THEY CALL HIM "KID SMOOTH' & HIS CHILL ATTITUDE & CALM DEMEANOR ISFREEZING LOCAL COMPETITION IN THE STREET STOCK CLASS

Written by:

Chris Creighton 

June 14th, 2016

Toomsuba Ms.

THEY CALL HIM "KID SMOOTH' & HIS CHILL ATTITUDE & CALM DEMEANOR IS FREEZING LOCAL COMPETITION IN THE STREET STOCK CLASS

 The summer time heat wave is in full force in Southern Mississippi.  The annual scorcher sends mercury bursting out its stick as each day brings record breaking highs as fast as Dick Trickle would have broken a track record in the 80's at some small town short track on the smaller circuit. In dirt track terminology, this time of year means the season is nearing halfway to the end. Championship runs are gearing up for those already winning & promises of a better 2^nd half to others trying to get the formula just right. The best of racing is still yet to come.

Now the dirt life seems simple right? In this league only 1 competitor actually will win the victory & celebrate with pictures of you & your teammates holding the checkered flag with a trophy & a big bright smile. If you aren't that guy winning you are working your tail off to be, asking for a chance if lady luck could be so kindly. Sometimes you can find a win but not in normal victory fashion. With this perception a loss may not necessarily mean failure or fault, as a matter of fact the dirt life is everything of a race in itself. Where time is judged by how fast you turn & consistent time could mean valuable inches that keep you in or out that sacred ceremony. You may not win the race but you clocked the fastest lap of your competitors. Once that small victory is established the race becomes to better that time next time & so on & so forth. Racing becomes an hour glass of sand that isn't judged in minutes but instead fractions of a second.

Which leads me to a story of a young racing talent that worked his way into early success with heart, smarts & a character of charisma that will leaving you thinking this is one cool kid. This young fella is so chill that he brought his own name of "Kid Smooth" to the dirt track scene. Now only months into his journey, expectations have become a reality & many stat readers & racers have already started searching for the number 14 on line up sheets & qualifying times in the street stock division. Competitors & other racers may have not noticed or recognized the Outlaw Black with Red Outline Coopers Country Pleasin’ Sausage High Roller Race Cars street stock in the pits or hot laps but when you realize the 14 is working your quarter panel, his chill skill will be no match for the unnerved. As he launches past your chrome horn understand you just got worked by a by a smooth operator. After the race those that didn’t already know the name will be searching the bracket on the line up or the official finish posted online for the driver behind the wheel of that black #14 & there they will find the pilot of the machine, Benjamin Allen Keith or aka Ben "Kid Smooth" Keith. 

Whether he got the name by his chill approach on the track or just a childhood nickname he carried over, the kid certainly seems a little calmer & more mature than most his age. It's no doubt when he is on the track the Kid lives up to the name & has been all season long earning his place ahead of many seasoned well experienced wheelman in the National NeSmith Street Stock & the local MISSISSIPPI STREET STOCK SERIES. Competing for Rookie of the Year against other highly touted Talents could have easily stunted his development & growth. Most are hit with the realization of unreasonable goals, high expectations or setbacks beyond control but nothing has overshadowed this recent rise to success for this 16 year old Kosciusko High School Junior. Such talent as he has is too hard not to notice. In a league of over 300 stock car teams, in only a few short months “Kid Smooth” has already successfully captured his first career pole, 2 heat race wins & a career best top 3 finish in the feature event this past weekend at the House of Hook, finishing behind Spencer Hughes & longtime veteran Jeffery Walker.

Though some trouble came to pass early on in the season, the race team has manufactured a consistent string of good finishes here of late adding to a steady rise in National points for the rookie. Team 14xxv celebrated a first after breaking into the top 20 in national points after his solid finish this past weekend at the House of Hook. Keith now finds himself perched in 19^th place with 360 points in 11 races rising 14 spots from the 33rd position he was in rolling into the last week of May. The team has recording 6 top 5's & 7 top 10 finishes already & could possibly break into the win column this weekend at the Annual Clash at the Mag in Columbus Ms. Small victories pay big dividends when patience & precision is your fasting approach. Good finishes & consistent runs eventually lead to W’s in the win column.

Ben "Kid Smooth" Keith can be found & followed each racing week in the state of Mississippi. The 14 crew has raced Jackson Motor Speedway, Whynot Motorsports Park & Magnolia Motor Speedway as often as the doors are opened & racing is allowed. He has also ventured to Louisiana to race La36 Speedway located in St Tammany Parish La. Look for his car the next time you see the heavy metal stock cars hit the speedway & when you see that fourteen passing your favorite, just know that kid is Smooth.... Kid Smooth!!  Ben’s racing career is made possible thanks to these sponsors: High Roller Race Cars, Keith's Service Station, Landscape Designs by Glen, Cooper's Country Pleasin', Big Daddy Approved Chris Harris, Michael Millis State Farm Insurance, Willhite Racing, Dirt Defender, Roofing and Siding with Strength, Amory Powder Coating, Rhino's Remodeling and Electric Topnotch Signs & Apparel. You can follow him on Facebook or Instagram & his race team at AK Motorsports & @_kidsmooth14_