NEW SMYRNA, Fla: Life is good for Milverton, Ontario, Canada native Kyle Steckly, but he has the opportunity to elevate his demeanor a little more with a strong showing in the 2025 ASA STARS National Tour season opener Tuesday night at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
Rette Jones Racing, the potent and multi-purpose Motorsports operation, will again field a championship effort for Steckly to capitalize on their impressive rookie season on the tour, including winning Tuesday night’s Clyde Hart Memorial 200.
The team has learned immensely together and separately over the last 12 months, which has taken them from contenders to winners. However, with the performance comes pressure — an effect the team gladly welcomes with their No. 30 Ford Mustang.
“I’m really looking forward to my sophomore season in ASA with the RJR Group,” offered Steckly. “I think we can grow from our notebook and come out of the gate as a threat to win races.”
Steckly and Co. will return to New Smyrna Speedway this week, looking for a much calmer weekend than last February. New on the scene, the team had to fight their way into the race through the Last Chance Qualifier and start the race deep in the field in the 31st position.
Patience paid off for Steckly in his ASA STARS National Tour debut. The then-rookie driver fought through the race’s attrition and ended the night with a commendable top-10 performance.
This year, Steckly hopes to avoid the drama of an LCQ and have good track position from the drop of the green flag, which will allow his Rette Jones Racing team to pick up their first win since summer at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway.
“It’s a tough place to pass and hard on brakes,” said Steckly about New Smyrna. “I need to give ourselves a good starting position, and hopefully, we can make the right adjustments on the car through the race to have enough car left to make a charge at the end.
“I’d love nothing more than to start an important and busy week with my second career ASA win and take that momentum to Daytona International Speedway later in the week.”
Before the concentration shifts entirely to the “World Center of Racing,” Steckly craves having momentum from his full-season ASA championship attack, knowing that what he learned last season will hopefully pay dividends in 2025.
“We learned so much in our rookie season,” added Steckly. “I feel I better understand how to race a super late model. The team has built a notebook, and we have created a great chemistry which will be huge to be successful in 2025.”
Auto Parts Centres (APC) | Canusa will again be featured on Steckly’s No. 30 Ford Mustang this year in ASA STARS National Tour competition.
APC Auto Parts Centres | Canusa is a family-owned automotive parts business started in 1981 with over 65 branches stretching across Ontario. APC’s target market is purely trade-based, supplying garages, specialty installers, dealerships, and muffler shops throughout the province.
Auto Parts Centres takes full advantage of the marketing power of motorsports by sponsoring numerous race cars and speedways around the province. APC is the proud title sponsor in the APC Pro Late Model Touring Series that has been recognized as one of Canada’s top series.
As part of his contract extension announced last week with Rette Jones Racing, Steckly will also participate in a limited ARCA Menards Series schedule this season, which includes Saturday afternoon’s Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente 200 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Auto Parts Centres (APC) | Canusa will join Steckly for his ARCA debut aboard the No. 29 Ford Fusion.
Steckly was one of nearly 70 drivers who attended the open practice session at the 2.5-mile superspeedway for the NASCAR-owned touring division last month to earn his superspeedway license.
“There are no words to describe how excited I am about making my ARCA Menards Series debut next weekend at Daytona,” offered Steckly. “I think for any race car driver, their dream is to race at Daytona, and within a very short time, my dream is becoming a reality thanks to Rette Jones Racing and our excellent partners.
My goal is always to go out and win races,” sounded Steckly. “I think, realistically, we can do that at both the ASA race on Tuesday night and the ARCA race on Saturday.
“I’m confident in how we’ve grown in our Super Late Model program and Rette Jones Racing has been running ARCA for many years. I’m looking forward to Daytona; it’s always up in the air on what can happen during the race, but if we put ourselves in the right spot, I think we can be there at the end and contend for a strong finish in my series debut.”
Team co-owner and crew chief Mark Rette concurred.
“We are so ready for the 2025 season,” he said. “Kyle made tremendous progress last season and I am energized about what we can deliver this season. Kyle has experience in the ASA Super Late Model now and should pay huge dividends throughout the season, hopefully bringing us to Victory Lane.
“He is also ready for the next career step, joining the ARCA Menards Series. It’s a busy week for our team, but we are taking competitive cars to the race track, which we hope will allow Kyle to contend for wins on Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon.”
In addition to back-to-back APC United Late Model Series championships (2023 – 2024), Steckly’s accolades include seven APC United Late Model Series wins, the 2023 Grisdale Triple Crown Champion and Gold Rush 123 winner, along with multiple podium finishes in the NASCAR Canada Series.
For more on Kyle Steckly, like him on Facebook (Kyle Steckly Racing) and follow him on Instagram (@kyle_steckly) and X | Twitter (@KyleSteckly).
For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing), or follow them on Instagram (@RetteJones30) and X | Twitter (@RetteJones30).
For ticket information for this event and the entire 2025 World Series of Asphalt schedule, visit New Smyrna Speedway online: newsmyrnaspeedway.org
Those unable to attend the Clyde Hart Memorial will be able to watch online live coverage on TrackTV.com, MidwestTour.TV or FloRacing, all of which provide subscription-based coverage.
The Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente 200 80 laps | 200 miles) is the first of 20 races on the 2025 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Thursday, February 13, from 4:05 p.m. to 4:55 p.m. General Tire group pole qualifying begins on Friday, February 14, at 1:30 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag the following afternoon shortly after 12:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live for the first time on FOX, with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the day’s festivities.
About Auto Parts Centres (APC) | Canusa:
Auto Parts Centres (APC) | Canusa is a family-owned automotive parts business started in 1981 with over 65 branches stretching across Ontario. APC’s target market is purely trade-based, supplying garages, specialty installers, dealerships, and muffler shops throughout the province.
Auto Parts Centres takes full advantage of the marketing power of motorsports by sponsoring numerous race cars and speedways around the province. APC is the proud title sponsor in the APC Pro Late Model Touring Series that has been recognized as one of Canada’s top series.
About Rette Jones Racing:
Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up attitude.
Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plans to field a full-time entry in 2025 in the ASA STARS National Tour Series while also planning to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series platform and NASCAR, respectively.
Rette Jones Racing also offers technical and setup intel as part of its technical alliance partnership program.
Source: Rette Jones Racing
