Limited in power, Bates still makes the big show

by Andrew Kunas

GREAT FALLS, Mont. - To Kyle Bates, racing is all about fun.

So it really didn’t bother the Lethbridge, Alberta resident that he was the only driver using a limited motor against more than two dozen 360 sprint cars Saturday at Electric City Speedway. No one else was bothered by the fact he was there trying to play with the big dogs of the Alberta Sprint Tour and Big Sky Sprint Tour for two nights.

Matter of fact, people walked up to him and congratulated him following the B-Main event. Hugging the bottom and making himself as wide as possible, he held off the superior 360 sprinters behind him and won it, securing himself a position in the A-Main that night. This was despite the fact his motor may not even produce 500 horsepower while the other cars were easily getting somewhere around 650 to 700.

Heat races both Saturday and Sunday were lined up by pill draw and awarded finishing points and passing points, and 16 cars were locked into the A-Main based on those points acquired. Bates started fourth and finished fourth in the third heat race, but did well enough compared to others that he was only one spot out of the A-Main, putting him on the pole for the 12-lap B-Main.

“In the B-Main I thought that as long as I stay on the bottom and don’t spin it out, we could do it,” said Bates, who races between 30 and 40 times per season. “If anyone got inside of me, I’d gas it a little harder.”

Bates held off Jeremy McCune, who came from 11th, and Calvin Stumpf to score the victory aboard the SickFast Industries No. 397 Schnee, sponsored by Point 2 Used Iron of Vancouver, Brit. Col. Bates would ride around to a 19th place finish in the A-Main event.

“All we needed was a transfer,” Bates said about the point system in the heat races that put him where he was in the B-Main. “We got lucky and got a late heat race and a decent starting position.”

Bates again made the A-Main in Sunday’s show, racing to a third place finish in the B-Main before being scored 12th in the feature race.

Even if he hadn’t done as well as he did, Bates still likes coming to Great Falls to race with the more powerful sprint cars. He also raced with the Alberta Sprint Tour earlier in the season.

“This is my favorite place to come race,” Bates said of the 3/10-mile clay oval he raced on Saturday.

Bates usually competes with the MDM Sportsman Tour that often races at Bridge County Raceway in Lethbridge. According to Bates, he was at first the only sportsman sprint driver out of Lethbridge a couple of years ago. Now there are about nine from Lethbridge.

Speedmart Inc. in Washington State, owned by former racer Shawna Wilskey, also sponsors that series.

“About ten of our guys shop Shawna exclusively,” Bates.

With the cost of racing an issue, Bates went with sportsman sprint racing, citing the motor costing only $10,000 compared an ASCS-legal 360ci motor, which costs about $30,000.

Bates says there is really no one outright owner of his car. Many people and sponsors have pitched in, all in the interest of having a good time. One of his sponsors in southern California has a 410 motor, and plans as of now are for Bates to hop in a wingless 410 sprint car in November and race with the USAC National Sprint Car Series in the Oval Nationals at Perris Auto Speedway in California and the Western World at Manzanita Speedway in Arizona.

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AST: Alberta Sprint Tour
www.albertasprinttour.com

BSST: Big Sky Sprint Tour
www.bsstracing.com