5/21/2025
Kyle Keen
Keen Building Foundation for Success with Mark Smith
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Port Royal, PA – May 21, 2025
by Addicted2Dirt PR & Media Mgmt
Image Credit: Derick Kriner Photography
Kyle Keen’s 2025 racing season has been quite disjointed so far. There have been welcome interruptions, like the arrival of he and his wife Taylor’s first child in April, and of course, there have been plenty of unwanted disruptions by Mother Nature.
On the somewhat distant heels of one race at Port Royal Speedway in late March and another at BAPS Motor Speedway in mid-April, Keen was finally able to return to the track the past two weekends.
Keen and team made their first ever trip to Tri-City Raceway Park in Franklin, PA on May 9th, then returned to Port Royal Speedway on May 17th.
QUICK RESULTS:
Date/Location: March 29, 2025 / Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA
Stats: Heat 8th (5), B-main 12th
Date/Location: April 13, 2025 / BAPS Motor Speedway, York Haven, PA
Stats: Qualifying 9th, Heat 6th (9), A-main 22nd (23)
Date/Location: May 9, 2025 / Tri-City Raceway Park, Franklin, PA
Stats: Heat 5th (4), A-main 11th (14)
Date/Location: May 17, 2025 / Port Royal Speedway, Port Royal, PA
Stats: Heat 5th (4), A-main 22nd (19)
RECENT RECAPS
Keen made his first-ever visit to Tri-City Raceway Park’s half-mile oval on May 9th, and he was forced to jump right into the figurative ‘deep end of the pool’. There was no hot lap session for sprint cars, so it was right to a heat race for the Carlisle, PA driver.
Following a 5th-place run in the heat, Keen took what he had learned and made adjustments to prepare for the 25-lap A-main. He raced to a respectable 11th-place finish later that night in his debut.
“Definitely an improvement from where we have been and almost locked in a top 10, but of course we’re still not where we want to be.”, Keen said.
“We started passing cars in the feature, and that’s a step in the right direction for us. Not having hot laps and jumping right into heat races was a challenge for me at a brand-new race track, but we adjusted for the feature and made gains. Tri-City (Raceway Park) is a cool place, and I would like to go back sometime. It was a deceptively fast track!”
Given the aforementioned interruptions to his schedule, it has been difficult for Keen to get into a rhythm this season. His season opener at Port Royal in March ended in the B-main, then two weeks later, he finished 22nd at BAPS Motor Speedway. Another four weeks went by before the team unloaded at Tri-City Raceway Park.
Saturday night, May 17th, Keen returned to Port Royal Speedway for the first time since his season debut in late March. This time around the Carlisle, PA driver transferred to the main event through his heat race by logging a 5th place finish. He officially finished 22nd after retiring from the race with ten laps remaining.
“Tonight was a positive step for us. We made the show through the heat race and held off some good cars to do it. The car was really good…really consistent…so I was able to drive in (to the corners) harder than I ever have there before. A lot of credit for that goes to Mark (Smith).”, Keen commented.
MARK SMITH
As announced back in December, Mark Smith joined Kyle Keen Motorsports as a mentor and crew chief for the 2025 season. Keen says Smith has already become an asset to himself and the team, helping build a solid foundation for consistent results.
“Mark has been really, really good for me and the team. He has a positive attitude, patience, and there are no unrealistic expectations.”, Keen shared.
“He keeps working on the car, then tells me to go try it and let him know how it feels. I don’t feel any unnecessary pressure. We’re just working together to get better.”
“With Mark handling the car, I’m able to focus on the track, watch where guys are running, and get my plan together for the night as a driver.”
Smith is also serving as a mentor to Keen, who only has five seasons behind the wheel.
“After watching me, Mark will make suggestions like maybe enter higher or arc my corners differently, but he’s letting me figure it out using the options he gives me to consider. That makes me think as a driver and better prepares me because I get a better understanding of when to use what approach.”
Keen says that as a result of Smith’s involvement, he has a much more consistent car than he has had in the past.
“It’s almost like I’m re-learning how to race because the car is more predictable. For example, we used to struggle in features, so I was just sort of making laps. Now, the car is good, and I’m able to truly race. I’m learning to manage a feature race, not just survive it.”, Keen explained.
LOOKING AHEAD
“It looks like the weather will start to get better, and we can start racing a little more. We just need more laps. That’s the only way to get better.”, Keen said.
While the primary plan is to race at Port Royal most weeks, Keen will venture to Lincoln Speedway this Saturday night for the Bob Leiby Memorial rather than take on the High Limit Racing teams and deep field at the Bob Weikert Memorial. It’s a decision aimed at giving himself and the team the best opportunity to improve.
“We aren’t where we need to be yet to run with High Limit. We need laps, and our best chance to get the maximum laps is to head to Lincoln this week.”, Keen added.
“We also want to get some track time at Lincoln because there are some big time trial shows there this year that we want to race.”
Fans can get the latest information by visiting KyleKeenMotorsports17k.com or by following the team’s social media outlets listed below.
ABOUT KYLE KEEN
Kyle has always been addicted to dirt racing, and after watching many sprint car races during the 2018 season, and spending time on the iRacing simulator, decided it was time to re-introduce the Keen Family back into sprint car racing. With no prior racing experience and only about a year of spinning wrenches on his grandfather’s sprints, Kyle resurrected the Keen Motorsports team and started his first season of racing in a 305 sprint car in 2019.
Follow Kyle’s season:
Website: KyleKeenMotorsports17k.com
Facebook: Keen Motorsports
X (Twitter): Keen_Kyle
THANKS TO OUR 2025 PARTNERS!
Keen Parts / CorvetteParts.net
Fine Line Auto Body
4-Leaf Clover Farms
Shetron Auctions
HRF Heishman Racing Fuels
2B Creative
Fuel Ox
Maxim Chassis
Godfrey Racing Engines
8740 Suspension
Jeremy Zarfos Photography
Turn 2 Terribles Podcast
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Sponsorship opportunities with Kyle Keen Motorsports are available for the 2025 season! Email us at KyleKeen51@gmail.com!
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Article Credit: Addicted2Dirt PR