Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (April 28, 2016) – Kyle Bellm broke into victory lane for the first time of 2016 by topping last Friday night’s 25-lap ASCS Red River Region feature event atop the 3/8-mile Humboldt Speedway clay oval in Humboldt, KS.
“The way things had been going, it was definitely a much-needed win,” the driver of the Resource Asset Management Solutions (RAMS) No. 14k Sprint Car commented afterward.
Following the triumph and 11th-place hometown run the next night at Missouri’s Springfield Raceway, the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision team return to action with Friday night’s ASCS Warrior Region tilt at Fulton, Missouri’s Callaway Raceway.
The Fulton oval is a place that Bellm and the Schure Built Suspensions/Christian County Collision Repair team could carry on the momentum. “I’ve been there just once before and finished third from the B, so it’s a place that I think we can have some success.”
Bellm went into last weekend off a top-five ASCS Warrior Region run at Sedalia the previous weekend.
He built upon it by taking the victory in the Bybee Lawn Care/Dynotech Racing Engines entry atop the racy oval.
“It was a fun track to race on, the top was almost up to the fence,” Bellm commented. “I enjoyed it.”
Strong in the heat race, Bellm led early before surrendering the point to Blake Hahn. “We were good in the heat, I got a little conservative and Hahn took advantage.”
It was still good enough to get in the redraw and Bellm pulled the two to start on the front row outside.
It turned into an eventful feature with Hahn once again the primary challenger.
“We were really good early, then Hahn got up to us about halfway through,” Bellm explains.
The intensity picked up with heavy traffic in play.
“We were three wide in traffic and he spun it out,” Bellm explains of the action. “Luckily, I didn’t hit him.”
From that point, there was no stopping Bellm in the Schaeffer Oil/Pro Designs/Racinboys machine as he raced on to victory lane.
“We pretty much cruised from there,” Bellm comments. “Hopefully there are more of those to come.”
From there, it was on to Springfield Raceway for a rare opportunity to race in front of the hometown crowd.
Unfortunately, it didn’t go as Bellm might have liked. “We just missed the setup at Springfield,” Bellm explains.
After a fourth-place heat race finish, Bellm started the feature in ninth. “We were better for the feature, but we were still off,” Bellm says.
A cut right rear tire along the way slowed progress, with Bellm settling for 11th at the line. “We came in with less than two pounds of air in the right rear, still we weren’t good enough that night,” Bellm wraps up.
Bellm takes to Fulton’s Callaway Raceway this Friday night before Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour action resumes at Kansas City’s Lakeside Speedway next Thursday, May 5.
2016 Quick Stats: 8 races, 1 win, 2 top-five, 3 top-tens.
Up Next: ASCS Warrior Region at Callaway Raceway in Fulton, MO, on Friday night.
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 John Lee - High Fly'N Photos)
- administrator on Apr 28, 2016
- Article Date: 4/28/2016 by Lonnie Wheatley