Kyle Benjamin Overcomes Rough Drivers for Strong Second Place in Winter Heat Opener

Press Box

Ten-year-old Kyle Benjamin had a host of problems to overcome in Saturday’s season-opening Winter Heat series 

race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Running his black No. 81 Wrangler Bandolero car on the fifth-mile track behind the Speedway, Benjamin started ninth and worked his way to the lead, passing cleanly in traffic. While leading, he got spun out twice by the same competitor, who seemed more at home in a demolition derby than a race.

“I was leading the race and then got wrecked two times,” the disappointed youngster said. A restart from last in the field on a green-white-checker finish saw him make a series of fast, clean passes to score a fifth-place finish at the flag.

“We were pretty fast,” in practice, he commented, “but we were faster in the race.”

Benjamin plans to return to the Speedway’s fifth-mile again Saturday, where he hopes he can overcome the hurdles posed by aggressive drivers.