Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (July 2, 2015) – Skagit Speedway’s Dirt Cup looked so promising for Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour rookie contender Kyle Bellm. So promising, that victory lane was clearly within sight.
The Nixa, MO, racer carried the momentum of a Lucas Oil Speedway runner-up finish into his first visit to the Alger, WA, clay oval.
And in the early laps of Thursday’s preliminary feature, it looked almost certain that Bellm would park the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car in ASCS National Tour for the second time in his career.
Then the luck turned for the worse. And quick. A tangle in lapped traffic 11 laps into the feature derailed an otherwise perfect night aboard the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair Sprint Car.
“A guy had a flat tire and was up in the cushion, the yellow lights came on late and I just barely clipped him with my right rear,” Bellm explains.
The damage was minimal, but enough to end the night. “I thought I could miss him, but just barely got him.”
“We should have won that one for sure, we were the only one running 12-second laps in the feature,” Bellm says.
Heat race problems on Friday put Bellm deep in “B” Main action. “We got tangled up in a mess in the B, did a little tommy-tumpover.”
With accumulated points over both nights setting Saturday’s feature lineups, Bellm’s misfortune atop misfortune landed him deep in “B” Main action.
“Then they moved us to the inside line and it got jumbled up at the start and we fell back to 13th right off the bat,” Bellm says.
“It was still pretty narrow, but we got going and got back up to seventh,” Bellm says. “Once it widened out, we were fast, we just needed a few more laps.”
Luck aside, Bellm and crew are enthused about the consistent speed of the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines Sprint Car.
“We’ve got a lot of speed, just no luck,” Bellm explains. “I felt like we were one of the fastest cars all weekend, it’ll turn our way.”
Bellm looks for that turn of luck as he makes his first visit to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, for this weekend’s “Fred Brownfield Classic” on Friday and Saturday.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, WA, on Friday and Saturday.
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.
(Photo courtesy of Malcom White Photography)
- Kyle Bellm on Jul 02, 2015
- Article Date: 7/2/2015 by Lonnie Wheatley