Lonnie Wheatley, NIXA, Mo. (August 1, 2018) – Kyle Bellm reeled off his third feature win of the year by topping last Saturday night’s main event at Eldon, Missouri’s Lake Ozark Speedway aboard the familiar No. 14k Sprint Car.
It capped off another strong weekend aboard the Greenworks Nursery/Landscapes Awarded Sprint Car that included a fourth-place run in ASCS Red River action at Sapulpa, Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway.
“It pretty easily could have been a two win weekend, we had a really good car at Creek County on Friday night too,” Bellm said of the Christian County Collision Repair/Bybee Lawn Care entry.
The Saturday night triumph marked Bellm’s third win in his last nine starts seven top-fives in the last ten outings.
Friday’s action at Creek County began with a runner-up heat race finish and then an eighth-place starting position aboard the PPG Automotive Finishes/Colorvision machine.
Bellm worked his way forward and had just made a move for third place with the lead duo well within striking distance when a red flag flew.
“I had just passed Sean (McClelland) for third and the red came out that put us back to fourth,” Bellm says. “It was an open red so everyone was able to work on their cars, after that I just couldn’t get back around Sean. I felt like we had at least a third-place car if not possibly a winning car before that open red.”
Bellm made his way back to Lake Ozark Speedway on Saturday night and finally scored his first win of the year at the Eldon oval after scoring four wins atop the 1/3-mile clay track last year.
We drew a good number and the track was pretty heavy in the heats so we were able to win from the pole,” Bellm recalls. “Then we got to second pretty early in the feature and with about five to go we got around (Taylor) Walton for the lead.”
It took some work aboard the VP Racing Fuels/Schure Built Suspensions/Schaeffers Racing Oil entry to secure the win.
“He was up top, but there was some moisture on the bottom and you just had to be patient to hit it right,” Bellm explains. “The lapped cars were on the bottom, so that kept breaking up my runs at him. We finally caught a break in traffic and I was able to get by.”
After repeated strong outings at Lake Ozark, it was a well-timed win for the team.
“We’ve been near the front, so it feels good to finally get a win and get on the good side of things,” Bellm says. “It’s good to know we’re working well at Lake Ozark, especially with a $10,000-to-win race coming up in a few weeks.”
With a third win of the year in the books, Bellm and crew will take the next pair of weekends off before settling into the stretch run of the season.
2018 Quick Stats: 24 races, 3 wins, 11 top-fives, 14 top-tens.
Up Next: ASCS Warrior Region at Sedalia’s Missouri State Fair Speedway on Sunday, August 19.
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.
