photo by Kyle Treadwell
story by Chris Roy
Kyle Treadwell of Auburn, Maine will be racing in the Pro Late Model Series at Oxford Plains Speedway this race season. Over the winter months Kyle, like most race car drivers has kept busy, “The off season has been pretty wild so far. It started off by building a wildcat for Beech Ridge, and midway through the build we got the idea to make the jump to Pro Late Models. My car owner presented the money and we purchased a ACT car to convert over. And of course, just as big of news, I won the light weight feature of the DT100. That event is absolutely amazing. The dedication and hard work Dave Thomas and his team have put in is unbelievable. The event this year was able to raise just over $30,000 for Make-A-Wish. The list of drivers Dave has been able to get to compete is great, a lot of talent from 10+ states. We are all in equally prepared karts so it’s all bragging rights.”
The opening day at Oxford Plains Speedway was been pushed back till April 26th, “I don’t plan on racing at the PASS opener, depending on the situation I may bring the car up and get some practice in with other cars on the track before the weekly opener. The car is currently at Distance Racing being converted over from an ACT car to a Pro Late Model.”
Kyle has had a lot of success at OPS, “I raced a full season of Runnin’ Rebels at Oxford. Earned rookie of the year and 2 wins. I ran 2 full seasons in Outlaws at Oxford, earning rookie of the year and 5 wins, and I was 3rd in points in 2013 after missing opening day.”
So this race season Kyle is once again a rookie at OPS and looks to continue his success at the track. “My plans for the 2014 season are to race the full Pro Late Model season at Oxford and compete for “Rookie of the Year”. Biggest goal is to learn and gain respect from my fellow competitors, and try not to wreck my girlfriend, Vanna, that would be a big plus outside of the race track.”
The Pro Late Models series is the top tier of racing at OPS, “It’s the top class. The biggest, fastest, coolest cars around. I’m extremely excited to get behind the wheel for the first time.”
With all the success at OPS, Kyle has learned how to find his way to victory lane, “Of course, I’ve never raced a Pro Late Model, but in my past experience it’s always been about getting through the center. Keeping the momentum up through the wide sweeping turns and being able to put it down up off. The guy next to you could have 40 more HP but it doesn’t matter if you’re getting on the throttle before him.”
One of the biggest races in Maine is the TD Bank 250 at OPS, “As of right now we have no plans of attempting the Oxford 250. It really depends if we feel we are competitive enough to make the show, and if the money is there.”
One of the things that makes a driver really good is their pit crew, “My pit crew starts with my Car Owner Nick Clark out of Standish, if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be in a Pro Late Model. My father Joe is key as well, he has the patients to make everything perfect on the car. We get a lot of compliments on how nice our race cars are and it’s all because of him. Frank Mottram is our go to guy, he’s been on my dad’s crew since the late 80s. One heck of a mechanic and this year will be taking on the task of our tires. And my eye in the sky this year is one of my good friends, Matt Dufault. Theres only one word needed to describe him, wheel man.”
Safety is always important at the track, either in the pits or in the car, “Most of my life I’ve been around the lower divisions, and it amazes me how scary some roll cages are still to this day being installed. I’ve seen people grab a rotted out Camaro or Honda off the street and weld the cage right to the rotted floor board, and on top of that they try to make the car as light as possible so they don’t install half of the necessary bars. Most of us take what we do for granted. We’re cheating death every time we go out there, and safety is number 1 for me. Hans, full fire suit, up to date helmet, belts etc. You really can’t put a price tag on your life.”