ATLANTA, GA :: A victory in the opening race of the season and a string of top-two finishes propelled Robert Tyler to his first track championship at Caraway Speedway.
Tyler scored two victories on the season, the first in the season opener on March 9th and the second in one of two races held on June 14th. However, it was consistency that paved the road to the championship for Tyler.
“It means a lot to win this,” Tyler said of his championship. “Last year, we didn’t run for the championship. We missed two races. The year before was when we ran the whole season and we had bad luck that year with motors and rear ends breaking and other stuff. It meant a lot because we’ve tried a couple times.”
It wasn’t just the victories and the championship that made the season a success for Tyler, it was the competition. Names like Lee Pulliam, Dillon Bassett, Tommy Lemons Jr, BJ Mackey and Travis Swaim were among the many drivers who competed at Caraway Speedway this season.
“The competition was slouch,” Tyler stated. “The first race of the year, we had Bassett, Lemons, BJ, Swaim, you had a lot of good cars and we got the pole and win and led 95 of 100 laps. In June, we had to beat BJ and Dillon again. Up until July 4th, the worst finish we had was second and that’s what solidified a big lead in the championship. Ryan Wilson and Dan Moore had some bad luck and they quit coming after they fell so far behind.”
The tough competition is a challenge Tyler accepts, saying it makes him a better driver.
“It’s always good,” he explained. “We’re what I consider a very low budget team and to beat them always means a lot to compete with them and stay on the same straightaway but to outrun them is good and they make us better racers at the end of the day.”
With his championship behind him, Robert Tyler is now looking ahead to the Myrtle Beach 400. He has had success at Myrtle Beach Speedway, finishing inside the top-10 in his two most recent starts in the Myrtle Beach 400.
“We’ve had real good success there the past couple years. Stacy Puryear and Brad Brinkley will be crew-chiefing our cars down there. Brad and Stacy are kind of my crew chiefs on race day about all year and that’s why we stepped up the program. We don’t have full time help at the shop, guys help when they can but Brad and Stacy are typically there with me.”
Tyler’s not sure what his plans will be for next season but he does plan to switch to a Ford Crate during the offseason and is also talking to Roger Johnson about building a new car during the offseason for 2015.
Until then, Tyler hopes to end his championship season on a high note – with a victory in the Myrtle Beach 400.
