Tyler Bear’s Ready For Southern Iowa Speedweek

Story By: ANTHONY CORINI / TYLER BEAR RACING – KNOXVILLE, IA – Last year Tyler Bear attended the Knoxville Nationals as a spectator and vowed he would compete in the Knoxville Nationals at some point in his career.

Thanks to Kevin Frey and Mike VanderEcken, that dream will become a reality next week. The team planned on competing at Knoxville on a more frequent basis this season but engine woes sidelined Bear both at home in Pennsylvania and allowed only one trip to Iowa.

One of Bear’s best qualities is his credible personality. The 25-year old Port Royal Speedway local knows he isn’t going to come on to sprint car’s biggest stage and have things come easy to him. “This is the Knoxville Nationals. All the best drivers and teams in the world will be here. I just want to be competitive and look like we belong out here,” Bear said.

Compete he will, it’s been a trying season for Bear as the aforementioned mechanical woes have limited Bear to no more than a dozen starts throughout the 2017 season. Bear and VanderEcken will begin Southern Iowa Speedweek Sunday night at the Capitani Classic before heading to Oskaloosa on Monday for the Front Row Challenge.

Bear will be apart of a stout group of young drivers, including teammate Kyle Reinhardt vying for the ‘Rookie of the Nationals’. Bear is scheduled to qualify on Wednesday night.