SALISBURY, N.C. – When Millbridge Speedway first announced the creation of its new 500 Outlaw division for the 2018 season, Ryan Israel and his family-owned team were among the early proponents of the class.

Israel, 14, won 10 races last year en route to the Intermediate class championship at the sixth-mile dirt oval, but knew that stepping up to the premier Open division for the new season was going to be a big step – both from an experience standpoint and from a financial standpoint.

So when promoters Ashly and Jeremy Burnett announced the Outlaw class would be made up exclusively of mini-outlaw karts carrying 500cc two-stroke engines, Israel saw a prime – and still affordable – opportunity to jump to the top level of the discipline.

“Being a family team, we don’t have the kind of budget that some of the big teams have that come out to Millbridge and race,” Israel said. “We knew it would take a lot to run with the Opens this season, but when Ashly and Jeremy announced that this Outlaw class was going to debut this year, we knew that we could step up and compete on a budget because the engine costs would be much more affordable for what we have to work with.”

“As a team, we love what Millbridge is doing right now and we’re glad to be a part of it. I think you saw on opening night that the competition will be fierce and the car counts are already heading up. It should only get better and better, I feel like.”

Though Israel had to retire from the A-Feature during opening night on March 28 due to mechanical trouble, he said he was having more fun than he’d ever had racing at Millbridge.

“Man, that first night was a blast,” said Israel. “That was some of the most exciting racing I’ve ever been a part of here. When you’re racing against the best … you can feel it and you know you’ve got to be up on the wheel every lap.

“I had the time of my life racing against Tom (Hubert), Karsyn (Elledge) and everyone we were racing around on opening day and I hope we can continue to be competitive like that over the course of the year.”

Israel’s enthusiasm for racing at Millbridge hasn’t waned since the first time he and his younger brother Zac first rolled through the gates to race there.

Why hasn’t it?

“It’s just fun to be here,” he explained. “It’s one big family. We race hard, we don’t always get along, but we’re all here for the same reason: we love racing and love being a part of it.”