In eight combined Glass City 200 appearances between the Outlaw and Template Super Late Models, Kyle Crump has finished second an astonishing four times.
He was runner-up in three straight ASA/CRA Super Series starts (2018, 2019, 2021) and even finished second in both races in 2019, but has yet to find victory lane at Toledo Speedway.
His most recent runner-up result came in 2021, when he came from the tail to take the lead late in the CRA race. However, Crump would be passed on the final lap by friend Blake Rowe and came up just short at the line.
The Brighton, Mich. driver now heads to Toledo on Saturday fresh off a JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour win at Birch Run Speedway the weekend before. He has his goal set on one thing – win the Glass City 200.
“The Glass City stings, I think I’ve finished second four times now? I finished second twice in the same night with both the Outlaw and the Super,” said Crump. “I want this one bad to say the least, I feel like this one’s escaped me a few times to say the least. I usually either finish second or don’t finish so we’ll see going into the weekend.”
Toledo has been a favorite for the former Redbud 400 winner ever since his first start at the half-mile in April 2017. Since the 2020 season, his opportunities to compete at the facility have been limited to the Glass City 200 after CRA started making just one visit to Toledo annually.
“I love Toledo, I don’t get many opportunities to go there, it’s usually just for Glass City this time of year. We’re getting back to 200 laps with the ASA STARS National Tour and hopefully it’ll revitalize the Glass City to what it used to be. I’m looking forward to the event.”
It was the Glass City 200 in 2018 when he joined Crosstown Motorsports for the first time for the Outlaw Super Late Model portion of the race as a substitute for Johnny VanDoorn. A mechanical issue during practice kept them out of the race, but it started a partnership between driver and team that has continued to this day.
Based in Kalamazoo, Mich., Crosstown Motorsports started off as an Outlaw Super Late Model team. As the partnership between Crosstown and Crump grew, the team added Template-bodied Late Models to the stable in 2021 and almost immediately won a JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
After racing with Stan and Judi Rosen for six years on the Template Super Late Model side, he has split 2023 with Crosstown and TK Racing. The cars have been about the only thing that changes when he goes from one team to another.
“Most of the crew stays the same. We’ve got JVD (Johnny VanDoorn) on the box for all the races. A lot of the Crosstown guys travel back and forth between the two teams. It’s pretty much the same car. It’s been very smooth and I can’t thank them enough, it’s been very easy.”
It’s been a mixed bag for Crump in his two previous ASA STARS National Tour appearances. He failed to make the field for the Joe Shear Classic at Madison (Wis.) Int’l Speedway in May, then returned to Anderson (Ind.) Speedway in July and finished fourth in the Redbud 400.
He hopes for a repeat of that success at Toledo, while finally crossing a long-awaited Glass City 200 win off his list.
“That would be huge. With it being the ASA STARS National Tour now, it would be really cool just to put my name down next to ASA as a winner. That would mean a lot.”