Ryan Timms developing into next big thing for Keith Kunz Motorsports

The young Toyota-powered driver hopes to build on a strong Chili Bowl performance to even greater success during the upcoming midget and sprint season

TULSA, Okla. -- Ryan Timms is one of those young drivers that fans wait with bated breath as they grow older and move into new series and opportunities. This accomplishment landed Timms with a chance to be lead driver with the Toyota-powered Keith Kunz Motorsports Chili Bowl roster.

Last year, the Oklahoma City native competed in his first Chili Bowl with Chad Boat Industries and finished sixth in the Wednesday night B main. Timms went on to continue to break records during the 2022 Sprint and Midget series, including becoming the youngest driver with a podium finish in the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Car Series at 16 years and one day old.

Not surprisingly, these accomplishments landed him in the eagle eye of Keith Kunz.

Opportunity at the Helm of KKM

Timms has been behind the helm of the KKM #67 this week at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire. This is considered the lead car for the organization and has held the likes of Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Rico Abreu, and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid in its time.

While neither Larson nor Bell are with the team or at the event this year, and Kofoid has moved on, Abreu, Kofoid and Timms are racing in three of Kunz’ top Toyota-powered rides.

“It feels really good, especially being the number one guy and the new house car driver," Timms said. "I'm pretty honored that he picked me. All the guys they’ve picked have been really successful and have gone on to do great things. I hope I’m one of them.”

The distinction of the house car is largely just on paper with the accomplished KKM Crew helping between each car. But Timms and his Crew Chief Jarrett Martin are still working to pull away from the stacked field.

“It’s different for sure," Timms said. "There’s a lot of guys running for the same team here. And Jarrett [Martin], he's helped me a lot. He's the guy that sets my stuff up and he, you know, helped me. He talked me through the Chili Bowl so far. And it's just been a great experience”

Timms secured a start in the B main on Saturday by finishing seventh on his Monday Prelim night.

“It felt really good,” Timms told AutoRacingDigest.com of his performance, “I started on the pole of my heat and won it. I started third in the qualifier, won it. And I was running third for most of the A Main.

"Then I just started driving over my head a little bit and let my emotions get the best of me, I backed up a little bit and I definitely feel like we should have finished higher up. I had a car to win. Jared did a great job all night and that will put me 12th in the B.”

After fading in the A, Timms knows what he needs to do to continue to advance and it all comes down to control, not of the car but of the driver inside.

“[The goal for Saturday is] not letting your emotions into the cockpit and just drive your race,” Timms explained, “To stay cool and collected.”

When asked how his emotions were affecting his race he explained that when the track was slick, he got angry and started making mistakes.

“I would step on the gas too much, spin the wheels too much while coming off the corners and everyone would just drive by,” Timms said.

Maturity comes quickly for these young drivers as they grow up on the road and on a major stage in front of fans and critics alike. Being under the umbrella of a racing juggernaut like KKM gives Timms the guidance to learn from mistakes, and control your own mind.

Kunz Know How

People ask Kunz all the time what makes him such a good scout for young talent.

“We just seem to have the ability to see somebody out there," Kunz said. 'We don’t look from just our sport. We look outside and in other divisions. We look for kids doing talented things in inferior equipment. Somebody that’s carrying the car.”

As for Timms getting up to speed at the head of the team overall this season, not just for the Chili Bowl, Kunz said, “It's gonna take a year probably, but you know, he's already stepped right in ... and he's just going to get better and better. It's just time.”

A big plus of being chosen to race with KKM is the reach the team has and the ease with which drivers are able to acclimate to a team.

“They're able to step right in, Kunz explained, “get up to speed a lot quicker and develop a lot faster, and then they get more eyes upon them to hopefully get a chance.”

Kunz first took notice of Timms three or four years ago and watched him run micros at the Tulsa Shootout during that time. Like many others, Kunz was impressed with the young talent and believes that him running competitively in sprints this last season has helped him prepare for real success at the Chili Bowl.

“He gets to go run different racetracks,” Kunz explained, “So he adapts very quickly to everything you can throw at him. You get people who just run in one location all the time, you know, one track. And then when you have to go outside of that, they're not able to adapt fast enough and be very good.”

Timms is set to start 12th in a B-main this evening in the hopes of making the A Main feature and continuing to show the midget and sprint car community that he’s the next big thing.