Pensacola, FL (Wednesday, December 9, 2020) - Many things changed when the world became gripped by the Coronavirus pandemic. A major change for many was when and where racing would take place, if at all. When things began looking bleak for a 2020 campaign in the Great Lakes area, Kyle Purvis hit the road with his pavement Modified and several months later, it paid off with a Championship.
A native of Marion, Ohio, Purvis found himself facing shutdowns and fan restrictions that limited many racetracks across the Buckeye state. While it wasn’t the ideal situation, Purvis elected to chase racing across the country, leading him to the Modifieds of Mayhem in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. Having only missed one race, Purvis thought he had a shot at accomplishing something unique in 2020.
“We only missed, I think, one race,” Purvis said following the modified’s Snowball Derby 75 at 5 Flags Speedway. “With everything shut down up north, we ran this.”
It turned out to be a strong season with the Modifieds of Mayhem for Purvis, who never finished outside of the top five the following six races. He won his first event from Five Flags Speedway on June 19th and followed that performance up with a runner-up finish the following night at Montgomery Motor Speedway. The next event on July 17th was another stop at Five Flags Speedway where Purvis posted his worst finish of the Modifieds of Mayhem campaign, coming home 5th.
The rest of the season, Purvis went on a tear, winning the next two events from Montgomery Motor Speedway and Watermelon Capital Speedway putting himself in position to battle for the 2020 Championship back at Five Flags Speedway. Purvis came in trailing by just a handful of points behind Scooter Bates on Saturday night. A strong qualifying run put Purvis on the inside of the third row to start the race. Purvis challenged for the front of the field, but never could mount enough momentum to battle for the lead. The importance of a win diminished when Bates crashed his machine near the halfway point of the race.
In the end, Purvis finished fourth while his DG Performance teammate Derrick Griffin won the race. The Championship is Purvis’ first in the Modifieds of Mayhem which has been racing since 2015. Purvis finished the year with the most wins of the season with 3.
For more stories from around the region, be sure to log onto www.horsepowerhappenings.com. Listen to on-demand episodes of the Horsepower Happenings Podcast, with new episodes every Monday night at 9:00 pm.
Story - Zach Hiser, Horsepower Happenings
Photos - Zach Hiser, Horsepower Happenings