The return to Devil’s Bowl Speedway. It had been more than two years since Kyle Bellm had battled it out atop the famed ½-mile oval of clay in Mesquite, TX.
To be sure, Bellm had hoped for a better outcome. Still, the driver of the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car made the most of an adverse situation by advancing nine positions in the ASCS Speedweek opening feature to secure a 15th-place finish.
With this week’s Wednesday and Thursday Speedweek tilts already washed out by Tropical Storm Bill, action now resumes on Friday with Bellm making his first appearance at Kansas’ Salina Speedway before wrapping up ASCS Speedweek just a little more than an hour from his Nixa, MO, with a Saturday night stop at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO.
This past Saturday, Bellm and the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair team returned to the site of his first career Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour victory, Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
But, after a rough pill draw and a narrow track for heat races, a repeat of that drive to victory lane during the 2013 Spring Nationals seemed a longshot at best.
“We fought uphill from the outset, we just couldn’t get out of the hole,” the driver of the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines Sprint Car said.
Gridding the feature field in the 24th starting position, Bellm had work to do.
“After being narrow and locked down in the heat and B, it was wide and slick for the feature,” Bellm explained. “It just went away all of a sudden.”
Bellm started the 25-lap feature on the ½-mile clay oval on a rush.
“We went from 24th to 11th or so in just a few laps, then I was just too loose,” Bell said.
With the track slicking off more than anticipated, Bellm held his ground as much as possible before finishing off the night in 15th.
“I just didn’t tighten it up enough, it slicked off more than we expected,” Bellm commented. “I guess you’d call it ‘growing pains’.”
With another round of competition under his belt in his Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour rookie campaign, Bellm holds on to ninth in series points going into the final pair of Speedweek events on Friday and Saturday in Salina, KS, and Wheatland, MO, before hitting the road to the northwest for events over the coming weeks.
“We’ve been looking for a toter to rent for the trip to the northwest, but we haven’t had much luck with that yet” Bellm says. “We’re set to go either way, but if we could find a toter that would save a lot on motels over the next few weeks.”
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Speedweek events at Salina (KS) Speedway on Friday and Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, MO, on 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.
- administrator on Jun 22, 2015
- Article Date: 6/17/2015 by Lonnie Wheatley