By: Ashley McCubbin

APC Auto Parts United Late Model Series Champion. Flamboro Speedway Grisdale Triple Crown Champion. Runner-up in the NASCAR Pinty’s Series race at Ohsweken Speedway. A Fourth in the All-American 400. A Runner-Up at New Smyrna Speedway with Jett Motorsports.

Kyle Steckly has already put together a memorable 2023 racing season, and he will hope to put an exclamation point on the year in the Snowflake 100 at Five Flags Speedway next month. The Milverton, Ontario native recently shared his thoughts on the year and more with NEWS FROM THE PITS.

What are your thoughts as you look back on your first couple of late model starts you’ve made down in the United States?

It’s been really good. It’s really cool to get down there and run at some of those famous tracks with a ton of history, and be able to compete for wins. At the end of the day, I’m a racer and I want to go out there and contend for wins. That’s what we’ve been doing down in the states so hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling in the next start down at the Snowflake. I’m having a ton of fun with this 22 Racing team.

I was just about to ask actually, but what are your thoughts going into the Snowflake next month?

I’m really looking forward to it. I think we’ve made some great strides since our very first start in the States last December at the Snowflake 100, and I think we have a lot better program now. We know what to expect more. I think we can go down and we’re going to be able to compete to win the Snowflake 100 which I’m very proud of that I can say with confidence going into one of the biggest races in North America with our own team, 22 Racing, here out of Ontario, Canada.

The competition down there is stacked, even looking at the pre-entry list that they just released. What goes through your mind in seeing your name alongside those guys?

It’s pretty wild. There’s the best of the best from everywhere. All over the U.S., Nova Scotia – the names on there, it’s really cool to be a part of it and race with the best of the best and some names that I’ve looked up to for a long time and watched them have success down there and now I’m racing side-by-side with them. That’s really cool.

The entry list is crazy. I think there’s 55 cars on it already, and we’re still a couple weeks away from the race. I’m sure a couple more will get on there yet, but when there’s 55 cars and only 32 or 34 make the race, it’s definitely a stressful time. I think it only makes the driver better – as long as I can handle that stress properly. Hopefully we can go out there and qualify for the show, and put on a good race for the fans.

Now is the future for you to have you run more races in the States next season? Is this a preview of what we’re going to see in the future for you?

I’m not sure right now. Defiantly racing in the States is a dream of mine and I think it’s most people’s ultimate goal to get down to the States and someday race in NASCAR. Right now, we’re just having a lot of fun traveling down to the States with our own team and running well and we just want to race at the end of the day.

With our pretty big off-season in Canada, going down to the States throughout the winter shortens the off-season and keeps the itch going and we’re having a lot of fun right now. I really hope it can lead into more starts down there, and we can keep growing in the States and having success down there. But right now, we’re just taking it one race at a time.

Speaking of your race season up here, you had a pretty memorable campaign in the APC (United Late Models of Ontario) Series. What are your thoughts as you look back on the season that you were able to put together?

It was a great year. It definitely wasn’t a perfect year – we had some struggles and some things went wrong, but this 22 Racing team never quit working and I think every time we went to the track, we had our track a little better. We were always able to rebound from the bad nights with a good run. We definitely learned a lot. Each time we go to the track, we’re learning and it’s crazy to think that it’s only our second year on tour and we were able to win the championship with the APC Series. It’s defiantly one of the most competitive series in North America I’d say so I’m really proud of that and really proud of my team for how much we’ve grown over the past couple years. Just really thankful to be able to get behind the wheel of our APC Auto Parts 22 and have the success we do.

Is there a moment that stands out for you from the season?

Honestly, probably championship night at Delaware (Speedway). It was a great race. We had a really good car, but we just did what we had to do to lock up the championship. To be able to be a champion in a series like that is just unbelievable. So that night in victory lane getting the pictures with the trophy and all the crews and my family and fans was really special for me, because growing up watching my dad (Scott Steckly) and all the championships he had, I always dreamed of one day being able to win a championship and celebrate like I seen he and his team do.

We watched 22 Racing as a team have a lot of success across the board, whether it was in the APC Series or the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. We saw you get your feet wet there. What are your thoughts on how that played out?

It was really good. The Pinty’s Series is something that I’ve been around for a long time, all my life, but I’m just starting to race in it myself, which is really cool to be able to race against the guys that I’ve grown up watching. I think we had some really good runs this year. We just had some bad luck, but that’s part of it – that’s racing.

With the second-place at Ohsweken (Speedway) when I filled in for Ken (Schrader), that was really cool working with him. Racing on dirt is a whole new thing, but it’s a ton of fun. Obviously at Delaware, we were really fast and leading laps. We got the pole and unfortunately we had a parts failure there, but it was an amazing year to race different atmospheres of racing, whether dirt, oval, road courses, street courses – just getting experience in everything was a ton of fun and I defiantly learned a lot.

You’ve gotten to run all the tracks that we have across Ontario now. What is your favourite?

In Ontario, I think it’s always going to be Flamboro Speedway. I started my stock car racing at Flamboro. I’ve done a lot of laps around there. I’ve won some really big races, couple championships. That place, it feels like home to me. So I think in Ontario, my favourite track is always going to be Flamboro. It creates some great racing and I have some awesome memories there.

Is there a track that you dream of getting to run at in the States more than any other?

Probably Bristol (Motor Speedway). I’ve always watched Bristol on Sundays, Saturdays, all the night races there and the banking looks incredible. The way you can move around looks like a blast and I’d love to race there one day.

We’ve seen you moving up the racing ladder at a very quick pace so far. But where do you see yourself five years from now?

The goal is obviously to be in NASCAR – to make it down to the States and running in the top-three series. I think that’s everyone’s dream and that’s my goal and I think I have some great people around me and some great supporters, so I’m going to push hard these next few years to see where it will take me. We’re still going to go one race at a time, but in five years, I’d love to be in the States racing every single weekend as a full-time job in NASCAR.