A 100-lap Super Late Model race is an apt metaphor for Kyle Bronson’s rookie season on the Lucas Oil Dirt Series.
It requires a balance of aggression and patience to save tires, to maintain or improve track position, and to navigate a surface that might change several times throughout the feature.
Bronson, a Florida native who is 11th in Lucas Oil points, is working to achieve that balance, and he’s leaning on the wisdom of a Hall of Famer to help him become a fixture on the series.
Scott Bloomquist, eight-time winner of the Dream 100 and three-time Lucas Oil points champion, is teaching Bronson the ins and outs of building cars and racing with focus and perspective. So far, so good, Bronson says, though he admits he has squandered better finishes while riding the Lucas Oil learning curve.
“Some of the times, I get up on the wheel and I want to lead every lap of every race,” Bronson said. “And (Bloomquist) tells me to calm down and just drive car, and that sometimes you’re ‘gonna have to take a fifth place.’
“Bloomquist is going to give me the confidence to drive my car better and know that my car is going to be good enough to win the races … just to calm me down a little bit to where I don’t get myself into any trouble.”
Bronson will take the next step in his evolution in points racing against “the best in the country” Saturday at Magnolia Motor Speedway, where series regulars and area drivers will compete in the annual $20,000-to-win Clash at The MAG. Bronson hopes to build on a pair of top five finishes in his last two races at Magnolia — the 2017 Clash at The MAG and the 2017 Cotton Pickin’ 100.
Bronson has raced at Magnolia five times. He said it’s one of his “favorite tracks.”
“The slick ain’t never been my cup of tea, but somehow, Magnolia just fits me well,” Bronson said. “I’ve been really good there whether it’s been really, really slick or if it’s had a ring around the top. I don’t know why, but somehow, my driving style fits really good there. And I hope, with this new Bloomquist car, that it’ll really go good there.”
Bronson got out of his Longhorn race car and will run his second race in a car that used to be driven by Jared Landers. Bronson raced Landers’ old car at the Dream 100 earlier this month at Eldora Speedway but he wrecked in the heat race and didn’t make the feature. He missed practice Thursday night at Magnolia to finish preparing the car.
Bronson said he prefers car setups for longer races because he can race with better rhythm and “get into a zone.” But with so few races in Landers’ car, Bronson could have benefited from the test session. Such is the life of racing on a limited budget, Bronson said.
“(It’s tough) just finding good, steady help,” Bronson said, “but I’m sure everybody has that problem. You try to pay everyone decent, but we don’t have a big sponsor. It’s pretty much Wayne Hammond — him his wife are like another mom and dad to me — and he pays all that stuff out of pocket. I got plenty of product sponsors, but hopefully a few money sponsors can make things a little bit easier on us.”
Bronson hopes Bloomquist’s tutelage and cars will help make up for his limited race resources, which sometimes are limited after he has to pay for race essentials, like tires. Bronson knows he’s in a good position, and as long as he’s winning races and running well consistently, the help will come, he said.
“Me and Scott have been talking for a while, and he even helped me on some of my other cars a little bit,” Bronson said. “I just wound up doing this deal with him, and he’s been teaching me a lot with some of my techniques with my driving and some of my bad habits I need to change. Even with these cars — he’s 100 percent all in and open to teaching me everything I need to know. It might not be something overnight, but he’s going to help my program a ton and take me where I need to be.”
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