JW: Hey Kyle! It’s great to chat. Thanks for taking the time to speak with me today. I want to start off by taking a look back at last season [2023 Stats: 62 races; 3 wins, 13 Top 5’s, and 30 Top 10’s], how would you rate 2023? Were you happy with the performances you put together? What are you overall thoughts?
 
KR: For sure! My best season to date in a 410. We started off the year solid even though we weren’t winning races, but we had good speed from the start. We were competing for wins and being right there here at home. As we got into the summer months, we started kicking off. Got the first win at BAPS in June [Greg Hodnett Foundation Night, June 1st, 2023] and started putting together a lot of solid results throughout the rest of the year. The Grove [Grove Racing #45] deal came about, which kind of happened randomly. They just called me and asked if I would be willing to fill in the rest of the season after Knoxville, which I was. Any chance I get the opportunity to run more races and not worry about my own stuff is a bonus. We were super-fast. We won one race and we had a shot to win many. You need a little luck in racing. If one thing happens a little different; five other times we win a few more races. Overall, I was very pleased with the year.
  
JW: Let’s talk about the PA racing scene that you grew up in. This is a major part of your history in sprint car racing as you moved over to PA from New Jersey to pursue your dream of a full time sprint car career. Do you mind sharing a bit about your history with your journey out to PA?
 
KR: It’s a unique place out here in PA. It’s funny… Literally yesterday, someone asked me; “Are you Posse?!”. I don’t know what I am out here, to be honest. It’s been a long road for me. I haven’t had a big breakout opportunity. I have had some good rides which I’m grateful for. A lot of people race junk compared to guys like [Anthony] Macri and teams with three full-time employees. I have never had that huge opportunity in my career (yet) to make a step forward with a major team. I have had to grind it out. Did a lot of it on my own. Driving back and forth from Jersey all the time. Taking advantage of any ride I could get; no matter the situation. A lot of them weren’t the best situation and it’s hard to get a rhythm. I did that for a long time. Then I got hooked up with Capitol and their guys. It’s transitioned from being their car to my car, with them helping with sponsoring and support on their end. It’s my team and I’m responsible for everything that goes on. It’s a good deal and we have enough stuff to be dangerous whenever we show up to the track. But, it’s mostly me in the shop alone with some volunteer help. I had a great kid helping me out who is now out on the road with [Tanner] Thorson. It’s a tough road and I appreciate what I have. I don’t come from money. The last four or five years have been tough, but you do your best to improve as much as you can to get the top performances.
  
JW: How do you see the current scene in PA? How different has it become to the present day compared to when you started out?
 
KR: I have been racing 410s for longer than I thought… From early in my 410 days, I came out here around 2014/15. We only raced around 15 races a year and we were dipping our toes and seeing what we could do. Guys like [Daryn] Pittman, Tyler Walker, and many of the older PA guys who were racing here regularly at the time when I was a young kid. It was very unique at the time. It went from that period to a couple of years when it was just [Brent] Marks and [Lance] Dewease winning the majority of races, other than guys like [Danny] Dietrich and some of the other smaller PA teams getting the odd win. But now, as guys like [Anthony] Macri and [Brent] Marks are leaving here, there is a big hole and void here in PA for someone to fill. Hopefully I can continue to keep the ball rolling from last year and get some more wins.
  
JW: You were one of the major players when it came to racing with the All Star Circuit of Champions on a consistent basis for the last few years. There is a lot of mixed reaction (still) around the series dissolving into the abyss. How did you take the news around the series going away completely? Does it bother you knowing that drivers like yourself have lost out on a lot of races that you normally would have put on your schedule?
 
KR: Yeah, it definitely affected people differently based on location in the country. In the short term, it has killed a lot of teams that have made their operation around the series such as a team like Grove Racing. They were a perfect example of an All Star team. If the series continued, we would have 100% have done the entire All Star 2024 schedule together. We were all on board. We talked about it extensively at the end of the year as everyone was onboard. We would have had a shot to be a contender based on what we showed last year. It’s a different ball game now for a lot of teams. Most teams aren’t able to make the jump from a regional setting to a national one because of the financial and team commitment that you need. It changes in a scheduling setting as local teams in certain areas aren’t going to travel to Ohio, PA, or anywhere just to run a local show. Geographically, where you are, it totally depends on whether or not you got killed off because of the loss of the series.
 
JW: On the flip side, WRG made a massive move in purchasing ASCS. There are a lot of moving pieces and changes coming for this year, but more specifically a lot changes coming for 2025. Do you believe that ASCS can pick off where All Stars were at and grow the regional level of sprint car racing with a larger web, to help with the growth and development of local and regional drivers and teams?
 
KR: Yeah, I don’t think it matters who does it as long as it’s a solid foundation to keep a series going. You need that regional series. You need it at a development level, whether it’s 305s, 360s, or 410s. A stepping stone to get there, or if you want to run it full time, you can choose to do that. It’s the same way I thought about the All Stars. If you look at it on paper, the All Stars was a stepping stone to the Outlaws when you compare it from a regional level to a national level. But, if you wanted, you could run the All Stars full-time without making the jump and do that. Some teams can’t afford to be national teams, but at the same time, the regional avenue isn’t available for teams that would prefer to go that route. Hopefully, we see a positive development in the regional areas throughout the country with this move.
 
JW: Let’s talk about the big elephant in the room when it comes to sprint car racing: High Limit vs. the World of Outlaws. It’s been a major talking point since the end of last year. What are your thoughts on the current state of sprint car racing with the two national series?
 
KR: I mean, it’s tough to say… An interesting situation. If you look at any other major sporting series, there aren’t “two major” affiliations. For example, If you look at the NFL, they don’t have a main competitor that goes against them, or they would get killed off pretty quickly. Personally speaking, one of them will be standing at the top of the mountain. One of them will be killed off, or the other will be absorbed or acquired. That’s just my personal opinion on it. Who knows how long it will take, but it will take a few years before we see what the outcome will be.
  
JW: Do you see yourself becoming a full time regular of a series at some point, whether it’s touring with the Outlaws, High Limit, or even going down the ASCS route in the future?
 
KR: I don’t really know to be honest. Me, with my car? No way. That’s not even a discussion. My budget is so far behind what it needs to be to even do a national series, let alone a full-time All Star series. I wouldn’t be able to make it work financially on my end. You need a full-time crew of at least three guys to race a full-time series; even with All Stars. I have been approached by teams in the past, but I’m only willing to go into a situation that benefits the team and myself mutually. I’m always open to anything, but it has to be the right opportunity.
 
JW: To finish up our chat, let’s talk about this season. As we are moving into the 2024 season, what are some plans that you have for the year when it comes to your schedule? Is there anything that pops out at you that you want to do, or are you going to take it as it comes?
 
KR: I have a schedule, but I don’t publicly release it. I take it month by month and sometimes even bi-weekly. I don’t want to be boxed into a corner in case something comes up and I can’t race. I don’t want to put myself in that position. I usually announce the weekly shows online for the fans, sponsors, and all of our partners. We have a 50-race schedule for this year as it’s the best we can do with the equipment I have. We have two really good engines this year though which I’m excited about. Everyone has good engines now and they are the name of the game. We will mainly be racing throughout PA this year, as the All Star deal has shifted some of our schedule from previous years. Between the shows in PA, we will be in Knoxville for the Nationals and Charlotte for the World Finals. One of the highlights I’m looking forward to this year is PA Speedweek. The entire calendar and purse money for the week looks great! We have only run one race so far so I’m looking forward to getting the season off the ground.