Kyle Shaw has one win to his ledger this season: a points championship.
Shaw edged friend Jeremy Shaw by 16 points to win the NeSmith Late Model track points title at Magnolia Motor Speedway, but Kyle Shaw didn’t run regularly at Columbus Motor Speedway and finished 12th in points. He drove his No. 2S car and two other rides for other car owners at Columbus.
Shaw will have one more chance to notch his first victory of the season Saturday in the Possum Town Grand Prix at Columbus Motor Speedway. Shaw has two fourth-place finishes in four starts this season at the track.
The $2,000-to-win Late Model purse is the highest this season at Columbus, matching a season-high with the season-opening Winter Classic. The track also will play host to a $2,000-to-win Street Stock feature.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Shaw said of winning his first points title. “Looking back at the 15 starts I made at Magnolia, we had six top fives and nine top 10s. Sometimes during the season you don’t think you’re running that well, especially when you haven’t won a race. It’d be nice to close the season with our first win.”
Shaw likely will face track regulars Blake Koenigsberger and Chad McCool, both of whom have victories at the track this season and finished first and second, respectively, in track points, and Hunter Carroll. But Jeremy Shaw and Shay Knight, who finished second third, respectively, in track points at Magnolia, confirmed Thursday they won’t participate in the two-day qualifying/feature event.
Shaw scoped the competition Thursday night at practice — though he didn’t turn any laps — and said he thinks there will 10-12 cars that have a legitimate shot at winning the race.
“This will be the most competitive field in our class at Columbus this year,” Shaw said. “The money always brings people, but that’s how you want it. You want to outrun the best. I like that aspect of it. I’m not one to shy away. It’ll let you know where you stand.
“I saw Johnny Stokes, Trey Rickman, Hunter, Wesley Greene … and I heard Rick or Brian (Rickman) is putting a motor in and will race in our class. Then you got guys like Blake and Justin McCree who’ll be there … It’ll be a lot of fun.”
Shaw said the favorite is veteran Johnny Stokes.
“He’s probably made five million laps around that place,” Shaw said. “Him and Jeremy Shaw, they are by far the two who make it look effortless. They’re two people who can go out there and not have a good car but still have a shot to win.”
Shaw said he plans to drive his car full time next season unless he gets a full-time ride with another owner.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.