Rodeos In Nc

Kimmel to make Nationwide Series debut at Kentucky

SELLERSBURG —  

Ever since he was a kid, Will Kimmel has dreamed about having the opportunity to race against some of NASCAR’s finest drivers.

Next week at Kentucky Speedway, the third-generation racer will get his shot.

Kimmel, a Sellersburg resident, announced Tuesday that he will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut in the Feed the Children 300 on Friday, July 8 at the 1 1/2-mile oval. 

The 23-year-old nephew of nine-time ARCA Racing Series champion Frank Kimmel and the son of former Louisville Speedway late model champion Bill Kimmel Jr. will drive the No. 39 Ford Mustang for Mooresville, N.C.-based Go Green Racing.

Even though an official entry list for the race has yet to be finalized, Kimmel expects to compete against NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stars Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch and this year’s surprising Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne a week from Friday.

“The level of competition goes way up when you race at that level,” Will Kimmel said. “I hope to run good and run the whole 200 laps. I’m going to have to race my butt off to finish 25th.”

One thing Kimmel will not have to worry about next Friday is trying to qualify his way into the race field. His car will have a secure starting spot in the race thanks to NASCAR’s qualifying rules. The top 35 cars in the Nationwide Series’ owner standings are guaranteed a starting spot in the race, no matter how quick their qualifying lap is. The No. 39 Ford is currently 26th in the standings, a comfortable 197 points ahead of 36th place. Qualifying for the Feed the Children 300 will be at 3:30 p.m. the day of the race.

“It’s going to be a good opportunity for us,” said Kimmel, who will have sponsorship from Crosley Radio and Clarksville Schwinn Bicycles and Fitness. “You’ve just got to get in there and do it. It’s something you can’t pass up.”

Although Kimmel will be competing in his first Nationwide race, it will not be his first rodeo at Kentucky Speedway.

He finished 21st in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky last September. 

Plus Kimmel will not have to go far to get some advice on how to go fast at Kentucky. His uncle Frank has won four ARCA races at the track.

Alumnus talks about his passion for rodeos :: Red & White for Life ...

Andy DeLisle ‘98 was overwhelmed when he went to his first rodeo in 2006. “I was like a kid in a candy store,” he says. “I couldn’t work fast enough to get all the photos I saw.”

But what appealed to DeLisle wasn’t the rodeo competition itself. It was the variety of people and events that came together in a celebration of Western culture. “The culture just totally fascinated me,” he says. DeLisle has since gone on to document the culture and people at several rodeos.

Readers of NC State magazine will get a taste of that culture in the upcoming spring issue. DeLisle’s photos are featured - along with an interview with Richard Slatta, an NC State history professor and expert on cowboy culture – in a visual journey into the world of rodeo queens. We talked recently with DeLisle about rodeos and rodeo queens: