Today's feature is on a driver that's seen more than his fair share of challenges and keeps at it.
Kyle May is 19 years old and currently competes in the full midget class after climbing from karts to three quarter midgets and then finally to his current class. It's definitely worth mentioning that Kyle is also 6'6" tall...
I hate that I didn't get to witness him in a cart....
That might've been slightly entertaining....
Kyle's raced since the age of 5, progressing quickly. Here's a bit of his racing history:
"I started in Go-Karts racing mainly at New Castle Motorsports Park in New Castle, Indiana. Once I got a little older we started running some of the regional and national level events. We even traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway and Daytona International Speedway to race with the World Karting Association. I raced go-karts full time until 2012."
"I started racing T.Q. Midgets at 14, which is the minimum age to race a T.Q. Midget (Three Quarter Midget). I raced all over the state of Indiana with The Midwest T.Q. Racing League, United Midget Racing Association and the King of The T.Q. Midgets."
In 2015, Kyle got the opportunity to move up to a full midget car. But, that didn't come without growing pains. After selling off the entire T.Q. Midget set up, the deal for the full midget car fell through. That left them missing the majority of the 2015 season while they pieced together their own midget car.
In 2016, they missed the first race due to electrical issues. Then, after qualifying third for his first midget feature, the engine blew during the pace laps, putting them down for the rest of the season.
For 2017, despite numerous rain outs, Kyle has been able to finally get seat time in his new class and has finished as high as 7th in a field of 35 cars.
In his words:
"Every time I hit the track I learn something new and feel like I get faster. I am currently running 6th in the championship points standings. There is some incredibly stiff competition racing these cars. We race in The Racing Capital of The World where we race with guys that do this for a living that race 4 nights a week."
As mentioned earlier, Kyle is 6'6", so his car has required extensive modification for him to fit comfortably and safely in the chassis. On a car that makes 350hp at only 1100lbs, this has changed the balance and left them not able to use anyone else's baseline suspension tuning.
Despite all of this, Kyle and his family work on the car at home and are completely DIY with the help of a few friends and a handful of sponsors. We're elated to be included in the list of sponsors in his livery and look forward to seeing his continued growth and improvement.
Keep doin' work Kyle!