Speedway racing talent follows his dream to the US

Prodigious speedway talent and Katanning local Kye Blight has set his sights on a professional racing career and has embarked on a journey to the USA in an attempt to make it happen.

The 23-year-old left for Richmond Kentucky this week in pursuit of his dream to become a professional speedway driver after a deal stuck with Revelution chassis manufacturer Frank Revel.

Blight said he was treating the trip as a job application and an opportunity to show off his talent.

“It’s what I want to do for a living so I’m going over there to try and make some money and maybe get to do it for a living,” he said.

In order to race for a living Blight said he needed to go to the US where the purse was much larger.

“The first night we race for $30,000 at Florence and the next weekend we’re at Eldora where there’s $100,000 up for the win,” he said.

“We’ll be there for at least two months and will be racing probably around three times a week.

“Our pay structure over here doesn’t pay that well; if you’re running at the front every week you can cover the cost of the car but you still have to put food on the table for your family,” he said.

“We race against guys in Australia who get paid to do it but I don’t think you’d be able to quit your day job just to race.”

The US trip comes off the back of a strong season in WA where Blight won one feature race and stood on the podium seven times in his first full season in a late model sedan.

He cleaned up at the WA Late Model Association end-of-season awards, taking home the coveted Driver’s Driver Trophy as well as the AJ Nylander Pursuit of Excellence Award, Rookie Team of the Year and second place in the Bunbury track championship.