyle's liking and he is not lacking on
horse power. So.... one last piece.
MAKING PROGRESS
4/30- Clinton County Raceway- Kyle started his
heat race in 10th, last place in the line up. He had to bring the car in do to overheating. That problem was somewhat correct
for the B Main. Several adjustments were made for the B Main including bars, shocks, tires, stagger.... all in an effort o
give Kyle a car he had to drive from the last spot in the B Main to at least 5th to qualify for the A Main. Well it worked.
Kyle drove up as high as 3rd but a restart on a caution had him move back o 5th for the restart.
A Main time... starting dead last does have it's advantages... Kyle
let the group settle down and after a couple laps he started his drive forward. Just before haflway he was up to 13 or 14.
He got tagged in turn two and spun (drive appologized after the race) but at the same time a red flag came out. Three or four
laps earlier he noticed a skip in the engine... probably a rocker arm. Kyle did the smart thing and brought the car into the
pits.
The good news
is the car worked great and without the engine issue he would have had a top ten. Looking for better runs in the weeks to
come. The team know knows what works for Kyle and.... he LOVES driving a 410.
Kyle and Team Gel Nicely
Kyle made his first run last night in Chuck Roan's
410 at Clinton County Raceway. The team was great working with Kyle on the setup. The track dusted very early in the evening
making setup very difficult. The guys got the car much better and Kyle was able to run upfront. He finished 4th in his heat
race and was running 4th mid way through the feature when he got a little to close to an implement tire while putting a car
a lap down. The evening was finished with a couple bent radius rods and a driver very upset with himself.
The team was happy with the showing and everyone is looking forward
to next week. Thanks Chuck for the opportunity and thanks to the team for their support.
A link to Chuck's website will be posted later this weekend. You will
be able to see the videos from last night. The Clinton County schedule will be posted on the site as well.
(and a big Thanks Steve.... you know who you are...)
KYLE READY TO RACE FRIDAY NIGHT
Kyle is ready to go for this Friday
night at Clinton County. The weather looks good so far. The car is ready and the team is excited about the run. This is a
good test to see how everything works from the car, to the team, to Kyle. Here's hoping for the best......
Kyle to Pilot
410 at Clinton County
At
this point in time an agreement has been reached that will have Kyle in the seat of the Chuck Roan 22 at Clinton County Raceway
for opening night on April 23rd. Kyle met with the team this past Saturday and all agreed to take in one race at a time and
see how things work out. Like any other team funding is a key to running an entire season. Please check back as the site will
be updated as soon as the current sponsors are announced and as the races unfold.
