Tanner Tecco showed improvement throughout 2022 season

Tanner Tecco in the drivers seat at Anderson Speedway in July 2022. (Aaron Skillman photo)

By Ken de la Bastide

The start of the 2022 Kenyon Midget Series for Tanner Tecco was not what the Ohio based family race team anticipated. Tanner didn't start the feature and his sister Taylor finished 11th. But from the less than stellar start, Tanner Tecco improved at every race to claim the Most Improved Driver of the year.

After a slow start through the first six races, Tecco put together a string of five straight top ten finishes with a season best showing of 5th at the tricky Mt. Lawn Speedway oval.

“My favorite track was U.S. 24,” Tanner said. “It was fun to run the top and the track had multiple grooves.”

Coming from a background of road course racing in a go-kart, Tecco was diving into a new racing format on paved and dirt ovals. “It was definitely a learning experience,” he said. “The biggest challenge was to trust the car, it was the first car that had a suspension. We ended the year on a good note,” Tecco said. “We were figuring out the cars and playing with the set-up. The beginning of the year was a little rough and we spent some time trying to catch-up.”

Tecco said racing on the pavement ovals was easier than the dirt ovals during the year. “You could trust the car more,” he said of the pavement races. “The dirt was harder on your endurance. Both have their challenges, some of it's mental preparation,” Tanner said.

He liked the family atmosphere with the Kenyon Series and everyone's willingness to work to repair damaged race cars at the track. “The racers were really close knit,” Tanner said. “If something happened on the track, you would talk it out. It's a good group of people,” he said of those surrounding the series.”

Tecco said the plan is for the family again to have a two-car team for the full season in 2023.