Dupo, IL (July 6, 2015) After a hard flip during the SPEED Week race at Macon Speedway last month, Kyle Schuett and his Schuett Racing team returned to the 1/5 mile race track this past weekend for the two-day POWRi Freedom Fest event. The Friday and Saturday shows at Macon kicked off a three-day Fourth of July weekend for the Lucas Oil POWRi midgets, which also included a trip to historic Angell Park Speedway on Sunday night. High car counts and quality competition made for great racing and a perfect way to celebrate the holiday weekend.
On Friday night, Kyle found himself with a high pill draw and a sixth place starting position in heat race number two. In a race with not a whole lot of laps, and with Kyle not having a lot of good experience at Macon Speedway, Kyle found himself starting and finishing in sixth position. By virtue of passing points, he would be forced to start sixth in the second B-main. Not being happy with his heat race performance, Kyle got refocused before the B-main and moved forward to a solid second place finish and earned a transfer spot into the 30 lap A-main event. Starting 20th in the A, Kyle had his work cut out for him, but he started moving forward early. Unfortunately just a few laps into the race, he was involved in an incident in turns one and two and had nowhere to go. He suffered significant front end damage and had to retire from the race. Kyle was officially scored in 22nd position.
After working late into the night on Friday in order to fix the damage caused by the feature incident, Kyle and his Schuett Racing team were even more determined to rebound on Saturday night at the same track. A much better pill draw led to a pole starting position in heat race number three for the evening. After falling back to second, Kyle was able to get back around the leader and capture another heat race win. Based on his passing points, Kyle then lined up seventh in the 30 lap A-main. After a lot of hard racing, Kyle was able to finish in seventh as well and earn his first top ten finish of the weekend. A solid seventh place finish is another great points night and was a great recovery from the struggles that he has had early in the season at this race track.
On Sunday night, Kyle and his team made the journey north up to the historic Angell Park Speedway for the 34th Annual Pepsi Nationals. This year, the POWRi midgets were joined by the BMARA and USAC midgets as well. Twenty four cars signed in for the night, including the best from all three sanctioning bodies. Utilizing the USAC format, Kyle made his first qualifying attempts of the 2015 season and turned in a time of 14.821; good enough for 15th quick overall. Based on the inversion, Kyle then lined up on the outside of row one in heat race number three. After leading the first lap, Kyle began fading back a bit but was able to hold on to a third place finish. As a result of his qualifying effort, Kyle lined up 15th in his first USAC/POWRi/BMARA A-main event. In a race that saw multiple caution flags and one red flag stoppage when Tracy Hines got upside down, Kyle moved forward and was able to come home in 10th place. This earned Kyle his first career USAC top ten finish and again was a great points night in his quest for POWRi Rookie of the Year honors.
Three tough nights of racing and an immeasurable amount of experience were the real results of this past weekend for young Kyle Schuett and his race team. Competing in the top level of midget racing and with some of the best competitors in the business, Kyle managed two top ten finishes and continues to gain seat time every night. He may be considered a rookie, but he is definitely earning the respect of his fellow racers and fans across the Midwest. Up next for Schuett Racing will be another two-day Illinois weekend this coming Saturday and Sunday night when the POWRi midgets make their first appearance of the season to Fairbury American Legion Speedway on Saturday and return to Belle-Clair Speedway on Sunday. Be sure to join Kyle and his team as they continue on with their 2015 schedule and if you’re at the race track, be sure to stop by the trailer and pick up a new Kyle Schuett hero card.
Kyle and his Schuett Racing team would like to thank everyone for their support and a big thank you to season sponsors - Illiana Insurance Agency, Progressive Propane, Bergfield Farms, KBR Performance, Rod End Supply, FK Indy, Hoosier Tire Midwest, AMSOIL by Roger Clapp, Steve Thomas Racing, Bell Racing, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, BOSS Chassis, R & B Powdercoating, J & K Rentals, and Keizer Wheels.
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