News Director 
Story By: A2DPR / KYLE KEEN MOTORSPORTS – YORK HAVEN, PA – Seven months is a long time. That’s how long Kyle Keen was on the sidelines, waiting for his motor to be repaired and the cold winds of winter to subside.
By the time he arrived at BAPS Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon, he was more than ready to strap back into his No.17 and get the 2023 season rolling.
Keen has also been looking forward to this season for another very special reason. His No.17 will be adorned with a throwback scheme to honor his late grandfather, Jesse Keen. The design Keen and his father, Shawn, chose was the one the team was running the year Jesse passed away.
“Something felt right about bringing the car back from the year my grandpa passed away. He had Brian Leppo behind the wheel and Steve Suchy on the wrenches that season but we lost him in May, so there was a lot of racing that never happened. It feels like this car has unfinished business.“, Kyle Keen shared.
Keen’s day started with some good fortune. He drew the pole of the second heat race.
On the top-dominant, slick daytime surface, the key would be for Keen to get to turn one first from his inside front row starting spot. With a well-timed launch in turn four, he pulled it off and jumped out to a two car length advantage, leading the field down the backstretch.
Keen remained out front at the line and held his advantage by sticking to the high side of turns one and two. As he exited turn two, the caution lights flashed on for a spin at the back of the field.
When the caution was displayed, it appeared the full field had crossed the start/finish line, but officials indicated that was not the case and ordered a full double-file restart.
The second time, Keen dropped the hammer again aiming to win the race to turn one but instead another caution was called and the Carlisle, PA native was penalized one row for jumping the start. As is almost always the case, it was debatable, however the only option was to race hard.
Things went from bad to worse on the restart, as Keen fell to 5th in the running order. The top six finishers would transfer to the A-main, but track position is always critical on a daytime surface.
Keen continued to battle. On a late race restart, he was able to wrestle 4th away from Tyler Ulrich to claim the final redraw spot. He held on to the spot to the checkered flag.
Despite the events of the heat race and a tricky racing surface, the key to the remainder of Keen’s day would be his focus.
Car control would be key and if the track were to take rubber, keeping his machine in that narrow racing line would be essential.
As a top four finisher in the heat race, he participated in the redraw. The result wasn’t quite as lucky as his earlier draw. With positions one through nine up for grabs, Kyle pulled the 9th starting spot for the feature in his Fine Line Auto Body, Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net, Doubling Gap Ranch, Shetron, Auction & Equipment, LLC., Wicked Dog Grille, Heishman Racing Fuels, Wicked Cushion, DL Lehman Construction, Gearhead Coffee, Jeremy Zarfos Photography, Coyle’s Lawn Maintenance, 2B Wrapped, 4 Leaf Clover Farms, Turn 2 Terribles Podcast & Media, Kyle Keen Motorsports No.17.
There is little margin for error on a racing surface like drivers encountered Sunday at BAPS Motor Speedway. Drivers find themselves fighting the balance between being aggressive enough to move forward but conservative enough to make it to the end. Keen survived tight racing and multiple cautions, battling the rubbered-up racetrack throughout the 20-lap A-main for a 7th place finish.
“Overall, our car has decent speed and I’m excited for the rest of the season! Thanks to everyone that helps make this possible! Can’t complain with a top 10 right out of the box.“, a smiling Keen commented.
The next event on the schedule for Kyle Keen Motorsports is April 1st at Lincoln Speedway in the speedway’s season opener for the 358 sprint cars. Action starts at 6pm Saturday.
