(Interview) Kyle Steckly, Redbud 400 Winner & ASA Rookie Standout
#30 Kyle Steckly & Fellow Countrymen #28 Cole Butcher @ Anderson - Courtesy of Liberty Racing Review
August 2nd, 2024
Introduction:
Kyle Steckly’s 2024 season has been a landmark year for the 19 year old driver from Ontario, Canada. Balancing a full-time schedule in both the ASA STARS National Tour (Super Late Model) and the APC United Late Model Series (Pro Late Model), Steckly's performance has been nothing short of impressive. As he navigates the intense competition and demanding schedule, Steckly's achievements have positively reflected the yield of his dedication and growth, and have showcased his ability to manage strategy, and his raw talent.
ASA STARS National Tour:
Operating around the United States, Steckly’s rookie debut has helped cement the presence of Canadian drivers in the ASA series. His venture into the Tour after 6 of 10 races has been a campaign mixed with learning, podium finishes, and victory. Currently sitting 2nd in the rookie race, trailing #26 Dawson Sutton by just 11 points, and tied for 5th in overall driver standings with #14 Austin Nason, Steckly will soon be taking his shot at 2 more crown jewels for the first time: The Winchester 400, and the All American 400. His remarkable victory at the prestigious Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway, Indiana not only adds to his growing reputation but also places him within a narrative of historical racing achievements.
Historic Context at Redbud 400:
Throughout ASA’s rich history, has seen legends like Mark Martin, Mike Eddy, Dick Trickle, Busty Wallace, and Gary St. Amant win the championship, along with the most recent first year post-revival, with Ty Majeski in 2023. The Redbud 400, a cornerstone in that history has held a particularly special place, with the first of its 58 and counting running's taking place 1 year before ASA was originally founded and playing an integral part in ASA's formative years and beyond.
Last year, Canada's Cole Butcher etched his name into the ASA Record Books as the 3rd Canadian Driver to win an ASA Race, and the 1st to do so since 1992. Seperately, he was just the 3rd Canadian to win the Redbud 400, after legend Junior Hanley did so in 2004, and Raphael Lessard did so at just 16 years of age in 2018.
Making it 2-in-a-row for Canadian Redbud 400 winners, Steckly bested the field in this race renowned for its tough competition and demanding nature, to become both the 4th ASA Race winner from Canada, and separately, the 4th Redbud 400 Race winner from Canada. Showing his ability to triumph under high-pressure situations, Steckly's mostly white #30 had barely a sign of a donut on it, from late race contact with Nason, in a race/on a track known for it's high level of attrition, and beating and banging around the tight, banked bull-ring after holding out longer than all but 1 other driver to get a late tire change. Despite the patience on older tires, he only very briefly fell out of the top-5 all race long.
Season Highlights and Challenges:
Throughout the season, Steckly has displayed resilience and adaptability. In his debut race, he saw the largest, and most talent dense field of drivers in an ASA race yet this year. With New Smyrna Speedway's Clyde Hart Memorial 200 seeing 47 entries, he raced his way in via the Last Chance Race, starting the feature in 27th of 32 cars. With names like Johnny Sauter, Caden Kvapil, Dave Farrington, Jr., John Bolen, and Gabe Sommers missing the show, he went on to finish in 8th place.
In his 3rd race, Hickory Motor Speedway's Tar Heel 250, he was on the inside of 2nd place #24 Brent Crews battling for position with about 70 laps left when some contact, and later mechanical troubles led to a DNF. He rebounded from this set-back in the next race at Madison International Speedway with a 6th place finish, and now most recently won the Redbud 400.
APC United Late Model Series:
In the APC United Late Model Series, Steckly's performance has been equally formidable. With two wins and a second-place finish in five starts, he currently leads the championship standings. His dual participation in both the APC series and the ASA STARS Tour underscores his commitment and endurance in pursuing racing excellence.
Looking Ahead:
As the season progresses, the focus for Steckly will be to maintain his lead in the APC standings and continue his pursuit in the ASA STARS rookie race. His strategic acumen, combined with his team's support, positions him well for ongoing success.
Awesome job this year, I had high expectations and everything, but you know, I wasn't entirely expecting you to get your first win this year in ASA and everything like that.
Yeah, it's honestly pretty crazy, like how competitive it is and everything, and it's been a bit of a struggle, for sure, a couple of issues, but we've been really growing and it's cool to get a win like that, especially at that race. Overall it's been going really good.
I saw the articles that came out after the Redbud, and saw you comment how you recognize the caliber and history of the Redbud, and you have been watching it. Between the guys who have won it over the years, and now competing with Bubba (Pollard), Casey (Roderick), Stephen (Nasse), even Cole (Butcher) now, and at some of these races, guys like Chase Elliott, it's pretty crazy.
Yeah, no doubt, I'd say that it's the most competitive series in North America that race at all of these short tracks. Guys like Bubba, Casey, and Nasse have been doing it forever, and now Cole is pretty much a veteran in it as well. He's been doing it for a long time, he has a lot of experience, and he's won the big races, too. The caliber, not only of the drivers, but of the teams too, Donnie Wilson Racing, Stephen Nasse Racing, Anthony Campi Racing, all of those guys. So it's cool for my team with Rhett Jones Racing to get it done, as they're new to Super Late Model Racing, too. They've been around racing for a long time, but they haven't been racing in supers for that long. They've done a couple of races with Noah (Gragson) before this year, but for them to get the win at a big race like the Redbud, too is cool as well.
I wasn't familiar with Rhett Jones until I saw Noah in it more recently, like you pointed out. And then I saw you had that ride this year. Hasn't Noah been driving the same looking Rhett Jones 30 in some NASCAR Xfinity Series races, too?
They're doing a couple of races in the XFINITY series with an alliance through Stewart Haas racing and Noah's driving. They had a 5th place finish at Nashville, and a 10th place at Charlotte in their debut together. So that's cool to see that they're doing a lot of stuff in racing down there and having success, and they're continuing to grow and get bigger. And the one owner, Terry Jones is Canadian as well. So it's cool see a bit of a Canadian presence. My spotter is Canadian, my crew guys' from Canada originally, too. So it's cool to see a Canadian presence with a Canadian team that's located in the USA, but going out there and running, well, too.
You said they've been in racing for a long time, is that as team fielding cars, or what kind of series, or type of car?
Rhett Jones Racing came together in 2014 I believe, and they've been ARCA racing ever since. Terry Jones, part owner with Mark Rhett. Terry drove Arca cars, and Mark prepared them for a long time, and then Terry stepped out of the car, and they started doing rental programs for the last 8 or so years, and they've had some pretty big name drivers, too, like Frankie Muniz last year.
They were looking for something a little different, watching all the Super races, and they bought a Port City Car a couple of years ago now, and started doing the odd Super Late Model race with Noah. And they're having a lot of fun with that, and want to get more serious. So that's how our deal came about. I met Terry through a sponsor connection at a race, and we were able to put that all together to go Super Late Model racing with the ASA National Tour this year.
Reflecting on your recent victory at the Redbud and your performance in the ASA national tour, how do you feel about your progress this season?
Yeah, it's been good for sure. I mean, I knew it was going to be tough. I knew it was going to be a struggle. New team for me and new series, all new tracks, we've been doing really well, growing, getting me seat time, you know, trying to advance and make that learning curve as short as possible, and I think we did that. Getting our first win at the Redbud 400 is pretty amazing. The first five races were tough. There were struggles. But we were showing signs of speed, and we overcame those hurdles and put it all together for a race, and we came out on top. So hopefully we can keep it going. I think that was my goal to start the year, was to win a race, and now we've done that. We just have to keep it going and see where the points will take us.
Even your first race though, that was so far probably the deepest and strongest field of the year, the one at New Smyrna (Clyde Heart Memorial 200), and you had to race your way in through the last chance race, but you ended up with a top 10 after starting near the rear. I see that as pretty much a win for a first race - that was your first race in a super, right?
Yeah, very first race in a super. We got out there and hit the wall in qualifying.
Oh yeah, that's right.
I still can't believe it, but I'll never do it again. But the team stayed behind me. Everyone stayed positive, and that really helped out. We came through the last chance, and then started 27th or 28th in the race, and drove up to 8th. Battling side by side with Chase Elliott was pretty surreal. That was a great day for sure. Just kind of showing what we were expecting for this year, and what we could do. Obviously, was only an eighth place finish, but in that field is pretty amazing. And where we started and what we overcame was cool to see, and that the team stuck behind me and we put a good race together.
It wasn't that much longer after that, either, that you had your run at the Tar Heel 250 there at Hickory. I think it was only about 70 laps to go, and you were on the inside of Brent Crews (#24 for Donnie Wilson Motorsports) for second, and you were running strong that whole race prior to that.
Yeah, that was definitely a frustrating one. We had a lot of speed. That is probably our best race we had for showing speed, and in practice. I knew I needed to get by Brent Crews, but once that happened, I wish I would have maybe went about it a bit differently, or done something else. I think I got raced pretty hard, but he has all the rights to do that, and it ended up in me going around, and we were having transmission issues as well. So then once I was at the back of the pack on a restart, I wanted to shift from third to fourth, and it just got jammed into neutral, and something was wrong in the top end of the transmission, and that ended our night, unfortunately.
Sometimes people race you different ways, so I should have done a better job reading that. I knew I saw Matt Craig and Brent Crews racing really hard in front of me, so I probably should have read that situation better. But that's something that's hard to do, and I really don't have a ton of experience racing with these racers, and also just racing experience in general. So that was a learning day for me. And, you know, I don't think it would have resulted in a good finish anyways, because we had that transmission issue. I think it was going to happen no matter what, at the end of the day, that was the frustrating part. But you grow from that, you learn from that, and you move on.
You're currently standing second in the rookie race, like, points wise, what's been the most significant learning experience? Do you think for you so far this season?
I think working with another team. I've had the luxury of being here at home with 22 racing with my dad, working with my dad since I first got in a car, and we grew a really good relationship. We butt heads here and there, but we've worked really well together. We've won a lot of races here in Canada, so going down and working with the Rhett Jones Racing crew was definitely a learning experience, but it was something that needed to be done, and I couldn't have done it with a better team. They've done a lot for me, that taught me a lot, and we've really adapted and came together nicely.
It was a bit of a learning experience for everyone with the Supers, it is still new, but we've really grown with our program and with our cars, as well as me as a driver, and how we communicate; getting the car dialed in for practice. It's just a different than what I'm used to, because I've always been with my dad, and just doing our own program.
Meanwhile, you're leading the APC series at the same time, which is awesome. Your racing schedule reminds me a bit of some of the 'old school' days, where people were running a lot more. I know it's hard, or impossible to do it to the same scale it was once done at, though.
Definitely. But I want to be in a car as much as I can be, and I'm thankful to you both of my teams, and APC for allowing me to get in the car whenever I can, wherever I can. Plus, still racing up here is keeping it kind of affordable in a way. But also supporting the APC series is something I wanted to do this year, as they've got a great program up here in Ontario. And just being able to be in a car, I think every time you're in a race car, you're learning something, you're growing - as yourself, your team, your car and your knowledge. So I think that helps.
I just noticed you were doing some JEGS CRA Pro Late Model Races too, and finishing well. Are you doing that with your 22 team?
Yeah, that's with 22 Racing, our own car that we've got here. (Last year) We ran it at Nashville in the All American (Pro Late Model 100), and the Snowflake, and we're just doing some races here and there. We were in the CARS Tour, and then Owasso and Toledo with CRA with our own car. McColl Chassis from up here in Canada, just trying to get experience for the ASA races, and keep getting my name out there down in the USA, too.
How would you say that your win at the Redbud influenced your confidence and approach to upcoming races?
Big time. That was my first win in the USA alone, let alone in a Super. It influenced my confidence in the car I'm in, in myself, my driving abilities, and also just my stamina - 400 laps, and stayed in good shape there. All of it adds up. And to be able to get a win like that, in something that like, you know, I got lots of confidence here in Canada, but going down there, it's a completely different deal, so it definitely helps out and boost the confidence.
If you try to think back on your goals or expectations, like going into the season before your first race, compared to how things have panned out and how you're feeling now. Do you notice any differences, and if so, what are the biggest ones?
My goal at the start of the year was to win a race and be in contention for rookie of the year. I knew that was going to be two really tough goals, but I wasn't expecting to win this early in the year, I had a couple of the races near the end, like Nashville and Owosso were circled as targets for a win. I hoped we could run well at them and maybe pick up that victory. But to get it at Anderson is a boost in confidence. I knew it was going to be a struggle with me never racing a super before, and with Rhett Jones Racing not being full time in super late models like some of these other teams have been for the last three, four or five years +. I was looking forward to it, excited to see where it took me, but I knew it was going to be tough racing against who we would be racing against, and I'd say we're definitely achieving more than what I expected, and doing really well. So hopefully we can keep doing that and really be in the battle for rookie of the year. We closed up a lot on Dawson (Sutton - #26), there at Anderson. So hopefully we end off the year strong with good, solid finishes and see where that puts us.
How are you finding the transition between Pros and Supers? I know when I asked Cole about that, he said it probably took him about a year or so before he really kind of started to get really comfortable with the change.
It's definitely tough. A super is a different deal. It's such a similar car, but that extra horsepower changes things a lot. So, I mean, I've got lots of testing in one, but really, I'm not running that many Super Late races this year. I think I've adapted pretty well, and my team's been good with that and giving me what I want, and giving me feedback, and I've worked with some other drivers who've been in Supers.
It's tough. It's a different style of racing than pro late models, but I've got experience in the NASCAR Canada (formerly NASCAR Pinty's) Series up here. I feel that's a little bit more like a super, with more horsepower, a bit heavier, and the longer races. So I think that was a bit of a benefit for my transition. But you know, it just takes time to learn and adapt. And you've got to run races to get the experience.
