Jimmy Kite's team owner Andy Evans announced on
May 27 that Kite would put the Indy Racing League on
hold and race stock cars for the rest of the 1998 season.
Kite, who finished 11th in the Indianapolis 500 on
May 24, will participate in approximately 10 total
events under the ARCA and NASCAR sanctioning
bodies. Evans will continue to search for enough
sponsorship to enter Kite at IRL events that do not conflict with the stock car
schedule and has expressed interest in returning at least to the Indianapolis 500 in
future years. Kite's first ARCA race is scheduled for June 13 at Michigan
Speedway with his first NASCAR Winston Cup event planned for Aug. 1 at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Brickyard 400.
Kite stormed onto the IRL 1996-97 season's scene at Pikes Peak International
Raceway with a reputation as a hard-charger from the Silver Crown series. He
crashed out of that race, attributing it to a rookie mistake. However, he came
back at Charlotte to lead the race before a cut tire sent him into the wall. He made
another rookie mistake at New Hampshire, crashing after four laps, but came
back very strong at Las Vegas, where he finished sixth and on the lead lap.
Kite began racing quarter midgets at the age of eight, winning the Dirt National
Championship in 1984; midwest region title 1985; southeast region
championship in 1986; southeast and northeast regional titles in 1989; and the
southeast region quarter midget championship in 1990.
He made his United States Auto Club Silver Crown debut at DuQuoin, Ill., in
1994. In 1995 he won the American Winged Outlaw (AWOL) series sprint
nationals at Lanier, Ga., and finished 20th at Indianapolis Raceway Park in first
USAC Silver Crown start.
In 1996 he had his best AWOL finish of second at Lanier, Ga. He came from
26th starting spot to nip Chuck Gurney at the finish line to win the 50-mile
USAC Silver Crown race as part of the Copper World Classic at Phoenix. He
came back to finish second behind Pat Abold in the Coca-Cola 100 Silver Crown
race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Sources: Star/News and SpeedNet staff reports.
