Kyle Soper gave back 45 of his trophies to Riverhead Raceway. He offered them so the track could repurpose them for young Bandolero racers who win their features.
Newly married, buying a house, and with a full-time job, Kyle Soper’s life has changed since he first started in Legend cars as a teen. He stepped away from the driver’s seat two years ago. Yet, Soper still had a bunch of trophies from his time competing at the 1/4-mile paved oval. He has 29 NASCAR modified wins, nine late model wins, six Legend car wins and one crate modified win. In addition, Soper earned seven track championships: one in Legends (2014), two in late models (2017 and 2018) and four in modifieds (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022).
Soper reached out to Riverhead Raceway GM John Ellwood with his idea for his old trophies.
“Growing up, I raced go-karts and did not get trophies for wins,” Soper, of Manorville, New York, said. “Today, the same holds true for the kids who race in Bandoleros. I proposed that when they win, they will have a chance to get something to commemorate that win.”
Soper and his wife, Christina, peeled the labels off of his trophies and made a collage of those labels that could be framed.
“I kept a few of the trophies that mean a lot to me,” said Soper. “Those are my championship trophies in the modified division and my [NASCAR] Modified Tour win trophy. The Islip 300 trophy is most special to me.”
Despite no longer racing, Kyle Soper continues to attend races at Riverhead Raceway, reconnecting with lifelong friends he made at the paved oval. Thanks to him, the 45 trophies should award Bandolero winners for two to three years.
“I did not want to throw them out — that would be sad,” Soper said. “The track can relabel them and give them out like they are new. I’m happy that they will have special meaning to someone again.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
