Story By: A2DPR / KYLE KEEN MOTORSPORTS – ABBOTTSTOWN, PA – Kyle Keen entered September coming off a top five finish at Lincoln Speedway and only wanted one thing: to put together a complete weekend.
That was something that had been tough to accomplish in 2023. It seemed every good run had been followed by issues so far this season.
Williams Grove and Lincoln Speedways were set to provide Keen with the opportunity to change that pattern as the season entered the home stretch.
Williams Grove attracted a field of 28 cars Friday night for their regular 358 sprint car show. The heat lineups were set using a handicap format, which put Kyle Keen and his Fine Line Auto Body, Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net, Doubling Gap Ranch, Shetron, Auction & Equipment, LLC., Wicked Dog Grille, Heishman Racing Fuels, Wicked Cushion, DL Lehman Construction, Gearhead Coffee, Jeremy Zarfos Photography, Coyle’s Lawn Maintenance, 2B Wrapped, 4 Leaf Clover Farms, Turn 2 Terribles Podcast & Media, Kyle Keen Motorsports No.17k on the pole as a result of his partial schedule at the track.
On the initial start, Keen was called for jumping the start and was penalized to 3rd for the second attempt to start the race. He quickly drove back into 2nd and began to challenge the leader but couldn’t get past and settled for the runner-up finish.
Keen lined up 4th for the 20-lap feature and immediately charged into 2nd as the field entered turn three on the opening lap. At the halfway point, the Carlisle, PA native was in 4th. He was still holding down that spot with six laps remaining when the caution lights flashed on.
On the ensuing restart, Keen’s No.17k was not the same. He slipped backwards in the closing laps and finished 8th.
“Not sure what happened on the restart, but the car went completely away. It was like the tires sealed over. I lost all grip.”, Keen shared.
“Disappointed we went backwards the last few laps after having such a strong run going. Was scratching my head after the restart, but we’ll notch another top 10 under our belt and keep moving forward.”
Keen was looking to put together a full weekend of positive results when he rolled into Lincoln Speedway Saturday night on the heels of Friday’s top ten finish at Williams Grove.
Unfortunately, once again he encountered some tough luck. After starting 2nd in his heat race, Keen was involved in an accident that destroyed the team’s only remaining car.
The incident not only put an end to Keen’s night, it put an end to his season.
“The 17k will sadly be done for the remainder of the season and we will turn our attention to preparing for 2024. I want to say thank you to all our friends, family and sponsors who work so hard to keep our race car on the racetrack.“, Keen said.
“I’m really disappointed because I felt the last few weeks, we have shown some pretty good speed. There are some exciting things happening for next year we can’t wait to share with everyone.“