Kyle Calmes came from seemingly nowhere to finish third in the Pepsi 100 Super
Late Model special at Wisconsin’s Madison International Speedway last
Sunday. Twenty-one-year-old ASA Midwest Tour member Calmes has a Limited Late
Model title under his belt, earned at the Wisconsin International Raceway in
2006 but is a rookie in the big leagues.
The racing bug bit Calmes as a kid and he had the opportunity to race a sport
truck in semi-traveling series at “away” events while dad raced at home.
Kyle jumped into a Limited Late Model at 17 before taking a year off to attend
NASCAR Technical School in North Carolina. |
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The youngster from Freedom, Wisconsin, has a resume many of his veteran
competitors would envy. “In 2000 I won my first fast dash in a sport truck
the third time I raced it at the age of 14. In 2004 I finished fifth in points
with the Limited Late Model and received the Most Improved Driver award. The
LLM track championship followed in 2006 along with the Budweiser Triple Crown
Championship, Limited Late Model Red ,White and Blue Triple Challenge Series
Championship, and Marshfield Limited Late Model Triple Challenge Series
Championship. My first Super Late Model race was last year at the Milwaukee
Mile at the Governor’s Cup. Making the field of 32 drivers out of 71 cars
was a moment I will never forget,” Kyle recalled with a smile.
Kyle’s Monte Carlo is built on a 2006 Lefthander Chassis and powered by a
Goodwin Competition ACE engine.
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“The car was purchased from Mike Butz (who Matt Kenseth raced for during his
time at WIR) who also helps with our setups. The crew is made up of dedicated
guys that came from the sport trucks division. Crew chief and father Hank
Calmes is a three-time champion in sport trucks and Mini-Champs. My spotter
Robyn Wussow is a two-time sport truck champion. Brain Sollars was a dirt
racer from Kansas who won several championships. The remainder of the crew
worked with Robyn when he raced Sport Trucks, with the exception of our tire
guy Gary Thyssen who raced snowmobiles. We have a cool shop and two new cars.
One will be for the local races at WIR and one for the ASA Midwest Tour,”
Kyle explained.
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“I feel it is going to be a challenge every race just to make the show.
WIR will be particularly exciting being my home track and having the privilege
of racing with some of the biggest names in NASCAR.”
Aside from racing, Calmes enjoys deer hunting, football and golf. He is
employed as a fabricator at Performance Welding Inc.
“The ASA Midwest Tour is a dream come true for me. I wanted to go to other
tracks and meet and compete with some of the best drivers in the region. This
is a big step for me, but I will learn a ton driving different tracks and
racing with the best. The people that run this are professionals. Everything
seems so organized, and they make sure we are racing on a level playing
field,” Calmes concluded.
“I had the opportunity to watch Kyle on Sunday and I was very happy to see
how well he ran all day. It just goes to show how well our ASA Midwest Tour
competitors are representing our series on their weekends off. He’s going to
be one of our strongest rookies all year long,” stated series VP Steve
Einhaus.
More information about Kyle Calmes is available online at
www.thrivetodrive.com. Calmes has registered for the Jefferson 100 presented
by Lancaster Toyota Saturday May 19 at Jefferson Speedway.
