Kyle Bronson
One of the most consistent and successful drivers in Dirt Late Model racing over the past few weeks has been Brandon, Florida native Kyle Bronson. Since the end of May, ‘The Killer’ has scored seven top-5 finishes including back-to-back second-place results in his last two Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series starts. Those efforts have quietly lifted the 31-year-old driver to fourth in the current standings on that national tour.
And those outstanding recent runs have not been limited to Lucas Oil competition. Lost in the news of Brandon Overton’s incredible performances during the double Dirt Late Model Dream races at the Eldora Speedway was the strong showing by Bronson. The No. 40B Rocket Chassis placed on the podium in three of its four starts on the Rossburg, Ohio clay including a third-place finish in the $127,000-to-win feature held on June 10th.
Bronson is happy with how things have gone as of late and believes the key to that success has come from finding the right formula to suit his style.
“I sure hope so,” Bronson replied to InsideDirtRacing.com when asked if his season had turned in the right direction. “The car has been really good. These Clements motors really fit my style and they’re working really good. I’m pretty pumped up about the next few months we’ve got here.”
When Bronson initially began to compete nationally, the scuttlebutt on his racing abilities claimed that he was very good in his home state of Florida but struggled in other regions of the country. As the results from this year show, that is not the case at all. While yes, he is certainly among those counted as a favorite in races held in the ‘Sunshine State’, as was evidenced when he won the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series season opener at Volusia Speedway Park back in January, but he can now be counted among the contenders to win just about anywhere he races.
So, has Bronson become a more well-rounded driver over the past couple of seasons?
“I definitely think so,” he replied. “I feel like every time we get in these cars we get better and better, but then again, a lot these guys are good that we race with. I feel like we’re getting a better balance for our car and our notebook. You’re out here pretty much running this stuff by yourself so you’ve got to work on your car and get working what really fits you. So far, we’re getting a better notebook here and we’ve been running this deal for a couple of years and getting the car better. Everything works good for me. We’re just going to keep on digging and don’t worry about what people talk about and keep trying to do the best we can do.”
But no matter how good any driver might be, racing regularly on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series is no easy task considering the level of competition to be faced night in and night out.
“This deal is definitely a tough deal to get going,” Bronson explained. “Like I said, there are twelve guys following this deal full time and each and every one of them can win a race at any given time. It’s just really got a lot to do with the car and stuff nowadays.”
The complicated nature of modern-day Dirt Late Model racing also adds to the difficulty of the sport.
“It’s not like it used to be,” Bronson insisted. “It used to be, I feel like, the driver was 80% and the car was 20%. Now I feel like the car is 80% and the driver is 20%. It’s getting so technical and so much stuff matters and has got to go together now that it’s making it tough on people that don’t have engineers and crew chiefs and stuff helping. But we just keep plugging along and we keep doing the best we can.”
While he cut his racing teeth in Florida, Bronson has had to learn what it takes to be successful on the wide variety of tracks that make up a national touring series.
Kyle Bronson’s No. 40B Rocket Chassis
“For me, like any other driver, I feel like each one is just another race track,” he stated. “We’ve got to just find a good balance for the car and you know you don’t have much time so hopefully you unload pretty good and qualify good because that’s got a lot to do with our whole night. Qualifying is big with how close these cars are getting. We’ve just got to unload and hope we’re hit it right and keep digging.”
Bronson uses a one-day-at-a-time type approach to racing, and as the results indicate, it seems to be working well.
“It’s a race-to-race deal. Every race I go out there, I want to win no matter it is and no matter what it pays. Everybody here will say the same thing. You’ve got to work as hard as you can and drive as hard as you can to try to win each race. If you run second, you ain’t happy because it’s all about winning in this sport. Everybody wants to win every time they put their helmet on.”
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