Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (June 25, 2015) – It was just what the doctor ordered for Kyle Bellm, as the Nixa, MO, racer stopped in at his home track and put together his best night of the season thus far with a runner-up finish in Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Lucas Oil Speedway on Saturday night.
There was little time for celebration though, with Bellm and the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision No. 14k Sprint Car team making the 36-hour trek to Alger, WA, for this weekend’s Dirt Cup that kicks off tonight at Skagit Speedway.
A rookie contender on the Lucas Oil ASCS National trail, Bellm had been close to putting together a full night on the racetrack.
He finally did that aboard the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair machine last weekend. And better yet, it was little more than an hour from home.
“That’s pretty much our home track, we had a lot of friends and family there,” Bellm said. “Maybe that’s the spark we needed, sometimes it just takes one race to turn everything around.”
After a heat race win, Bellm started the feature from the pole position.
Thirty laps later, the 24-year-old was standing on the podium after posting a season-best runner-up finish.
“We were close to winning, I actually got around him (Tony Bruce, Jr.) at one time then got hung up behind a lapped car,” Bellm explained. “We were really good at the beginning but got a little tight at the end.”
“It was the best we’ve been all year,” Bellm continued. “We needed it after the year we’ve had, it definitely gives us some confidence going forward.”
It was a quick rebound for the driver of the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines Sprint Car after a Friday night of struggles at Salina Speedway in Salina, KS.
“We missed it big time in the heat, and when you do that you’re in such a hole,” Bellm said. “You really need to be in the redraw in these races to have a real shot at winning or running in the top five, it’s hard to do if you don’t make the redraw.”
There was no redraw on Friday and no feature after getting in a tangle while running solidly in a transfer position.
“I can’t blame anyone on that one, if anything I probably should have been a little more patient,” Bellm said afterward.
Bellm put Friday’s frustration behind him in short order with Saturday’s strong outing, something he looks to carry over to this weekend’s Dirt Cup action at Skagit Speedway.
“It looks like my style of racetrack, a racy place, I’m looking forward to the weekend,” Bellm wraps up after getting his first glimpse of Skagit on Wednesday.
Up Next: Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action at Skagit Speedway’s Dirt Cup in Alger, WA, on Thursday, 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.
- Kyle Bellm on Jun 25, 2015
- Article Date: 6/25/2015 by Lonnie Wheatley