Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – NEW LEBANON, NY – News broke earlier this week about Kenny Tremont stepping away from the driver’s seat at the end of 2023.
I’ve been trying to come up with the right things to say about a driver I’ve idolized since I was that kid…a driver I was in awe of when I’d go into the pits after the races…a driver I tried to model my own on-track driving style after when I raced.
In the end, all I could come up with is Thank You Kenny.
When I first became a follower of driver 115 in the early 80’s, there were two distinct fan bases at Lebanon Valley. You were either a Tremont fan, or, a Tommy Corellis fan. In modern times, it was like Danny vs. Brett or Sheppard vs. Friesen, so that’s why it was mind-blowing to see Corellis driving a 115 a few weeks back.
When I was a kid, I stood on Kenny’s side and was able to watch him win an ungodly amount of races and championship after championship at Lebanon Valley. In fact, to be perfectly honest, it was kind of weird seeing Mark Flurey win the Modified track title in 1987 after Kenny had been champion for five straight seasons.
He soon became the all-time winningest driver in the speedway’s history proved to so many, far and wide, why he’s earned the nickname, the “King of the Valley.” To so many of us, that title fits perfectly.
When I finally got to live out my dream of racing a car at Lebanon Valley, I studied Kenny’s driving style. I’d watch how he did things both on and off the track.
I modeled how I drove after what he did. I’m sure I couldn’t be the only one that’s done this.
I even went to the Kenny’s driving school every year because I wanted to learn from the best. To me, that’s exactly who he is…the best.
I don’t think Kenny truly realizes just how many people in this sport have been impacted by him. I can only speak from my own experiences when I say he’s left an indelible mark on me and my love for dirt track racing and racing in general. From the first moment I knew what racing was, I was a KT fan, and then I wanted to be Kenny Tremont.
Back before the ’23 season began, I wrote a column about Kenny, along with Mike King and Eddie Marshall, being inducted into the Lebanon Valley Hall of Fame. If you want to know more about his accolades, here’s the link.
If I tried to put them all into words right now, we’d be here forever and Brian Bedell would probably lose his voice from filling me in on everything Kenny’s ever done in racing.
I didn’t want this piece to be about the record book or his stats. I wanted it to be a thank you to someone I believe several kids in the stands always wanted to be, and someone who seemed to always have time for those kids.
Kenny Tremont is, even to this day, a model of what a race car driver should be, both on and off the track.
Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Ken pretty well. We’ve shared many stories about racing, about life or even the occasional joke. He’s always made time for me, just like we were the best of friends.
That’s the stuff that, even as I write this, keeps me in awe of who he is.
I’m sure as this season goes on, as his driving career winds down, I’ll be writing more and more about the driver of the #115. However, I wanted to take a moment and let him know, from the little kid cheering him on in the grandstands, to the driver who got to race wheel-to-wheel with him, and now a guy who gets to write about his accomplishments on track, thank you.
Thank you Kenny Tremont for showing all of us what this sport really means. Thank you for proving you can be a hard-nose competitor while being a truly amazing person to your fans and fellow competitors.
Thank you, Kenny.