Kite attended Commercial High School in Atlanta, graduating in 1939. He joined the U.S. Army in June 1942 and advanced quickly, achieving the rank of first lieutenant by January 1943. He served with the 1st Armored Division and was wounded in January 1944 during the Anzio landings — one of the most punishing amphibious operations of the Italian Campaign. Kite continued his military career alongside his NASCAR involvement, serving in the Georgia National Guard and holding the rank of captain commanding the 201st Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company at the time of his greatest racing achievement.
Kite's debut in the NASCAR Grand National Series came in 1950. Starting third on the Daytona Beach Road Course — a demanding hybrid circuit using the hard-packed beach straight combined with a return road through the dunes — he wasted little time in asserting himself. Kite moved to the front and led 38 of the 48 laps, ultimately holding off Red Byron by fifty-three seconds to claim the victory. It was a commanding performance that made the Army captain one of the very few drivers to win on his NASCAR debut.
Later in that same season, Kite added two further starts: a 38th-place result in the inaugural race at Darlington Raceway — a circuit that would become one of the most celebrated in the sport's history — and a 12th-place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The 1951 season represented Kite's most active campaign, in which he finished a career-high 25th in the overall championship standings. He lined up 38th in the massive eighty-two-car field for the Southern 500 at Darlington — itself a historic race entry — and delivered a solid sixth-place result, running near the leaders throughout much of the distance. A follow-up start at Columbia Speedway was less successful, yielding a last-place 29th finish.
Kite returned to NASCAR in 1955, making two starts. Piston failure very early at the LeHi race held at Memphis-Arkansas Speedway left him classified 25th, and mechanical problems of various kinds restricted him to 43rd place in the Darlington Southern 500. A single 1956 appearance at the Shelby track at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds — a small venue with a field of just seventeen cars — still proved beyond him, as he fell several laps down and finished 11th.
After nearly a decade away from the sport, Kite re-entered competition in 1965 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the National 400. It proved a tragic return. On only the first lap of the race, Kite was caught up in a five-car pileup in the fourth turn. As his car collected Rock Harn, Sonny Hutchins, and Frank Warren, it slid down the banking and was struck broadside by Jimmy Helms, taking the impact directly on the driver's side door. Kite, aged 43, was pronounced dead on arrival at the infield hospital.
Despite competing in only nine NASCAR Grand National events, Kite won one of the sport's most prestigious early races and was a fixture in the Georgia motorsport community. He was inducted into the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame in 2011, recognition of both his racing accomplishment and his service history. His Daytona Beach victory — commanding, dominant, and achieved on debut — remains one of the more striking single performances of NASCAR's inaugural era.