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February 7, 2006
Section: features
Edition: BRADENTON
Page: 32E
FAST START IN RACING HAS EASH DREAMING BIG
Scott Lockwood, Special to The Herald
Judging by his family bloodlines, it's easy to see why 16-year-old Kyle Eash wants
to be a race-car driver.
Eash got the racing bug by watching his father, Allen, race TQ midgets ---
open-wheel cars with motorcycle-type engines --- at Charlotte County Speedway.
His second cousin, Chris, races all over the country with the World of Outlaws
circuit. Kyle eventually began to help with his father's car and decided he would
give driving in the four-cylinder bomber class a try.
"We saw this class out there, and I really wanted to get into it," said Eash, who is a
sophomore at Braden River High School. "It was cheap, and I've been involved with
it ever since."
Eash and his father salvaged a Honda Civic that was left for dead in a field and
turned it into a race-ready machine. He proved to be quick from the start, claiming
the Charlotte Speedway class championship in his first season. He would also
compete in races at East Bay Raceway, a dirt track in St. Petersburg, and he also
took part in a couple events at DeSoto Speedway.
During DeSoto's New Year's Eve Crash & Bash night, Eash drove in both the
four-cylinder endurance and flagpole races. Using the same car he won his
championship with at Charlotte, he won the flagpole race, an event in which the
participants must circle around a flagpole in the middle of the straightaway on each
lap.
In the 25-lap endurance race held on the infield portion of the track, Eash started
at the rear of the field and was involved in an early accident. Since there are no
caution flags in these races, Eash had to get his car going in a hurry to stay
competitive. He righted his car and rallied to finish second.
"It was a little crazy out there," Eash said. "You could beat and bang as much as
you wanted to out there and not get in trouble for it. It was just a lot of fun."
With his success in his first season, Eash was selected by race fans across the
state as the Florida Short Track Rookie of the Year.
"We've been doing this for a while, and we noticed the talent that Kyle had and
decided that we needed to give him some kind of an award," said Tom Sherrill of
the Florida Short Track Report, an organization that supports Florida's smaller
race tracks and hosts a weekly radio show about them. "He's got the talent to
probably drive any type of car over the next few years, but he'll need the proper
car and proper structure behind him."
Eash has a couple options this season. He is hopeful DeSoto Speedway will add
the four-cylinder bomber class. If that doesn't happen, he could race a TQ midget
with his father at Charlotte County Speedway. Another option is street stocks, since
Eash and his father are building a race car from the ground up for that division.
When Kyle Eash decided he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps, it was a little
scary for his mother, Kelly. What scared her even more was the fact he wouldn't
even have his driver's license yet. A year later, she's surprised at how much driving
on the track has helped Kyle on the roads of Manatee County.
"Without having mirrors in the race car, you've got to be more aware of your
surroundings, and I think that's transferred over to the regular vehicle for him."
Having two race-car drivers under the same roof has been a wild, yet bonding
experience for the Eash family. The race shop where all of Kyle and Allen Eash's
cars are built and maintained is directly behind their home in east Bradenton, and
with all of Kyle's success this past season, the trophies are stacking up fast
enough they're thinking of adding a special area for all of them. It all took a little
getting used to for Kelly Eash.
"At first, I was really nervous, and my stomach was always in knots," she said. "I'm
used to it now, and I'm all for it. I hope he makes it to NASCAR someday."
Like most young drivers, Kyle Eash dreams of competing in the Nextel Cup Series.
Whether he makes it to that level, drives in open wheel cars or even becomes a
crew chief in some capacity, he wants to use his love and knowledge of race cars
as a career instead of a hobby.
"Racing really has done a lot for me," he said. "I've got a good start to my career
right now by winning the championship in my first time in the class. I like the
mechanics of it, and I love driving the car. I want to know both areas of the car, how
it works, how it runs, how to make adjustments and also being the driver of it
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