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"It just seems like when I'm driving well, the car's not running right. And when the car's running great, I'm horrible behind the wheel." -- Kyle Seipel

Kyle Seipel grew up around drag racing. His dad, Ted Seipel, has been racing for more than 40 years; his mom, Georgia Seipel, raced and managed Baylands Dragway, and now runs the drag strip at Sears Point Raceway. You'd think a kid who grew up in that environment would have oil in his veins or something. But not Seipel. In fact, as a kid he wasn't even interested in drag racing.

"I wanted to be a pro bowler," remembers Seipel, 30, laughing.

However, the PBA lost out to the NHRA when Seipel's mother recruited him to work the time slip booth at Sears Point Raceway during their Wednesday night bracket races. Eventually, he worked his way up to the timing tower and was even the starter for a time. And that's when the desire kicked in, sort of like a delayed reaction time on the Christmas Tree.

The San Lorenzo, Calif., resident started out racing motorcycles at those weekly bracket races he used to work. He was 12 years old and, according to NHRA rules at that time, motorcycle competitors didn't need to have a driver's license.

"I raced an 80cc Kawasaki every single Wednesday night for two years straight. I needed every pass I could get at first but eventually I improved," said Seipel.

The next step was to run an 18-second Nova in the High School class when he was 16. Since then Seipel has competed in Comp Eliminator, Super Stock, Stock, Super Gas and Super Street and he has earned 10 NHRA division championships, including the 2000 Pacific Division Super Comp title.

Currently, he runs two cars; his Super Comp dragster and a Super Stock car. While he's obviously done well with the dragster, the Super Stocker has proved to be more of a challenge.

"It just seems like when I'm driving well, the car's not running right. And when the car's running great, I'm horrible behind the wheel," said Seipel. "This is my third season driving in Super Stock and I guess it's just a learning process."

Seipel says he likes racing in Super Stock because it takes him back to his bracket racing roots. Unlike Super Comp and Super Gas, which allow throttle-stops on the vehicles, there are no electronics involved in Super Stock.

"I like racing with no electronics," said Seipel. "It puts more bearing on the driver, whereas electronics can make a mediocre driver into a real good driver. But that's not to say it doesn't take talent to be a good Super Comp or Super Gas racer."

When he's not racing, Seipel is busy running his business, Helmet City in Oakland, Calif. He owns the company that specializes in motorsports safety equipment with fellow racer, John Uyeyama.

For a variety of reasons, this year Seipel has opted to run fewer races, hoping to do very well at the events he goes to. Of course, he says, the quality over quantity concept of racing hasn't really worked for him so far. He's not made any final round appearances in either class and that's not a trend he likes.

One of the events he will attend, naturally, is the Bank of the West Festival of Fire, a round of the NHRA Federal-Mogul Drag Racing Series, at Sears Point Raceway June 29-July 1.