Mr Kyles was one of dozens of drivers who satisfied their need for speed at the Oamaru drag races at Oamaru Airport on Saturday, as a decent crowd watched eagerly.
He completed his quarter mile, standing-start run in 12.64 seconds, a time he was reasonably pleased with despite a slight hiccup.
"I had a good launch, but missed third [gear]," he said.
He has been drag racing for about four years in his 2012 ZR1 Corvette, which is painted to resemble the main character from popular Disney franchise Cars.
"It’s like any motorsport. It’s all about the noise, smell, the camaraderie and the car.
"It’s been upgraded a wee bit ... it’s about 800 horsepower now. The difference between this car and the other ones around here is that the engine is built for this kind of thing. It’s got titanium con rods and that kind of thing."
For him, it certainly got the adrenaline pumping.
"Everybody gets a thrill out of it, myself included. It’s the best thing I have ever done. It’s money well spent."
When not on the drag strip, Mr Kyles and his Corvette can be found entertaining young fans of Lightning McQueen.
"We do a lot of birthday celebrations in the weekend for kids, so they get a real kick out of seeing Lightning McQueen."
Imports and V8s took to the strip first, which were followed by motorcycles after a technical issue resulted in the 10am start time being delayed for about 30 minutes.
Before the event, organiser Kevin Boler told the Otago Daily Times it had grown in popularity in recent years and that after drivers got used to drag racing, they became focused on banking the fastest time possible instead of just competing.
