WPDE Sports Director Rich Chrampanis featured 13 year old Late Model race car driver Tyler Howell on April 14th
YouTube: WPDE Sports Tyler Howell profile (extended version)
Myrtle Beach Speedway has had plenty of NASCAR's future stars cut their teeth on the challenging half mile track. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. spent the better part of three years racing here leading up to his Busch and Cup career. In recent years, we've seen Joey Logano and 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne enjoy success at MB Speedway.
I watched Tyler Howell turn 10 laps on an empty track at Myrtle Beach Speedway and it didn't take long to see the talent. Coupled with the talent is Tyler's father Ronnie is an excellent car builder.
Ronnie Howell Motorsports Website
When you watch the interview with Tyler, he sounds like a seasoned driver and already knows the important NASCAR game of putting sponsors at the forefront and to take care of your equipment, especially in the expensive world of weekly auto racing.
The expenses of racing
The math can be staggering when it comes to expenses:
Tyler's Late Model car runs in the $45,000 range. When you factor in the trailer, firesuit, communications, HANS device, and everything else that is associated with racing then you're getting into six figures.
Then there's the weekly price of gas, tires, entry fees, etc. which can be anywhere between $500 and $1500.
Ronnie Howell told me that he will never be able to have the money to get his son to NASCAR's elite level. However, if Tyler can continue to enjoy success as a young driver, every major NASCAR Cup team has a feeder program that helps develops young drivers. Over the next three years, Tyler will need to get great results on the track to get an opportunity to latch on with a developmental program.
When you think about making it in professional sports, there are about 1700 NFL jobs every year, 750 in MLB. NASCAR has 43 cars line up every weekend.
More about Tyler
He says his favorite racers are Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. The seat that is in his #22 Chevrolet was previously used by Mark Martin. He plans to race this Saturday night at Myrtle Beach Speedway's opener. He also said that he doesn't talk too much with his classmates at the Byrnes School in Florence about his racing, saying that there aren't too many racing fans at his school.
Tyler Blaze Howell's Bio
Tyler Howell started his racing career like many of today's NASCAR Spring Cup Series stars at a young age and the young driver is trying to make his move up the ladder. Tyler got his first car just over a year ago for his 12th birthday and began racing in the Young Guns division at Florence Motor Speedway in Florence, SC.
It didn't take the young driver long to find his way to victory lane and before his first season was over in 2010, he had pikcked up 12 wins still just at the age of 12. In 2011, he'll make the move up to the SouthEast Limmited Late Model Challenger Series, a crate engine based Late Model series racing throughout the Southeast region. He'll also be competing at Florence Motor Speedway, his home track on his off weekends. Tyler will be a top contender in the SouthEast Limited Series for the Rookie of the Year award.
Tyler also works with the "Safe Kids" charity in his spare time explaining safety to children under the age of 13 and visiting with children in the area Children's Hospital. Look for Tyler Howell to make his mark on the world of Limited Late Model racing this year as he makes the step up after a successful debut in racing last season.
