Kyle Steckly Interview - Canadian Up and Comer takes on the Snowflake 100

Photo Courtesy of: Thompson Photography

November 27th, 2023,

Background

Kyle Steckly is an 18 year old driver from Ontario. Steckly, who began getting some buzz at a young age, blazed a trail to remember in 2023, behind the wheel of his #22, where he won 2 races on the APC series, between a full-time schedule there, including 7 top-5s in 9 races, and a top-5 in his 5 starts of the 14 race NASCAR Pinty's Series schedule. He also ran strong in several races around Ontario in local Pro Late Model track division’s, and he won the APC United Late Model Series points championship in a high stakes finale, where 7 drivers were eligible to walk away as the champion at the end of the night, and he sealed the deal by a 5-point margin. For those more familiar with the Pro Stock Tour, and now SLMS, the APC Series in Ontario is their equivalent of what we have here, roughly speaking. It is the highest level asphalt/template-bodied Late Model Series in Ontario (the same as the Maritimes), and they run Pro Late Models. [Author Opinion: Along with Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island: Ontario and Quebec are easily the strongest provinces for Late Model racing in Canada]

The NASCAR Pinty’s Series is an interesting subject - it routinely features some of the best of Canadian drivers, but at the same time, it can easily be argued that excelling in the top tier races of Super Late Model racing in America holds more weight, or goes further than a top-tier record in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series, when it comes to the top echelons of racing, or getting recognition and opportunity. Regardless of the series, running the APC series, Pinty’s Series, and big American Late Model races is a great way to gain a buzz if you perform well, and all signs point to that being the case for young Steckly.

Interview

It looked like on your Instagram you had a picture of the #9 from Jett Motorsports, commonly associated with Jeff Choquette, but your name was on it. What was that about?

Pat Jett, and Jett Motorsports is a team out of Florida, and we did a race with them at New Symrna (Speedway) in September, a bit of a mid-season race, and we wouldn't have been able to prepare our own car. We got into touch with the Jett Motorsports group. I don't think Jeff Choquette has been racing recently, but he always drove for Pat, and Kurt, and the Jett Motorsports Crew. So I did a race with those guys, and had a lot of fun at New Smyrna, and ended up finishing second. It was a bit of a one-off deal, and it was cool to work with a team down south here in Florida.

As a fan from Nova Scotia, your name just sort of came up out of nowhere very recently. You made 2 starts in the APC Series in 2021, where you won a race. What was your path in racing leading up to 2021?

So obviously my dad Scott raced in the Pinty's Series for a long period of time, and I was always there at the track watching him, you know, in the shop, helping out. And then once I turned 7, I got a Go-Kart for my birthday. I started racing that, and I've been racing ever since, slowly moving up the ranks. I got into a Jr. Late Model, which is pretty popular in Ontario for young kids to start out in. So I got to run those for a couple of years. When I was 13 I started driving a 4-cylinder Mustang Mini-Stock at Flamboro Speedway (Ontario); drove that for 2 years. Then in 2021, I made my (Pro) Late Model debut, and raced at Flamboro speedway, and like you said, made a couple of APC starts, and have been in the APC for the last 2 years.

In 2022, you had another win in the APC series, as well as a top-5 in the NASCAR Pinty's series. You had 5 top-5s in 9 APC races, and finshed 1 lap off of the pace at last year's Snowflake 100.

This year you were even better, winning the APC championship with 2 wins, and 7 top-5s in 9 races, another top-5 in the Pinty's series, and a 4th place finish at the Pro Late Model portion of the All American 400 weekend.

At 18 years of age, it seems momentum and time are on your side, and your skill is developing quickly. How are you feeling going into the Snowflake this year? And - I just saw your great interview with Ashley from News from the Pits, where you went over your future plans and goals, but, what would a strong finish in the Snowflake mean for you and your team? What if you were to take a top-5?

It's definitely huge, the Snowflake 100 is probably the biggest race in North America for a Pro Late Model team, so to come out here and run good would mean the world. There are a ton of eyes on you, and you know, all the big names are out here. I know the competition is very tough, and it's a hard track to get around, we're going to have a hard time, but I'm really proud of this 22 Racing team coming down here. We've been racing (22 Team) forever in the Pinty's Series, but we're pretty new to this Late Model scene. But they've come on strong, and they always bring great cars to the track. Like you mentioned, the success we've had back home in Ontario is unbelievable in just the short time we've been racing. And to come down and finish 4th at the All American 100 in Nashville is really good, and now we're going back to the Snowflake with some experience under our belt from last year, and hopefully we can have a strong run against some of the best guys out there.

[I will say, obviously the competition for that race is amazing, even just Bubba Pollard & Stephen Nasse alone being part of it, and it's a huge entry list, just qualifying will be hard. How do you feel - I know it might change as the week progresses, but how do you feel about your chances, honestly?]

Right now I feel pretty good, I mean, our program has been pretty strong, we've learned a lot this year - in the last 2 years, really, so. I know the competition is really tough, but that strong run at Nashville really boosted the confidence of our team, and myself. I think we can come in here, and we've got some great supporters who've been helping out our program. I think we're able to come out here and compete, and at the end of the day, that's all you can ask for. Hopefully we can do that and make the show: 100 laps is a long time, and we'll see where it goes from there.

I would love to touch base with you again in the future, for a more in-depth piece. In the mean time, do you have any family, sponsors, friends, etc. that you would like to shout-out?

I have to give big thanks to the whole 22 Team, and everything they do for myself, and our whole racing program. We have a great group of guys around us who make racing possible each and every week. I have my sponsors, some amazing partners: APC Auto Part Centers, Pennzoil Canada, AW Millwrights who has been with 22 Racing for over 30 years, Erb Transport, GM Paillie, MBS Motorsports, Sturdy Formed Concrete, and just every single person who supports our motorsports program, without everyone, it wouldn't be possible.

Kyle Steckly seems to have all of the momentum, time, and skill on his side, to continue advancing his racing career, and he has the opportunity this weekend to be the first Canadian driver to win on Snowball Derby weekend, between the Snowflake or the Snowball. Tune in on Saturday, December 2nd, to see what Steckly has in store for the rest of the stout field of Pro Late Models.