Racing relaxed (08/04/07)

NEW CASTLE - With the buzz of race cars in the near background, Kenny Byrge appeared completely relaxed even though he was missing his final practice session.

Minutes earlier he decided that his 700-pound car was good enough for the race and decided to skip the final practice before his heat.

This is perhaps the biggest difference between last season and this season for Byrge: he has lifted the pressure to win the series championship from his shoulders.

After winning the United Midget Racers Association championship for the first time last season, Byrge and his team have skipped a few races this year and will not seek back-to-back championships.

Now the Dunkirk native can relax a bit. Besides, both Byrge and his competitors know that the No. 1 car will be fast when it counts.

"It gets to be no fun running for points," Byrge said during an event at Mount Lawn Speedway near New Castle July 28. "We decided to go out and try to win races."

Hours later, Byrge did just that.

He won the race at the former baseball diamond west of New Castle despite skipping the practice session and finishing second in his heat race. After finishing behind the No. 25 car driven by Jason Willis in the heat race and running behind him in second place most of the night in the feature, Byrge pulled off the win by passing Willis in the last corner on the final lap.

The win moved him closer to series points leader Terry Goff, but he remains 390 points back in third place with no intentions of challenging Goff for the championship.

After winning the title last year, 2007 started off rough for Byrge when other competitors started targeting the defending champ.

"There's been so much feuding, fussing and fighting that we threatened to never come back," said Larry Teegarden, Portland, Byrge's grandfather and car owner.

Teegarden recalled one specific race in Columbus when a driver intentionally wrecked Byrge, causing considerable damage to his car. The driver was later reprimanded by the series.

"They can't take it when a young guy comes in and beats them," said Teegarden. "He's proved to them that he can be the champion, and until the end of the season he still is the champion."

Thanks to UMRA rules, Byrge is very visible this year on the track. The rules state the No. 1 is reserved for the championship car owner from the previous year.

Besides the car driven by his grandson, Teegarden has had a few other UMRA midget racecars in his stable, including one once driven by Indy Racing League and two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart.

Teegarden gave Stewart a break when the then-youth was making a name for himself on short tracks across the state, a favor Teegarden hopes the NASCAR champion will return by helping his grandson.

"He's so busy, so hard to get a hold of ... I haven't even seen him physically this year," said Teegarden. "If I get a chance to talk to him, I'm sure that he'll help Kenny out because I helped him out."

Stewart left his mark on UMRA.

Although he never won a feature driving for Teegarden, he is tied for 11th on the UMRA all-time feature wins list with 11. Byrge is already a seven-time feature winner.

Teegarden recalled a race at Montpelier when Stewart, driving one of his cars, raced from the back of the field to the lead in only three laps.

A native of Rushville, Stewart owns race teams that compete regularly in the United States Auto Club (USAC) series and the World of Outlaws series. He also owns Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

In the UMRA series, Stewart fields the No. 20 car driven by Ron Combs. Combs is currently fourth in the points standings, 12 points behind Byrge.

"Ron has an open checkbook," said Teegarden. "He gets whatever he wants for (the race car)."

The future remains unclear for Byrge, 21, after this season.

This summer marks the first he is living away from home. The Indiana University senior has stayed in Bloomington, where he works as a pharmacy assistant, and drives several hours each weekend to meet his team to go racing.

Next season, Byrge hopes to find a ride in a winged-sprint car at an area speedway such as I-69 Speedway in Gas City or Union County in Liberty, according to Teegarden.

"He's talked to some people, but it would cost $1,000 a night to get in and drive (the car), and he wouldn't get a percentage of prize money," said Teegarden, adding that drivers sometimes have to pay tens of thousands to drive the car for just one night in case it is involved in an accident.

Teegarden would like to see his grandson drive a sprint car in the USAC Silver Crown series because they are safer.

"He'll probably run somewhere," said Teegarden. "If he gets a chance to drive for somebody, I always said that I wouldn't stand in his way."[[In-content Ad]]