Story By: A2DPR / KYLE KEEN MOTORSPORTS – PORT ROYAL, PA – When the 2024 race season opened in PA Posse territory, Central Pennsylvania. Kyle Keen had plans to divide his time between his 358 and 410 sprint cars.
After an early great run in his 358, leading laps at BAPS Motor Speedway, motor issues forced Keen to jump in the 410 for a few weeks. That period of time altered his plans for the season. He has now committed to the 410 program and finds himself two months into that venture, taking his lumps and learning along the way.
Gaining experience in a 410 sprint car in Pennsylvania is like learning to play baseball at the major league level but the Carlisle, PA native has held his own thus far. The first couple outings were rough but when last weekend came to a close, Keen had qualified for six of the last eight events he entered.
SMALL WINS, BIG STEPS
Keen’s weekend kicked off Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway where he turned in a qualifying lap that put him 18th of the 25 cars on hand. A closer look was even more telling. His lap was only 0.216 seconds slower than the 10th place car, a sign of not only how competitive the fields are in Central PA but also a sign of the progress the team is making with the Fine Line Auto Body, Hess Bid / Hess Auctioneers, Keen Parts / CorvetteParts.net, Shetron Trailers, Heishman Racing Fuels, DL Lehman Construction No.17k.
Keen went on to record a 7th place heat race finish and a 20th place feature finish.
Dialing in a car under race conditions where longer races, more traffic and dirty air are the primary challenges, is always the most challenging area for a young team to develop. Keen is less than a dozen races into his 410 sprint car career, so it’s still very early for him and his team on that front.
Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway, Keen’s pill draw put him in the back of his heat race lineup. He and the team struggled to overcome that and ended up running the B-main.
Keen was able to hold his own in the B-main and make the finale with a 6th place finish. He then went on to convert that 24th starting spot into a 19th place finish.
“We had better weekend and made some progress. We are starting to get a grasp on this 410 stuff. Saturday night we really hit on something that made me much for comfortable in the B-main and used it for the feature, now just have to build off of that. “, Keen said.
“Thanks to everyone who supports us! We will be back next weekend!“
UP NEXT
Keen will return to both Williams Grove Speedway and Port Royal Speedway this weekend to continue building up his team’s notebook and his experience.
The team’s current plans are to race each opportunity at those two well-known facilities each weekend throughout the month of June.
Keen is racing more than ever to build his notebook and accumulate experience. It will be a journey worth watching to see what level the Carlisle, PA native reaches by the end of his first season in a 410 sprint car.