Kyle Shaw was in a rut.
A string of up-and-down performances had wrecked his confidence in NeSmith Late Model points races at Magnolia Motor Speedway.
But on a Friday night during the Southern All-Star race early in 2015, Shaw found himself leading the race. His friend, Shay Knight, was running second before both were passed by Jason Cliburn on the final lap. Victory escaped Shaw that night, but he’d recaptured his mojo.
He’d race at a high level for the rest of the 2015 season.
Shaw was awarded the 2015 Magnolia Motor Speedway NeSmith Late Model points championship trophy and $1,150 in prize money Saturday during the track’s annual championship banquet at the Trotter Convention Center.
“At that point, I’d gotten down,” he said. “After that night, I felt like I’d hit on something, changed some stuff. That night stands out, and from that night on, everything started to turn around.”
Shaw’s championship is the first of his racing career. He’d previously finished second.
Jeremy Shaw (no relation) and Shay Knight finished second and third, respectively.
“Racing for points is stressful,” Shaw said. “This is like the third or fourth season where Jeremy, Shay or Evan (Ellis) has won it. Two seasons in a row, I’d have one bad race that would put me out of contention. It’s been that close. And this year, Shay and I had a couple of races where I’d finish a spot ahead of him and wouldn’t be able to add much to that lead. And Jeremy comes back and is on fire at the end of the season. It was close.”
Jeremy Shaw praised his close friend, Kyle Shaw, for acclimating quickly to dirt track racing. Up until a few years ago, Kyle hadn’t competed and was Jeremy’s crew chief. Knight, who started racing modifieds with Jeremy Shaw in 2001, said Kyle Shaw’s turning point came when he upgraded his car last season, a move that allowed him to showcase his talent at a greater level.
“Last year, when you got everybody from our group, to Johnny (Stokes), to Ronny Johnson and the guys that travel, and when you’re doing that, racing three to four years, out-qualifying them and running up front, that’ll turn heads,” Knight said. “It’s like, dang, what’s he doing?”
For Kyle and Jeremy Shaw, finishing one-two in a points race is just the latest in a competition that has been active since they were kids. Whether it was racing bikes, four-wheelers, skateboards or playing Mario Kart on Nintendo game systems, the friends have been fiercely competitive.
“It didn’t matter — if we were flying paper airplanes, we wanted to fly the fastest one,” Jeremy Shaw said. “Kyle lived next door to my grandmother, and we stared as soon as we got off the bus. We never raced each other in anything official … we were kind of street racers. We built our own dirt track for four-wheelers in my backyard.”
Kyle Shaw said he has spent several years listening to race stories by Jeremy Shaw and Knight, soaking it all in as their children ran around and played and their wives supported them from the stands and at the haulers.
Now, he’s got his own conversation piece.
“I think I’ll put [the trophy] in the living room, at least for a little while,” he said.
n Lee Ray won the Street Stock points championship (12 races). Danny Christian and Tony Silvestri finished second and third, respectively. Mark Barnett and Brandon Hardin rounded out the top-five finishers.
n Jamie Tollison won the Super Late Model points championship (seven races). Chad McCool, Jamie Pickard, Eric Cooley, and Austin Arnold rounded out the top five.
n Joshua “LJ” Lawley won the Factory Stock points title (15 races). Jennifer Byrd, Jason Byrd, Brad Gable, and Andy King rounded out the top five. The 2015 season marked the first year of the class at Magnolia. Thirty-four drivers competed throughout the season.
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