KYLE MARTEN AND JOSH WALTER TO COMPETE FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR HONORS ON BUMPER TO BUMPER IRA OUTLAW SPRINT TOUR!
360 SPRINT PILOTS CONTINUE TO BOLSTER 410 SPRINT RANKS IN THE BUMPER TO BUMPER IRA OUTLAW SPRINTS!
February 17, 2015; Appleton, WI. - The 2015 racing season for the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints is just around the corner with the season opening event scheduled for Saturday evening, April 18th, at the LaSalle Speedway.
In nine weeks the first green flag of the year will fly for the masters of mayhem, those bold drivers who wheel the 900 horsepower winged rockets.
Joining the ranks of those wheeling the fastest cars on dirt will be two more graduates of the Wisconsin 360 sprint car ranks. Taking a jump up in horsepower, and taking their skills on the road will be rookie of the year contenders Kyle Marten, and Josh Walters. It’s a path that has been taken by many of the front-runners in IRA, as drivers such as Jeremy Schultz, Scotty Thiel, Ben Schmidt, Lance Fassbender and Robbie Pribnow also had success in the 360 class before hitting the road in IRA action.
For Marten the thought of joining the Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprint Car ranks had been a goal for some time, and saw the 360’s as a potential stepping-stone.
“I’ve been watching IRA races a long time, and dreamt about doing it someday. We had been doing well with the 360 and moved up though that,” noted Marten.
Marten, a second generation racer has followed in his father Terry’s footsteps in moving into the sprint car ranks. Kyle, began is venture into racing watching his father in Super modified action at the Sheboygan County Fair park in Plymouth, Wisconsin, and later witness his father tackle 410 action over a dozen years ago.
Kyle’s for opportunity behind the wheel came racing karts on asphalt and later dirt. With six years of kart racing under his belt Marten switched to wheeling a 360 sprint. His first season behind the wheel of a full sized race machine, in 2011 Marten garnered his first A-main victory as a rookie taking Rookie of the year honors in EWSC action at Manitowoc as well as Plymouth.
Over the course of the next several seasons Marten would go on to finish in the top five in points each season at both tracks scoring a total of 10 A-main wins.
For Kyle his progression into sprint car racing is unique in the fact, the same car owner made the opportunity possible for both himself, and his father.
“Tom Mueller gave my father an opportunity to drive a sprint car right around 2003, I helped out in the pit area back then. Tom gave me the opportunity to race a sprint car and we took off from there”, Marten stated.
This past season Marten tested the waters in Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint action running a limited number of races.
“An opportunity presented itself and I thought we’d give it a try. John Rank helping us out a lot with the 410 he’s taking the reins a little bit going forward, but Tom’s helping us a lot”, claimed Marten.
While the success of former 360 sprint drivers was not the main factor in joining IRA, their success did give confidence to the decision.
Marten’s initial foray into the 410 ranks last season was rewarded with a victory at Luxemburg Speedway. While the team wasn’t expecting a win they were expecting to be competitive.
After recording a pair of top ten A-main runs while running a limited schedule last season, Marten made his was to the first annual Battle By The Bay held at Luxemburg Speedway. On that evening Marten would slip past Phillip Mock for the lead during the early portions of the contest and then fend off the challenges of Mock though several restarts to collect the win.
“I wouldn’t say we were expecting it (the win), but when I moved from go karts to 360, I adapted pretty quickly with that. So I wouldn’t say we were expecting the success right away in the 410 but I was confident in the car and knew I could do it”, noted Marten.
“Everything just worked out perfectly, there were some heavy hitters in that field I would have been happy with a top five. Getting the win was just remarkable, it was very cool”, exclaimed Marten.
For the near term Marten is looking is looking forward to the upcoming season. “Rookie of the Year and a couple feature wins would be a goal and maybe win a few more. I plan to focus on the 410 going forward and see how it goes”, concluded Marten.
Josh Walter is also looking forward to the season ahead as a 360 sprint graduate. Walter has proven consistency behind the wheel of a 360, and it’s something he hopes will continue in the 410 ranks.
“I wanted to participate in more events at other venues and experience the traveling of a race series. It’s a chance to branch out and try something new”, said Walter on his decision to move to 410 sprint action this season.
“It was a golden opportunity that came late in the off season. It began near mid-season last year, and I began talking with people to sort out the motor situation to make it happen”, noted Walter.
Acquiring a power plant was an important factor in being able to move up.
We have a motor, it’s in the car now. It was bought from Dan Mayer, and was run by Jim Melis. We’ll take advantage of what we have. It seemed financially that 410 racing is just the right was to go”, claimed Walter.
The decision to join the ranks of the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints was a long term goal of Walter.
“We kind of had it planned all along, it was a goal. 410 is really a place that I wanted to be in my career”, stated Walter.
The success of former 360 pilots instills confidence but wasn’t the main decision maker in the move.
“It played a small part with the success that they had, giving us a little confidence that we could compete. Aside from that it’s just a place we always wanted to be (410 racing)”, Walter said.
Walter looks at the season knowing it will have its challenges but has a plan to tackle the tough 30 race schedule.
“We’re just going to take it week by week. I don’t know that the goal is rookie of the year but we would like to make 100% of the shows, and we’d like to finish 100% of the laps. The most important part for us is making it from green to checkered and make the most if our year”, said Walter.
Walter’s venture in racing, like many drivers, is a result of family ties.
“I used to work for Skip Barber racing and I grew up watching races at Plymouth. My dad raced for 11 years running Grand Nationals and Sportsman cars. Growing up I was a big fan of the Modifieds watching drivers like Donny Goeden, K.J. Skelton Terry Chesak and Jim Melis”, noted Walter.
Support from his family has been important to Walter.
“My wife actually bought my first race car. Jim Melis is actually my second cousin, my wife contacted Jim and bought my first sprint car for me. It was a full roller and I just had to put a motor in it.”
It’s still a family and friend owned team.
Walter’s family run team is known for its success through consistency with Walter expressing his desire to start and finish each A-main event.
With nine years of racing behind the wheel of a 360 sprint under his belt Walter was eager for a change and an opportunity presented itself late last year for him to compete for rookie honors with the IRA this season.
Last year in 360 sprint action, Walters nailed down an A-main victory and was one of just three drivers to have started every A-main event at the Sheboygan. Additionally he was third overall in top five performances and scored a career high third place point effort.
“Our goal has been to finish every single race and run every single lap, we managed to start every A-main. We had two DNF’s but made every feature”, noted Walter on the successful season last year.
While the challenges which lie ahead may be daunting with only having run on a few of the tracks on the IRA circuit it’s a challenge that will be met with enthusiasm.
“I’ve run in the past at Beaver Dam Raceway, but never have been on a half-mile in a 410 so it will be a learning experience. I wanted to become a better driver and in order to do that you need see different places. Those new experiences will be something to look forward to.
To run well at Plymouth would be good, to win one would be great but were just going to concentrate on what we’re doing and try to finish every single event”, concluded Walter.
The 2015 Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint season will consist of over 30 events.
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com or by logging onto the series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/irasprints the series is also on twitter at #IRA_sprints.
The IRA Sprints are presented by its long time supporting series partners. The series support is led by title sponsor Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts & Service Centers, and associate series partners Osborn & Son Trucking, TW Metals, Hoosier Tire, Cedar Creek Motorsports, Cummins Onan, and Carriage Auto Body.
- Jeffrey Sachse on Feb 18, 2015
- Article Date: 2/18/2015