The finish came in his 16th start. In the SCRL Lucas Oil ARCA Racing Series, it's the 3rd for car #32 and the 15th where the car was still running. Across all the series in the SCRL, it's the 14th for the #32 and the 269th where the vehicle was still running.
Entering Season 3 of the ARCA Series, Kyle is one of the most longest active drivers in the history of the SCRL, having competed since the league's very season all the way 2014 in the then ONL NASCAR Legends Series, making his debut in the series's seven race of the season at the Alabama International Motor Speedway, a race he would start 18th and would finish 16th. Kyle would finish the season 10th in the final point standings despite missing the first six races. In Season 2, Kyle would score his first career in the fall race at Bristol and finished 15th in the overall points standings. Since then, Kyle has raked up nine more career wins, and last year Kyle would finally reach the peak of his racing career, winning his first ever SCRL championship, winning the championship in Season 2 of the SCRL Tim Hortons Canadian Series, a series that is near and dear to his heart in the real racing world.
Despite all his previous success, Kyle had never once competed in the ARCA division, but finally made the jump, signing a one year contract with the Win-Tron Racing team. In his first career start, Kyle qualified an impressive 10th and would finish 5th at Daytona, before struggling to a 35th at Atlanta. A 12th at Nashville Fairgrounds, a 28th at Salem and a 33rd at Talladega would lead into Charlotte, where Kyle would led four laps, the first of his ARCA career, and finished a series and season best 3rd. A disappointing 27th at Gateway, would be followed up with a 4th in the series first event of the season at Pocono, 10th at Chicagoland, 14th at Lucas Oil, a disappointing 27th at Kentucky, 31st at Iowa, 18th at DuQuoin, a 12th at Michigan before finishing a disappointing 19th in the last round at Pocono after getting into a heating battle with Samet Ozkan in the final lap.
In qualifying at the half mile track, Kyle would struggle in qualifying posting a time 17.593 seconds(113.568 mph), a full half second off Jack Lagasee's pole time, placing Kyle in the 39th position, the worst starting spot of his career. Starting last would be the unsponsored #29 Chevrolet of Ray Jones, only a tenth of a second slower then Kyle's time.
As the field took the green flag, Jones, who started on the high side, would quickly pass Kyle in Turn 1, with Kyle trailing for the first lap, before making a move down the backstretch and cleaning Jones in Turn 4 and betting him to the line, giving Jones last on Lap 2. For the next three laps, Jones did everything in his power to get back around Kyle with nothing working, before finally on Lap 5, Jones went to the high side entering Turn 3 and cleared Kyle coming off Turn 4. With three changes for last in just the first six laps, it appeared the battle would last all race long, however due to the tricky one groove surface at Salem, the pass on Lap 6 would turn out to be the final position swap for last, while Kyle would remain close to the back bumper of Jones, Kyle was never able to make a move for the final 14 laps, and was last when the checkered flag waved, a full 13 seconds behind the race leaders.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were: 39th was the aforementioned #29 of Ray Jones, 38th was the #9 Aaron's / Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet of Tom Schmidt, 37th was the #43 Richard Petty Driving Experience Dodge of Pria McShane and 36th was the #42 Crosley Radio Dodge of Sebastian Torres.
To this day, Chris Kyle runs his own YouTube racing league called the ISCR(International Stock Car Racing), and is better known as NR Leagues over on his YouTube channel; http:www.youtube.com/user/NR2003Leagues
SCRLASTCAR STATISTICS
*This was the first time the #32 has finished last in a ARCA Series race at Salem.
*This marked only the third time in the ARCA Series the #32 has trailed the field; the most recent time it had happened was in the Season 2 Bank of American 200 Presented by Fox 21/27 at the South Boston Speedway when Keith Stevens picked up the lone last place finish of his own ARCA career when he was involved in a multi-car crash after 11 of the 20 laps; 23 races ago.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
40) #32-Chris Kyle / 20 laps / running
39) #29-Ray Jones / 20 laps / running
38) #9-Tom Schmidt / 20 laps / running
37) #43-Pria McShane / 20 laps / running
36) #42-Sebastian Torres / 20 laps / running
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