RPW Column: Kyle Coffey Falls Short Of Selinsgrove Victory; Finishes Strong With Short Track Super Series

Column By: ROBERT SYMONDS / RPW – SELINSGROVE, PA – In his first trip ever to the Selinsgrove Speedway, Kyle Coffey made a memorable run for the first Modified race since 2013 at the historic speedway. However Coffey is no stranger to super speedways and was eager to give the drivers following the Short Track Super Series a run for their money.

“I must’ve driven by this place probably ten times to head to other tracks but I finally got to race here,” Kyle Coffey shared excitedly in a post race interview.

After a pill draw, the second generation star from York NY qualified into the 40 lap Short Track Super Series Icebreaker event by finishing second in his qualifying heat. The redraw would see Coffey starting 4th for the feature event.

During each lap of the feature event, Coffey became a fan favorite. When the green flag dropped, Coffey found himself in third and challenging Andy Bachetti for second. This battle would last nearly the entirety of the race itself. Kyle would fight for second place on the top side of the speedway while Bachetti continued holding a strong line on the bottom.

“The top felt the best for me because he wasn’t pulling away from me and I could stay right with him.”

The battle for second place ended up becoming a five car battle for the lead on lap 20 as JR Heffner, whom had a very strong lead up until the midpoint of the feature, would see pressure from Bachetti and Coffey as they were both trying to hold back Larry Wight and Anthony Perrego.

“We were both slowly catching JR for the lead. They kept moving around a lot (on the bottom). I just kept running the top and not trying to drive over the cushion. It seemed like those guys were having trouble off turn 2 where our car was really good through that. I just kept focused and tried to not make a mistake.”

As the battle was heating up, Bachetti made a move to clear both Coffey and Heffner to take the lead on lap 23. Coffey was able to make his way by Heffner on lap 24 to take over second but it seemed too little too late as Bachetti gapped the field by nearly 5 car lengths. With one last caution on lap 37, Coffey attempted at the lead but would see Anthony Perrego, Matt Sheppard, and Mat Williamson getting by in the final laps. After the checkered flag had been flown, Kyle Coffey would end up fifth in a very strong finish after never seeing the speedway before Saturday.

“I thought we had a car to win the race. One move there at the middle of the race could’ve been the difference maker but now we have a good base to work on for tomorrow at Port Royal.”

Kyle Coffey looks forward to a very busy 2021 Season with weekly shows and tour dates after a strong finish at Selinsgrove. This all begins with Port Royal on Sunday March 21st.