[By Catherine O’Connor]
Engine builder Woody Kyle is the tuner to the stars – of racing. His clients have included Scotty Parker and Jay Springsteen, Nicki and Casey Hayden, and generations of AFT riders, just to name a few. If winning a race requires a mysterious ratio of visual acuity, finely tuned balance, endurance, and composure at high speed, it’s the tuner’s skills that make a great rider into a champion.

From Grand National Champions to the youngest kids burning up flat tracks and motocross courses, success comes from the rider and motor builder having a relationship based on trust, technical know-how and effective communication. Working quietly behind the scenes, engine builder Woody Kyle has become a shaman of the tribe, an elder passing engine building knowledge to young scouts, fostering and mentoring them, and keeping the flame alive. What he has learned over the arc of his astonishing career in the paddock, and what he thinks of the coming electric revolution in motorcycle racing, could fill volumes.
It was the Alabama phenom, National #23 Lance Jones, who tipped me off to the intriguing role of Woody Kyle in shaping decades of winners, who sport the iconic Woody Kyle Racing checkered flag emblem on T-shirts, box trucks and vans was they follow the circuit around the country. More than one vintage racer mentioned that if they saw a WKR sticker on a bike beside them, they’d think, “uh oh, I guess I’m not going to win.” And if they saw WKR “wicker sticker” bikes lining up on both sides, they’d basically just surrender.

Harold Woodrow ‘Woody’ Kyle was born 1941 in Orlando, Florida, and moved closer to Leesburg as a child. His father was a military reconnaissance photographer in WW2, traveling around the world from South Africa, to Sicily, and was finally stationed at Coco Beach. “When (Francis) Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in a U2 spy plane, that was my dad’s operation. He came home soon after that.” When Kyle Sr. retired from the Air Force, Woody completed his last year of high school in Orlando. Later in the 1960’s, Kyle began racing as an AMA Novice with his Florida buddy, the late Ed Salley. They ventured into America’s heartland, racing in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Kyle had earned his Junior points, characterizing himself as “…sort of competitive; Salley, who was an Expert, always did way better than I did.”

Trained as an aircraft mechanic in the military, Woody earned a pilot’s license to work with two uncles with an agricultural business in northern Alabama. “I flew crop dusting planes and sprayed family gardens. It was a lot of fun. Learning mechanics for aircraft started my career. By the late 1960’s I had my own shop; two-strokes were my specialty.” In the 1970’s Kyle worked his magic on Yamahas that enabled Alabama’s Lance Jones to wow fans every Tuesday night for weeks in a row at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois. Even at 16 and still a Novice, Jones competed against Experts, and didn’t even break a sweat, according to Kyle. “In those days, if they saw Lance and I roll into the combined programs, they’d say, ‘oh well, it’s over’.”
To Kyle, who is now in his 80’s, the DuQuoin Magic Mile brings bittersweet memories of victories and disastrous injuries that ended the career of promising Georgia champion Jay Ridgeway, one of dozens of riders whose poignant story is a consequential part of the WKR heritage. Ridgeway, a dynamic rider from Atlanta, tragically died in the 1977 DuQuoin AMA Grand National Championship race. “We know dirt track could be a very unforgiving sport, before air fences and such,” Kyle said. Another young rider Kyle worked with in the 70’s was Jeff Purvis, a Novice national champion from Georgia. In addition to Expert Jay Springsteen, sponsor Vista Sheen had taken Purvis on as their junior rider, but he got hurt at Valdosta Short Track, just before Daytona.

Kyle has said that his favorite motor to build was definitely, “not a Harley.” Instead, the 1979-80 air cooled, red engine 250CR Hondas were his go-to . “I did one for Terry Poovey and we won every (short track) race at Daytona that year.” Honda made a flat track bike with a heavy flywheel and right-hand shift, which paired well with Poovey’s Knight frame. “Back then, Terry Knight from San Francisco built drag bike chassis and didn’t even know how to ride a motorcycle. But he just designed a great chassis,” Kyle recalled.
By the 1980s Kyle did get into the Harley-Davidson game, building short tracker two-strokes for a couple of future Grand National Champions and AMA Hall of Famers; Rookie Expert Scotty Parker, as well as Expert Ricky Graham. “Parker didn’t like his bike; he said it was too fast. But Graham loved his!” Kyle’s extraordinary talent as a builder transformed Harley-Davidson’s MX 250, built when the company owned the Italian Aermacchi brand, and took two Grand Prix World Championships. “It was probably the fastest bike ever at the Sante Fe (Chicagoland) raceway. With racer Garth Brow, we had everyone beat by a couple seconds,” he said.
Kyle worked with road racer Scott Russell in his rookie year, on his way to becoming Mr. Daytona and World Superbike champion. Kyle’s resume also includes building engines for Jim France’s Superbike team with stars like Jay Springsteen and Wes Cooley. Kyle had a hand in early Honda Racing, and with the first FZ 750 Yamahas ridden by Jimmy Felice. Woody’s highlight reel includes decades of being the guy whose mechanical know-how and last-minute resourcefulness is clear in stories like this one from the 1990’s: “We needed an extra Daytona bike for Lance, so I had him ride my Honda 750 Interceptor with the compression hopped up.” Kyle is still astonished to think that Jones, on a modified street bike, was running 10th in the Daytona 200, before it developed an oil leak that put him on the ground.
Building a reputation primarily by word of mouth, the always-humble Kyle said, “It used to be that a young guy with ability, who no one knew, could show up and win a race. But now it takes more.” Kyle has said he was lucky to assist many young riders to become winners, and that WKR checkered flag sticker is what kept him on the map.

“One of the things I’m most proud of in my racing career is that I’ve gotten to do it all. I have had some top motocross guys, top road racer guys, and I’ve built minibikes for the fastest kids in the world. Actually, I built all of the Hayden’s minibikes, until Nicky started riding pro. I worked with Nicky (Hayden) on his first road race at 16. I traveled with him for the whole season. The Hayden family, who lived in Kentucky, flew me around the country.” The stage was set for 1999, when 18-year-old Hayden would win his first AMA Grand National Championship race (Hagerstown Half Mile) and take AMA Rookie of the Year honors. Those early days with WKR minibike tuning primed the three Hayden brothers for victory as they claimed a remarkable podium finish, (Nicky first, Tommy second, and Roger Lee third) at the 2002 Springfield TT. After honing his skills in dirt-track events, Nicky Hayden quickly graduated to road racing as the youngest ever AMA Superbike Champion to also win the Daytona 200, in 2002. The memory of a Kentucky Kid who became Moto GP World Champion in 2007, for whom Woody Kyle turned wrenches and fostered support, lives on. When Kyle joined Hayden’s crew, Nick Daniels, the father of current AFT star Dallas Daniels, was Nicky Hayden’s mechanic. Kyle counts Daniels, who is now the chief mechanic of Estensen Racing team, along with Tommy Hayden, team manager as a part of his race family.
In the spirit of nurturing the sport, Woody made a temporary move to Southern Illinois in 2006, setting up shop to lead a young Jeffrey Carver Jr. on the path from AMA Amateur Nationals to become a contender in the professional race series. Kyle is a backstage legend whose reputation is baked-in as the model for generations in the race community. After his 2019 Springfield Mile success, I spoke to winner Jeffrey Carver. Both he and road race superstar J.D. Beach agreed wholeheartedly that Woody has been ”The Man” in the background, playing his part to keep the flat track community running.
What Kyle has learned along the way comes down to the concept of moderation. “I built more moderate engines, which were what I call ’user friendly,’ even for top experts. If the rider is not comfortable, they won’t go fast. And they also need to be durable.”
Durable friendships also seem to be a hallmark of Kyle’s legacy. At the recent DuQuoin Amateur Nationals, the lasting bond between builder Woody Kyle and racer Lance Jones was evident. Reminiscing, Kyle said, “At 16, Lance was unbeatable. He beat all the Novice, Juniors and Experts on the short track.” And some 40 plus years later, Kyle enjoyed lending tech support, as Jones battled in a late evening heat race, winning his class well after 1:00 am.

Kyle recently worked with Jay Springsteen to start a riders’ school; “I’ve been good friends with Jay since we were teammates when Purvis rode for Vista Sheen, in around 1975.” It was planned that expert racer Springsteen would teach technique, with Kyle focusing on set up. According to Kyle, it ended up that Springsteen did much of the set up too. “We had a lot of Vintage guys in the pits. Trying to get them up to speed, we’d take their suspension off, and we had to tell them; ‘Don’t worry, Springer is really a talented mechanic too’.”
Watching the growth of Ben Evans, a tuner who works with AFT Twins rider Brandon Robinson, Kyle recalled, “I was once Ben’s mentor — and now he’s, my mentor.” With his expertise always in demand, Kyle continues to work his magic, recently assisting upstart rider of the year, 15-year-old Walker Porter.
Oh, and what does Woody Kyle think of the E Bike revolution? “ Not much. I know they’re fast and we definitely need to do something different.” But, Kyle said, “If I can’t smell it or hear it, I don’t think I can get excited about it.”

Woody Kyle Racing’s WKR label is an indelible Maker’s Mark that has endured for generations. Undeniably, thinking about Woody can open up an emotional portal symbolizing how a humble expert can deliver that alchemy to propel a champion.
At his first professional AFT Singles race win at the 2019 Peoria TT, young champion, National # 32, Dallas Daniels stepped to the podium to thank those who had played an integral role in building his career. “I couldn’t have done this without Woody and Judy Kyle,” said Dallas, an expert chasing the next American Flat Track Grand National Championship crown.
Just like his dad, (Nick Daniels) had done, as soon as Dallas could drive, he decamped with Kyles’ in Florida, absorbing the wisdom. “While Woody gave my bike a refresh, I pretty much just stood around and watched. He showed me basic maintenance, but more than that, he fed me. Woody is more than race family. He feels like a part of our actual family,” Dallas said.


Nice one ! Thanks .
The one downer surrounding this great article is the sad reality that flat track will most likely end up relegated to the history bins by the end of the decade [ or sooner ] Killing off the great American M/C racing tradition .. and the roots of our success from FT .. to RR … to MC … and all places in between
But lets revel in the positive … memories that is … for the moment ..while we still can
Sigh ………………….
One of the True Legends of the Motorcycle Racing World and in my opinion the AMA is a Bias Organization for not considering inducting him into the Hall of Fame. Shame on you !
Great ambassador to AMA racing for years and friends to all who have met him.
WKR is still active in many aspects of our sport and I’m completely puzzled at why he is not in the AMA Hall of Fame ?
How cool can someone get? Woody is so fun to be around and humble as can be. His love, knowledge and fact he still is working in this field is a testament to involvement and role he continues to play in this community. I hope he gets inducted into the Hall of Fame, he deserves it. I don’t know what’s been the hold up.