Kyle Benjamin Ready for Career Break-Out Season
South Carolina Teen Laid the Foundation in 2011 and He’s Ready to Build Up in 2012
By Allison Fulson - Twitter: @allyfulson
At just 14-years-old, Kyle Benjamin already has a racing resume that many drivers his age would envy. He’s competed against the best of the best in every level of the sport he has progressed through. And now in 2012, Benjamin plans to continue that pattern by stepping up his Late Model program to include not only the biggest competition, but the biggest races of the year as well.
Last year, seat time was key for the South Carolina sensation. This year the bar has been raised and the goals are higher for Benjamin and both his No. 71 Super and Pro Late Model teams.
“In 2011, we got a few Super [Late Model] laps there at the [Snowball] Derby and a lot of great laps at Five Flags,” said Benjamin. “Five Flags is definitely the Darlington of Late Models; you get a lot of good experience there. We were fortunate that we were able to run all of those (Pro Late Model) races except for one. We got a lot of experience from all the tracks we went to last year that will help us and carry over into this year. I got good seat time last year and this year we’re going to work on more of the same and bringing home the finishes to go with it.”
Benjamin has chosen to return to the Gulf Coast tracks of Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida and Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, Alabama this season in search of that valuable seat time, two places where he can continue to learn from the stiff competition the historic venues are known for.
“We’re going to do a lot of Gulf Coast stuff this year,” said Benjamin. “We’re going to do that and focus on hitting the big races. We’re going to do mostly Cuper and Crate races to fill in the gaps between the larger shows. But since we found so much success in the Pro Late Model last year, we’re going to try to get a lot more laps in this Super Late Model this year.”
And how could he find anything but success with veteran Super Late Model driver and crew chief Freddie Query leading the team this year?
“Freddie Query is my crew chief and I can’t say enough how much he’s helped,” said Benjamin. “He’s helped so many young drivers like Johanna Long and a bunch of others get going. I’m glad he’s on my side helping me learn what I need to learn to keep moving up this year.”
As he continues to progress through the ranks of stock car racing, Benjamin has high hopes for his future endeavors in the sport when he looks ahead.
“A few years from now we’re hoping to move up into ARCA and stuff like that,” said Benjamin. “Just to keep moving up as far as we can, obviously, just like everyone else out here. But this year we’re just focused right now on seat time in the Super Late Model and learning as much as we can in the time we’ve got.”
This past weekend Benjamin added a new accomplishment to his resume. For the first time in his career the teenager pulled double Late Model duty. Benjamin competed in both the Pro and Super Late Model portions of Speedfest 2012 at Watermelon Capital Speedway. He brought home a 12th-place finish in the Pro Late Model show and an impressive seventh-place finish in his first-ever Super Late Model main event.
“It took a lot,” said Benjamin. “I’ve never done that many laps before and it was pretty tiring just like I thought it would be, but we hung in there and learned a lot from all these guys out here.”
Next up for Benjamin will be another first for his resume. He will travel to New Smyrna Speedway for the World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing. Although the nine-night Florida Speedweeks challenge begins on Friday, February 17th, Benjamin and his #71 Super Late Model team will likely begin their run at the challenge on Tuesday, February 21st.
Kyle Benjamin is a star on the rise. (Speed51.com Photos)
Benjamin (71) battled hard for a top-10 run in his first Super Late Model race at SpeedFest 2012.
