In the Spotlight: Kyle Dudley

Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia within an hour of two local short tracks and with a father who raced himself, Kyle Dudley seems to know all too well what it takes to be at the front of the field to go after a win.

Dudley grew up at Franklin County Speedway where his father, Mike Dudley, raced at and won the 2001 and 2004 Late Model Championships. He has had a passion for racing from the start.

Dudley continued the family racing tradition when he took home the championship trophies in 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, and 2017. According to the 2019 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Division I stats, out of 500 drivers he placed 81st.

Last year, he picked up his second top-ten finish in Martinsville's annual late model race. His last top-ten finish and the only other time he has made it into the main event was in 2014. This special race day includes three heat races, one last-chance heat race, and the main event. Each year this event brings around seventy drivers to the paperclip to battle it out for a spot in the main event, then they play a game of survival to win their very own grandfather clock. To win or come out with a good finish at this unique event can bring lots of emotion and excitement.

Currently, Kyle Dudley drives the #4 Chevy Camaro Late Model. The upcoming 2020 season will mark Dudley's 13th season. He plans on running at his hometrack of Franklin County Speedway and he says he might venture off to a couple other tracks such as Ace Speedway or South Boston Speedway throughout the season. As always, he also plans on trying for the Valley Star Credit Union 300 late model race at Martinsville Speedway this fall.

In every In the Spotlight special I write, I ask the drivers who they consider their hero and there always seems to be one family member many of them have in common. Dudley is no different. He says his father has always been his hero and he's the hardest working man he knows. "Without him I wouldn't be racing anything but my mouth", Kyle Dudley says.

He is known for being extremely competitive while on the track and in any competition he is a part of but he's also all about having fun and joking around.

Some things he enjoys doing in his free time when he's not at the racetrack or in the shop include CrossFit, wakeboarding, and spending as much time at the lake and beaches as possible.

Interesting facts about Kyle Dudley

- He once competed in a Beer Mile with over 100 entrants and finished 2nd

Earlier this year I did an In the Spotlight special on Dudley's best friend Wes Thomason. In his interesting facts, Thomason mentioned he won the very first late model race he ever entered and it was in Kyle Dudley's late model. Thomason said that's the only time he can actually remember beating Kyle. Well, here's an update on that. During that race they combined the street stocks and late models into one race. When I asked Dudley if he had anything to say about this he replied, "yes, he (Wes Thomason) left out that I was running a street stock against him in my late model".

Follow @fueledupblog for future racing news about driver, Wes Thomason!

Stay tuned for more "In the Spotlight"!