Ryan Bickett from Ramona, SD drives the #17b sprint cars. He competes in a 360 class and also a 410 outlaw car doing double duty most nights.

And last season it was double, as in track championships. Bickett won the 360 class title at both I-90 Speedway in Hartford, SD and at Huset's Speedway in Brandon, SD.

Ryan has been racing for 14 years, primarily in sprints. I have been friends with him since he began in an old hobby stock car. I had Ryan as a guest on a radio show one time back then, and all I could get him to say was 'Yep.'

He talks much more these days as you can see in the video. I had a chance to visit with him on August 4th before a race at Huset's. Ryan would later finish 2nd in the event as you can watch on this video of the final laps.

In answering my question of what it takes to be a champion at 2 different tracks, Ryan said: 'I can't do it without the guys back at the shop that work on the car.' I also asked him to explain car set-up. He immediately gave credit to Dean 'Bonzai' Bruns saying: 'It doesn't matter who you are, he can make your car fast.'

And talking about Bonzai, he is the crew chief for Jac Haudenschild. Take a look at the story I did on that team.

In closing, I want to point out that Ryan is a second generation racer. His father, Don Bickett, is a long time friend of mine. Don retired after driving for 38 years last season. He was number 17. The last car he drove is on the track this year with a number 1 on the side.

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