Chanute native Tyler Davis is winding down another successful and speedy season at Humboldt Speedway.
The 21-year-old Davis sits in third place for the season in the Extrusions Inc. Midwest Modifieds standings, with two races remaining in 2023.
He has secured one victory and eight top-five finishes in his 11 races.
Davis began racing in 2017, and eventually moved up to the B-mods division in 2020 and the A-mods one year later.
“I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable in the car throughout the years,” said Davis. “Dad was pretty hard on me there to start and I didn’t know exactly how to tell him what I was feeling in the car. I’ve made improvements throughout the years. It’s the little things that need big communication with the pit crew. You have to understand each other.”
Davis also credits his other family members who comprise his pit crew, as well as mentor Corky VanGotten.
“There’s never a time where I feel like I’m alone in this deal,” he said. “I always have an army of people behind me and our sponsors are amazing. We couldn’t do this without them. A driver can love it but if his family doesn’t love it, what’s the point of it? We love racing and during the racing season we’re in the race shop, working on the car all the time.”
His father, Jimmie, raced from 2008 into 2017, before handing the reins to Tyler.
“Humboldt is by far one of my favorite tracks to race,” said Davis. “You never know what the track is going to do each night, which makes it interesting, and the competition at Humboldt is the best around. If you can run up front in Humboldt, you can run up front anywhere.”
Davis has racked up 832 points this season, trailing Blake Sutton of Gas and Matthew Kay of Chanute.
Only 13 points separate the top three drivers.
AS ONE of the youngest drivers on the circuit, Davis stressed the importance of getting kids interested in racing at a young age. He appreciates Kids Night promotions to keep the younger generation involved.
“Everybody starts out somewhere,” he said. “I was that kid always at the race track with Dad and I always thought I’d like to do that someday.
“Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone turn you down,” he said. “Anything is possible and if you have the will to do it, you’ll be successful.”
There’s much more to racing than showing up each Friday evening, he noted.
