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-- 4.25.10--
April Newsletter.
CLICK HERE for the April 2010 T2D Newsletter!-- 3.31.10--
Thrive to Drive Releases our 2010 Schedule!
Consisting of a scaled back 'selective' ASA Midwest Tour, and a full FRRC/Thursday Night Thunder Series this summer at WIR, Thrive to Drive Motorsports is pleased to announce our 19 date 2010 schedule.CLICK HERE to view, download, and print one for yourself!
-- 1.24.10--
ASA Midwest Tour Secures television deal with FSN | T2D Team shapes plans for 2010!
The first update 2010 brings us some news on plans for this season. Kyle chose to pass on Touring Start Status this year in the ASA Midwest Tour, with the team opting to only race select ASA events this season.The teams focus will be mainly in the FRRC's series at WIR, however our schedule will again consist of many of the ASA MWT events, the first (and our season opener) will be in Madison on May 2nd!
The ASA Midwest Tour recently announced exciting news related to the televising of quite a few of their events on Fox Sports Net this summer! Obviously we are excited as well as it will allow fans to follow the series closer, and provide an excellent opportunity for our marketing partners to gain exposure. You can see the release from ASA Here!
Speaking of Marketing Partners, we are currently seeking new sponsorships for the 2010 season as well as securing deals with our loyal long-time partners as well. If you know of an organization that would benefit from teaming up with our organization, please let us know!
Our Facebook page has over 400 FANS! We have exciting plans to update that page with the latest news, photos, video & more on a regular basis once the season gets humming - if your not already on board, click the link below to become a fan today!
-- 11.2.09--
Thrive to Drive featured in ASA MWT website article | regular updates now on Facebook.
There were some highlights towards the end of this challenging season for the #9 Thrive to Drive team, those includesome decent qualifying in the ASA Midwest Tour for the final three events.Norway - Kyle Qualified 9th and finished a 13th overall.
Elko - Kyle Qualified 17th and finished 12th.
Oktoberfest | LaCrosse - Kyle Qualified a SEASON HIGH 3rd and finished 12th.
The team ends the year 16th in overall ASA Midwest Tour points standings, and 8th in overall points at WIR for the FRRC Thursday Night Thunder Series.
Needless to say the team has had a handful with the new chassis this season at WIR, and likely that affected some of the ASA Series performance. The 8th overall finish @ WIR seems impressive given the inconsistencies the team had in that series in '09.
While the team looks towards our plans for 2010, we have still been participating in local events. The latest was at the KI Center in Green Bay in support of the ASA Midwest Tour. The event was for the Skills USA Conference, and our car was featured along with Kyle, and members of the crew for Q & A sessions.
To read more about this latest event, CLICK HERE to link to the story on the ASA Midwest Tour website!
In order to more streamline our updates & events, Thrive to Drive will be moving our regular postings to Facebook.com for the 2010 Season. Become a fan of the team and receive invitations to events we will be attending, be the first to know our performance updates, and post your own photos & comments for the team and fans to see! The site is up and running now, and we plan to slowly update it in the off-season to bring a full fan experience to Facebook for 2010.
Become a fan of our Facebook page today!
We hope the page really develops with full fan interaction & on the spot updates!
As always, we need to give a huge shout-out to our loyal sponsors in 2009! The team fully appreciates all the support and understand in this difficult economic times what a commitment we really have from our sponsors. We plan on releasing a newsletter soon with more info on our plans for 2010.
-- 7.28.09--
#9 Picks up steam mid-way through the '09 Season (plus other updates).
WIRThe #9 Atcam | Orv's Pizza SLM and driver Kyle Calmes have obviously had ups and downs this season at WIR. Struggling through June tweaking our new Lefthander Chassis, the team, led by newcomer Matt Butz has only recently started to see the fruits of the labor thus far. Last week's season high 2nd place Feature finish at WIR, was a much needed boost for the team. In addition to the solid placing, the car is finally showing signs of being more stable in handling, build, and reliability! The team looks forward to more steady finishes at WIR in the weeks to come.
ASA Midwest Tour
Thrive to Drive continues to work through our challenges in the ASA Midwest Tour this year as well. It has truly been a challenge to better the setup for ASA car 'Lightning' and also work through the challenges of the new chassis on our WIR car 'Thunder'. The ASA Midwest Tour is offering up only about two races per month from June through September, making every one count even more. Currently the #9 Orv's Pizza | Bayland Buildings car is in 16th place, a position we have hovered around for some time.
With the WIR 150 only ONE WEEK away, we hope that can be the boost to that series our team needs right now, and keep this Touring Star on a roll.
Note - the ASA Midwest tour Dixieland 150 will be held at WIR on August 4th! To purchase advance tickets, click the link below. We hope to see as many #9 fans out there as possible!!
New Sponsor
Thrive to Drive is happy to announce a new partnership with K&K Material Handling of Green Bay! K&K joined the team on our WIR car 'Lightning' in support of our efforts on the local scene. K&K Joined the #9 team in mid-June. Click the link below or see our 'Sponsor' page for more info on K&K!
Thursday, July 30th
-- 6.15.09--
Progress Continues on 'Thunder' at WIR...
Progress continues on the new chassis of the #9 Atcam | Orv's | Bayland Buildings SLM at WIR. Thursday night marked the first of the Red, White, & Blue series. Kyle reported changes in the car's setup led by Crew Chief Matt Butz are taking effect and Kyle qualified the #9 13th fastest for the nights events.An unfortunate roll of the dice made Kyle the first car to be inverted and moved behind the fast qualifier. Starting at the 15th spot in the feature, Kyle quickly moved to the 7th spot in an impressive show by lap 30 of the 75 lap event. Unfortunatly a leaking transmission from a seal damaged in the first race of the year forced the #9 back to the pits for immidiate repairs.
The team spent the remainder of the night testing the car for a better setup.
The team hopes for better results from these adjustments this Thursday night...
-- 6.7.09--
Progress made at WIR on Thursday night with the new chassis!
Hank reports progress is being made early on with the new chassis on the #9 Atcam / Orv's Pizza / Bayland Buildings SLM at WIR for the FRRC's Thursday Night Thunder Series. Although no practice had taken place since the prior week's event, Kyle qualified the #9 17th fastest for the night.Some major changes to the setup took place after qualifying, and Kyle quickly took the lead in his heat race and led the pack with up to two to go, when a caution came out. Kyle ended up finishing 2nd in his heat after the re-start.
Kyle started the Feature event 17th, and by lap 13 was already racing for the lead! Contact with another car sent Kyle to the back of the pack, but the #9 proved a strong car, as Kyle came back to finish the Feature in 6th place!
The team expects to get back to the track for valuable practice this coming week. Thursday nights event should be a good one... The RED Race, first of the Red, White, & Blue series takes place!
-- 5.31.09--
Elko, Dells, & Thursday Night Thunder Opener at WIR...
Well it is safe to say that the #9 team is off to a rough '09 start in the ASA Midwest Tour. Neither the 5/23 Elko, MN race or the 5/30 WI Dells race were kind to our team.ELKO:
The team was plagued with problems at Elko. A broken power steering hose cost the team the practice laps that are so vitally important to car setup. The #9 Orv's Pizza / Bayland Buildings, SLM ended up qualifying a dismal 33rd. That sent Kyle to the Last Chance race starting in the 15th spot, but only a 12th finish result; not enough to make the Feature Event.
The result of Elko moved the #9 from the 12th spot to 15th in overall ASA Midwest Tour Points Standings.
DELLS:
Another rough event for our team, going into a tough 41-car field, Kyle qualified the #9 again in the 33rd spot. Only the top 3 Last Chance races would see the #9 to the feature. Kyle started the Last Chance in the 14th spot, but this time managed to get all the way up to the 3rd position during the race, when with 2-laps to go, the #9 got loose off of turn two and fell back to the 4th spot for the finish. Thrive to Drive did not race in the Feature event for the Dells, moving the #9 from the 15th in overall points, back to the 17th spot, and 223 points behind the leader.
Needless to say the team is working fiercely towards better results going forward in the ASA Midwest Tour Series!
THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER OPENER!
May 28th was the opener of the FRRC's Thursday Night Thunder at WIR. If you recall, we discussed in our Spring Newsletter that the #9 Atcam / Orv's Pizza SLM would have a new Chassis, new look, and new team structure for '09 at WIR. Safe to say the team worked up to the opening night on the car (which is why pictures were not posted previously), but the car is done, and here it is:
More photos on the '09 Photos page...
We expected some bumps in the road getting started this year since we are taking on a lot with a new car, and team structure for the Thursday Night Thunder Series. The results of our first showing weren't bad, although a little better luck would have improved our showing.
Kyle Qualified the #9 Atcam / Orv's Pizza / Bayland Buildings SLM to the 15th fastest position. Not great, but not bad or unexpected given the limited practice time with this new car. Kyle took a 3rd in his heat race which set him up for a start near the rear for the Feature Race.
3-laps into the start of the Feature, a few cars up front made contact causing the field to check up. Kyle unfortunately was collected in the check-up and although damage wasn't serious, it ended our night. The T2D team opens up the '09 season 17th in overall points for the FRRC Thursday Night Thunder Series.
We remain cautiously optimistic about our chances at WIR this season!
This update rounds out the May start to the 2009 season! We have our work cut-out for us, but keep in mind the bulk of the racing action is just getting started!
-- 5.19.09--
Newton Update...
The team raced in Newton Iowa on Saturday, part of the ASA Midwest Tour. Hank reports the track at Newton is awesome and a great facility for fans. The team struggled to get the #9 Orv's Pizza / Bayland Buildings SLM to handle during practice, but made headway by qualifying.Unfortunately a mishap during qualifying forced Kyle to let off during his qualifying run, placing the #9 in the 33rd fastest position.
Kyle made headway during the feature, and through a pack of 41 cars starting 33rd, was up to about 20th by the 60-lap break. Kyle continued through a crowded pack after the break, finishing the race 15th.
The team moves up to 12th in overall points in the ASA Midwest Tour, and 1st in Hard-Charger points following the weekends race.
The team will be back at it over the Memorial weekend...
-- 5.7.09--
Car Show Tomorrow!
Thrive to Drive is proud to announce our car will be featured at a fund-raising auto show tomorrow (Friday) from 9AM to 2PM at the Freedom High School in support of the Freedom Auto Club.During this fund-raising event you can check out the #9 'Lightning' ASA Midwest Tour Car, among others, enjoy a brat-fry, and even try your hand at bean-bag toss to win a #9 T-shirt!
Hope to see you tomorrow in Freedom!
-- 5.5.09--
2009 Season Underway!
Kyle & the #9 Orv's Pizza / Bayland Buildings SLM stormed into Madison International Speedway on Sunday, but were met with a few opening day 'issues' that prevented the turnout we would have liked to see.Starting the day off 10th fastest in practice looked promising, however qualifying on sticker tires put us in the 19th fastest position for the night, and sending Kyle to the Last Chance Race. The Last Chance event proved an exciting one for the T2D team as Kyle held off the 1995 ASA Champion for the 3rd position, gaining entry to the Feature event!
Problems showed up during the feature event in the form of a broken power steering pump, which made the car difficult to control. Kyle managed a 15th in the feature and enters the '09 season 18th in ASA Midwest Tour Points.
-- 4.25.09--
ASA Midwest Tour Season Opener Postponed due to Rain.
Today's Season opener event for the ASA Midwest Tour was postponed due to rain today in Wisconsin Dells. The race is now re-scheduled for June 6th.So, since you cannot view the #9 ASA Midwest Tour car in 'live action', we have pics of the '09 rig 'Lightning':
We have also updated our 2009 Sponsors page with all of our '09 partners. Be sure to check it out!
-- 4.13.09--
Spring Newsletter & Schedule Released Today!
As the 2009 season approaches, we have some important announcements, including our full 2009 season schedule. Available by clicking HERE!Updates to thrivetodrive.com coming soon, including a full line up of '09 sponsors!
-- 4.5.09--
Upcoming Community Event, New wallpaper, & More...
Our first outing of the 2009 season will bring the car and team to the Healthy Kids Day Saturday, May 2nd from 11AM - 2PM at the Neenah-Menasha YMCA. We are all looking forward to Spring and the '09 season, so these types of outings can't come soon enough!Spring Newsletter, right around the corner...
We are currently working on getting out the announcement on the 2009 Schedule, along with new partnerships & sponsorship arrangements for the 2009 season. We hope to have all these updates out by next weekend in our Spring Newsletter - Stay tuned!
Sweet, new graphics...
Matt has been working on new graphics already for the season, and has done up a new desktop background for your PC! Click on the thumbnail below to download the full size background and save to your desktop!
Tire sponsorship program...
Last year proved our 'tire sponsor' program to be a sucess for fans of our team to help support our teams advancement in the ASA Midwest tour by donating to this sponsorship fund. We are continuing this program in hopes it will continue to aid our funding in the challenging series for '09. Click the link below for additional info:
-- 2.17.09--
T2D releases additional 2009 Promotional Materials (Online).
Basically the print version of the video released last week, download & print by clicking HERE!
-- 2.8.09--
2009 Promo Preview Video Now Online!
-- 1.25.09--
Gearing up for the 2009 Racing Season!
Time Flies! Planning for the 2009 season is already well underway, which means (among other things) updates to the Thrive to Drive website!
Fresh off of the ASA Midwest Tour annual banquet which yeilded Crewcheif Hank an award of recognition for promoting the tour, the Thrive to Drive team is gearing up for yet another season that is just around the corner.
Currently our team is actively seeking sponsorship on both our Thursday Night Thunder (WIR) car, and also the ASA Midwest Tour car. If you or someone you know are interested and would like our promotional materials or to begin discussions on the packages we offer, please contact us at info@thrivetodrive.com. With the current condition of today's economy, sponsorships become more valuable than ever in helping us reach our goals, and all interested parties will be seriously considered!
Stay tuned for news on the upcoming season over the next few months right here!
-- 11.10.08--
T2D releases our year end Newsletter.
CLICK HERE to view a PDF copy of the 2008 Season-end Newsletter. Thanks everyone for your support in 2008! We look forward to the 2009 Season!
-- 11.2.08--
T2D claims the 8th Spot on a national stage in Nashville, TN yesterday!
In the final event of the 2008 season, Kyle & the Arby's / Orv's Pizza SLM competed in the American Speed Association All American 400 in Nashville, TN for Saturday's Southeast Asphalt Tour / Midwest Tour portion of the 400. Kyle had an extremely impressive performance against some of the best short track late model drivers and teams throughout ASA circuit!
Kyle qualified for the Adam Petty 400 weekend in the 21st postion. The race consisted of 200 laps with a pit/intermission at the 1/2 way point.
Starting the race in the 21st position, Kyle had contact with another car at about lap 4. That contact sent him sliding down the backstreach. Kyle saved the car but fell to the 26th position. Kyle then steadily marched toward the front of the pack. By lap 70 he was up to 14th place, when charging out of turn two Kyle made contact with a car that was braking hard for a spinning car. With a severe tire rub he maintained his position until the pit at lap 100.
With new tires and the fender rub repaired in the pit, Kyle had a good restart shortly breaking him into the top 10! Kyle finished the 200 lap race in the 8th position, with the top 8 nose to tail at the finish.
Excellent run for Kyle and the Team!!! Kyle joined fellow Midwest Tour racers Chris Wimmer, Jonathan Eilen, & Andrew Morrissey in top 10 finishes!
The Team owes special thanks to everyone who helped our team compete at this event! The team specifically would like to thank Kyle's older Sister and Brother-in-law for a contribution to the tire fund that helped make this trip possible. Also, Dan and Chad Devine for their help at the track - with only a crew of 4 T2D crew members for this event, their help was greatly appreciated and helped us make this a successful event!
NEXT EVENT: Year end party! Friday, November 14th, 2008.
Thrive to Drive Motorsports will be holding our annual 'supporter appreciation' party for 2008 on Friday, November 14th! Sponsors, supporters, and friends of the team are all welcome - more details to come in the year-end newsletter, which will be released soon. MARK YOUR CALENDARS - YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THE PARTY!
-- 10.10.08--
Some Midwest Tour 2008 Wrap up Notes, & also one additional race added for T2D.
With the final ASA Midwest Tour event under wraps last weekendin La Crosse, we can update our fans with some 2008 year end results in that challenging series!
First off, Kyle maintained his 11th points standings in the tour by having a semi-successful run in La Crosse last weekend for Oktoberfest. Charging too hard into a turn during his qualifying run logged the #9 Arby's / Orv's pizza team a 40th qualifying position for the main event. Kyle then headed to the qualifying race starting 20th and needing a 10th place to make the feature event. Kyle clipped the wall on lap 7 and tore much of the right side off of the car.
With the much appreciated help of Mike & Matt Butz, the team was able to get Kyl'e car back together, and using the teams last remaining provisional, entered the Feature event in the 27th position. Kyle ran a sucessful Feature event and charged his way to a 12th finish in the 100 lap race!
Other notes from the weekend:
Thrive to Drive Motorsports was again nominated for 'Best Appearing Car and Crew' by the ASA Midwest Tour.
Kyle & the #9 Solidified his Touring Star staus for the 2009 Season of the ASA Midwest tour, which was a major goal going into this season for the Team!
Kyle Marched his way to a 2nd place in 'Hard Charger' points, losing out the the first spot and a new Lefthander Chasis to Travis Sauter. Impressive run nonetheless!
Next Race Event!
The Team has decided to compete at the national level to complete our 2008 season, appearing at the ASA Championship in Nashville, TN on November 2nd! This event is sure to give the team great exposure, and our hopes are high for a solid run at this event! Stay tuned for more details...
-- 9.14.08--
Kyle and the Team achieve a critical goal for the 2008 Season in the ASA Midwest Tour.
Heading into the final events of the 2008 season, Kyle & the #9 Arby's / Orv's Pizza SLM & the Thrive to Drve team achieve a critical goal of being recognized as a 'Touring Star' in the ASA Midwest Tour for the duration of this season, and for the 2009 season so long as the team maintains a top 12 in overall points standings. It is a welcome achievement for the team, and an acknowledgement of our hard work this season!
A belated report on the Kim Parsons Memorial 100 at Marshfield on 9/7 (Sorry for the delay); Kyle & the #9 Arby's / Orv's Pizza SLM qualified 26th fastest on some less than par tires, and again having to fight his way into the Feature race, Kyle finished 4th in his qualifier (just outside the top 3 to make the show), but won his last change race to gain entry.
In the Feature event Kyle started 23rd, but worked his way to a 14th finish. Kyle remains 11th in ASA Midwest Tour overall points, and has moved up to 4th place in the 'Hard Charger' points standings.
The team will shortly be making a decision on weather we will be attending the Fall Classic at Madison International Speedway on 9/20. Otherwise we are on track for our final ASA Midwest Tour event in La Crosse during the first weekend in October.
Kyle and Team member Kevin Voight discuss a little 'pre-race strategy'.
