TULSA, Okla. — Kale Drake eats, sleeps, breathes, and even dreams racing.
“Most of the time when I am falling asleep at night, I'm listening and watching racing videos,” Drake said. "It just puts me to sleep. It's what I love."
He always had his eye on his hometown race, the Chili Bowl.
"One memory that I had from a long time ago, which is kind of crazy, is with Cannon Macintosh. We were down in the infield with the Hooters girls in the back of the pace truck. That was super wild," Drake said. "To be racing with him today with the Keith Kunz Motorsports team is surreal."
This year, he finally gets his chance.
Drake is a fourth-generation racer from Collinsville.
“I was probably only a couple of weeks old before I was out at the race track with my day as he was running out in Claremore," Drake said.
At 18 years old, Drake was raised at the track and racing for more than half his life. Naturally, fatigue started to set in.
“I kind of ended up taking a step back from racing for a year or two,” Drake said. "I went and played some beach volleyball and some other things. I think that kind of brought me back in. When I came back in, I came back a lot harder."
It allowed Drake to get more in tune with the car. While taking necessary growth to develop as a racer.
“A lot of this racing game is a pretty strong mental game,” Drake said. "As long as you win that mental battle, you stand a good chance on the track."
That growth allowed a dream to come true. Drake will make his Chili Bowl debut on Jan 10.
"The family is super stoked to be here," Drake said. "They are scrambling to get tickets for Wednesday night and trying to get everyone here. They want to be here to support me."
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