Kyle Fowler Scores Top-10 In First GAS Late Model Event at BIR

14-Year-Old Handles Up-and-Down First Late Model Start Flawlessly

Birmingham International Raceway is a formidable foe for any racecar driver.  Young racers can be intimidated by the rickety walls and the flat and rough racing surface.  Veterans can be just as rattled by BIR, as well.

But when a driver decides to make Birmingham the place for his or her first-ever Late Model start, BIR becomes a whole new animal.  Figure in a strong field of Pro Late Models in the Georgia Asphalt Series season opener, the Early Bird 100, and a young driver can be easily rattled.

Maybe some young drivers would be fazed, but not Kyle Fowler.  The 14-year-old was calm and collected and raced hard, overcoming several obstacles in the 100-lap feature to bring home an impressive 10th-place finish in his GAS debut.

“We’re pretty happy with 10th today,” said the Legends Car graduate.  “We started seventh and just tried to ride

Kyle (#4) raced hard with the veterans at BIR.  (51 Photos)

for the first little while.  We started out just trying to keep pace with the #23 (Paul Kelley) car to get to the front.  We were running in the top-10 for a while, but one time I got up into the marbles and accidentally bumped the wall.  I had a right-front tire go down, and I had to come in and get that changed.  That pretty much messed up my day for a good finish. 

“But we still finished 10th, which is pretty good considering everything that happened to us today.  You don’t want to be behind in the first race and have to battle to get back up there.  So it was a good run to make sure we stay up front like we want to all year long.”

Even though it was his first competitive action with the Georgia Asphalt Series, Fowler was no stranger to Birmingham when he pulled into the infield at the outset of Early Bird weekend.  Several test sessions helped the youngster get used to the Late Model’s handling and the track’s intricacies, but nothing could prepare him for what it’s like running with a full-field of strong racecars.

That is why on top of the strong 10th-place finish, the Early Bird was a learning experience for the Georgia native.

“I learned a lot this weekend.  I learned a lot about where and when to roll off and pick up the throttle, making sure I give people enough room and how hard I could run it.

“I was just trying to race the racetrack and not concentrate on the cars around me.  I was out there to learn as much as I could and come out with a good finish, and that’s what we were able to do here tonight.”

Kyle was focused and handled himself well to capture a top-10 finish in his first-ever Late Model start at tricky Birmingham.

Fowler will be back on the track in race number-two of the Georgia Asphalt Series season on Saturday, March 10th, at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL.

For more information on Kyle Fowler, contact Matt Kentfield at (704) 455-2051.