ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Kyle Steffens went to the 25th Annual Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Okla., with high hopes and expectations of racing in the A-Main with the best racers in the world. Mechanical failures and engine gremlins, however, prevented the St. Louis native from achieving those goals.
“The Chili Bowl was a tough one this year,” Steffens said after returning home from Tulsa. “It did not go as planned with a mechanical failure Thursday night. We broke four rockers on our Esslinger power-plant, leaving me at the tail of the C-Main. I battled to the front of the C with some mid-race contact moving me out of the transfer spot.
“Thankfully the Daum Motorsports team worked hard to get me back on the track. Unfortunately, it left me behind the ball all week long. I transferred through three mains, which is still an accomplishment, but not the end result that I was seeking.”
Being a true racer, none of this has deterred Steffens, who is already planning for next year’s winter classic. “This just makes me want to get back into a racecar as soon as possible so I can prove to these open-wheel guys I have what it takes to get the job done,” he said. “I am looking forward to 2011 season and getting further opportunities in the open-wheel cars. With some seat time this year I think that will open some doors for next year’s Chili Bowl.”
While Steffens’ schedule focuses mainly on dirt modifieds and dirt and asphalt late models, he also has plans to run more open-wheel, primarily with the locally-based POWRi midget series. There are also tentative plans for him to run in some of USAC’s shows scheduled for the St. Louis area.
With the Chili Bowl behind him, Steffens is now devoting all his energies to preparing for a busy racing schedule in 2011. “Next I will be running full time for Donnie Charlton Racing in the 22c Team GRT Modified,” he said. “We plan on racing 2 nights a week at select UMP sanctioned tracks along with 10 combined USAC and POWRI Midget shows, and running all of the mile races and big shows.”
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