#5 Kyle Brinkmann driving the Dawson’s Express Transport, Bender’s Bar & Grill, Bella Vita Banquets, Rolfe Schnur Motorsports Marketing, F&F Tire World, Ron’s House Cleaning DOHC Honda midget drove to a seasons best 6th place finish in Sunday’s 20 lap Badger Midget Auto Racing Series (BMARA) Open Wheel Showdown at Angell Park Speedway, Sun Prairie Wisconsin.The race weekend would see three feature races conducted in less than a 24 hour time frame. A double header at Angell Park Speedway brought out a large crowd of fans to see the events. The field rolled off with Kyle starting 12th in the field. An aggressive pace was set early on by the race leaders. Kyle settled into the low groove as the cushion was still developing. The cushion is the area at the top of the track that contains loose dirt at the edge of the packed down surface. Running “the cushion” can be the fast away around most speedways, however, it has to develop the proper balance to be fast. Successfully running the top is the mark of a good handling race car and a brave driver.

Through the first half of the race Brinkmann had a spirited battle with two of his fiercest competitors #7 Brian Peterson and #9 Mike Stroik. These three seem to always be battling for position no matter where the series is racing. They put on a great show for the fans as they were racing side by side and swapping positions all the way around the race track. While pushing each other so hard they caught up with the lead pack.
With more cars added to the dance, sometimes strategy goes out the window and a certain level of luck plays into the situation. With Peterson and Stroik working the mid to high line Kyle chose the low inside. On lap 15 the field bunched up and the low line caught a break. Brinkmann shot through with living legend #9 Kevin Olson to move past three other cars and hold down the 6th spot.

Brinkmann would look to the inside of Olson in the closing laps but the cagey veteran was able to hold off the up and coming midget racer by two car lengths at the checkered flag.
While Brinkmann was happy to record a career high 6th place finish he felt the car was good enough to compete at the front. Added to the accomplishment is that Brinkmann flipped his race car the night before at Wilmot Speedway.
Move the clock back to 7PM on Saturday August 11th and Kyle Brinkmann is thundering into turn one at Wilmot Speedway hoping to take the lead for the first time in BMARA Series history. Two cars racing side by side for the same patch of real estate ended with Brinkmann tumbling end over end. Luckily the car landed on all four wheels. Kyle was OK as he requested the car be pushed vs picked up by the tow truck. He would roll back to the pit area as the crew prepared to start repairs. Crew members and drivers from other teams immediately came to assist to access and help repair the race car. Most notably they wanted to ensure Kyle was ok both physically and mentally after his first experience of flipping a midget.

“I’m fine… I flipped my ASA truck back in the day so I wasn’t fazed. I knew it (midget flip) was coming one day and probably will happen again at some point. Just part of the deal of racing these cars. Just deal with it and start fixing. I just want to get the car sound and get back out there for the feature”; responded Brinkmann.

Indeed the KBR team was back on the grid for the feature. A true testament of the team, the driver AND most notably the help of fellow BMARA teams. This is truly a close community of racers who care about and help each other.
Brinkmann elected to start last so he could access the cars potential handling issues. At the drop of the green flag he held nothing back as the field rocketed into turn one. Later Brinkmann would say it was either going to stick or fall apart! Thankfully it stuck as he continued his pursuit of the front pack. By lap ten he was making his way nicely up through the field. The car and driver were performing surprisingly well for what had happened just an hour earlier.
In the closing laps race leader #99 Ryan Probst and #1 Scott Hatton had caught up to Brinkmann and were racing hard for the lead. Brinkmann elected to move over on the final turn to allow Hatton and Probst to battle it out for the win. Probst would go on to record his first BMARA feature win. Brinkmann finished 12th.

After the whirl wind experience of the night the KBR team packed up and headed home. Kyle’s dad suggested he get some rest and they would tackle the car early the next day. “I won’t sleep with all the thoughts of what may be bound up. I have to fix the car tonight”; was Brinkmann’s response. That being said the shop lights went on as his dad headed off to get Kyle food and refreshments. It was going to be a long night.
Brinkmann dismantled two thirds of the race car to diagnose any potential issues. He measured, re-measured, re- built and re-checked everything over to ensure it was prepared properly. At 2:05AM Brinkmann was satisfied with what they repaired and lowered the garage door for the day. He would be rewarded the next day with his best run of the season.

You can’t foresee what will come before you in life let alone racing. The highs, lows, excitement and perseverance are all reasons why they do it. The thrill of the ride is only matched by the unknown of what is around the next corner. For Kyle Brinkmann and the KBR crew their initial campaign in midget car racing has been one of pure excitement and pride. This small family Wisconsin team is working hard to gain the respect of their peers, put on a good show for the fans and help to promote their passion for the sport. Only time will tell if they succeed but until then Brinkmann will never stop on his quest to reach victory lane.

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