OSHAWA, ON (February 6, 2020)- 2019 may have been Kyle Hope’s inaugural season in Peterborough Speedway’s Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock division, but it was far from the first racing kick at the can for the 32-year-old Oshawa, Ontario speedster.
A graduate of the Pure Stock and 6 or Less ranks at Mosport/Canadian Tire Motorsports Park Speedway, Hope spent about five years on the sidelines but the return to weekly racing; combined with a switch to the tight, tricky bullring on Mount Pleasant Road obviously agreed with the driver of the #03 Honda Civic as he turned-in some, consistent strong results throughout the season scoring a heat race win, fourth in a feature and finished tenth in last year’s point standings.
“Peterborough is quite a bit harder to get around than Mosport because there aren’t too many places to pass the other cars,” admitted the driver. “I think I started to find my rhythm and get more comfortable as the season moved along. It’s a fun place to race and hopefully we’ll be able to pick up where we left off at the end of last year, get back in the groove and be a contender out of the box.”
Hope says his team has spent much of their time during the off-season upgrading some safety items on the car, including adding extra bars to the roll cage, swapping-out the stock gas tank and installing a fuel cell. Fixing some damage from a crash late in the year and coming-up with a new paint scheme and graphics package.
“Dating back to my racing start in karting, I’ve been fortunate to have family and friends lend their support for what I do,” Kyle Hope said. “My father Ken Hope serves as my crew chief, with Kyla, Greg and Linda Simmons along with Phil Brown and Paul Howard also helping out. Special thanks as well to my sister Karrie and her boyfriend Brandon for making it out to almost every race.”
Kyle Hope – who earns a paycheque as a flooring installer and part-time service person for a transit company – is still working on putting his 2020 sponsorship package together. Interested backers can request a copy of the team’s marketing package at hoperacing@icloud.com.
While he’s never been one to set long-term goals, he says he’d like to add a couple more heat race wins to his resume and perhaps finish in the top three in a feature race and around seventh in the final points.
“No matter what happens, we’re out there to have fun and I think I accomplish that goal every time I climb in behind the wheel.”
Fans can follow Kyle Hope in the Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock division throughout the 2020 season, starting Saturday, May 16 at Peterborough Speedway and at www.facebook.com/HopeRacing03.
Prepared by Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media
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