Kenzie Ruston looks to continue success moving up the racing ladder
There’s always that question that is asked – where can I find out the next talented star? Who will be the next talented driver? NASCAR teams ask that same question when they’re signing developmental contracts and one team definately got it right.
This past off-season, Kenzie Ruston signed a developmental contract with Turner-Scott Motorsports. For this season, she will be running the full K&N Pro Series East schedule.
In just four starts so far this year, the Oklahoma native has already shown that she’s worthy of the opportunity, scoring a pair of top fives including a third at Greenville.
“They’re a lot different than what I came from,” she says of the cars. “I came from super late models which are light cars, big motors, lot of grip with the tires. The K&N Pro Series cars are a lot heavier cars.
“It’s been a learning curve, learning every week at the track, learning new stuff every lap.”
Ruston started running late models in 2010, competiting in the Pro All Star Racing Series (PASS) Southern Division, scoring multiple 10 finishes and finishing 12th in points despite missing two races. She would run some Champions Racing Association (CRA), becoming the first female to win a CRA event with her win at Lucas Oil Speedway. She ran the full ARCA/CRA Super Series championship schedule last year, finishing second in points.
She first caught the eyes of many in 2011 when she made four ARCA starts for Venturini Motorsports, scoring a pair of top 10s, including a fourth at Toledo Speedway after leading some laps.
The 21-year-old got her start at the age of 14 running bandoleros.
“I always wanted to race dirt bikes since I was little and my dad raced dirt bikes so I wanted to get on a dirt bike – but he wouldn’t let me, ” she says. “So we were at Texas Cup race and there was a little 5th mile track out there. Got in a bando – bandolero – and made some laps and it went from there.”
With making the move to the K&N Pro Series East, she didn’t set her goals high coming into the season.
“I was just hoping to log laps and get top 10s and earn respect,” she says. “As the year has gone on, my goals are just like gotten bigger. We definitely want to win a race this year, win rookie of the year, and be in contention at the end of the year for the points championship. That’d be awesome. Right now, learning and earning respect from other drivers.”
Ruston says that she wants to continue to move up the racing ladder, possibly running in the Nationwide Series or Sprint Cup Series five years down the road.
Crowned Speed51.com Most Popular Driver last year, it’s no secret that Ruston has many supporters already and a role model to other young females out there. To those wanting to follow in her steps, she says it’s the hardest thing that she’s ever had to do.
“It definately hard to being a girl,” she says. “You have to prove yourself way more than the boys have to prove themselves because they never think a girl can do it. You just have to go out there and work way harder than them and show that you’re here to win races and run up front. You want to be the best driver, not just the best girl driver; you want the same things they do.”
Outside of racing, she doesn’t have many interests as she is at the shop every day.
“I play a little bit of golf – but I’m not really good; it’s just a waste of time,” she comments. “I’m not very good at golf.
“In the winter time, I like to go up to the cabin with my family and we snowboard quite a bit in the winter time. But in the summer time, it’s mostly all racing.”
Pastrana grabs the Aaron’s 312 pole at Talladega
Travis Pastrana, driver of the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, captured the Coors Light Pole Award for the 22nd annual Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Talladega Superspeedway. This is Pastrana’s first pole in his first start at Talladega Superspeedway not to mention his first pole in 17 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts.
When Pastrana was asked for his thoughts on his first pole, he responded, “It sounds like a dream come true. Bringing the guys to the line at the green flag at Talladega is awesome, so I’m definitely excited. I mean, this Roush Fenway team has worked so hard. Chad (Norris), my crew chief, he’s like, ‘We’ve been putting everything together. Let’s go out there and get this thing.’ He had a lot of confidence in myself and the car and it’s just awesome to be able to show the work these guys are putting together and I’m definitely really happy to be here.”
Pastrana’s pole position is also Roush-Fenway Racing’s first NNS Coors Light pole at Talladega Superspeedway. Travis said, “Anytime Jack’s smiling, I’m smiling. That’s a good deal.”
When asked what a pole means from a team and driver standpoint, Pastrana said, “On the restrictor plate races it means you went out there and drove a perfectly clean lap and that your car and that your crew and that everybody was working together. You picked the right line and did the right stuff, but mostly that you have a great team and a great car. Winning the pole at a restrictor place race also means that you’re gonna have a lot of people that are willing to work with you come race day, so I’m excited about that.”
The Aaron’s 312 race on Saturday will be Pastrana’s eighth start for the 2013 racing season. He has had top ten finishes this season at Daytona, Las Vegas and Richmond. Pastrana has completed 1,394 out of 1,420 laps and is currently ranked 13th in the series points standings.
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Aaron’s 312, Talladega Superspeedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/qual.php?race=8 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 60 | Travis Pastrana | Ford | 176.5 | 54.255 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 176.162 | 54.359 |
| 3 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 176.071 | 54.387 |
| 4 | 34 | * Danica Patrick(i) | Chevrolet | 175.877 | 54.447 |
| 5 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 175.868 | 54.45 |
| 6 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | 175.771 | 54.48 |
| 7 | 11 | Elliott Sadler | Toyota | 175.732 | 54.492 |
| 8 | 2 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 175.587 | 54.537 |
| 9 | 1 | * Kurt Busch(i) | Chevrolet | 175.52 | 54.558 |
| 10 | 54 | Joey Coulter(i) | Toyota | 175.33 | 54.617 |
| 11 | 5 | Kasey Kahne(i) | Chevrolet | 175.324 | 54.619 |
| 12 | 22 | Joey Logano(i) | Ford | 175.269 | 54.636 |
| 13 | 10 | * Jeff Green | Toyota | 175.218 | 54.652 |
| 14 | 99 | Alex Bowman # | Toyota | 175.208 | 54.655 |
| 15 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 175.202 | 54.657 |
| 16 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. # | Chevrolet | 175.192 | 54.66 |
| 17 | 33 | Ty Dillon(i) | Chevrolet | 175.112 | 54.685 |
| 18 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 174.971 | 54.729 |
| 19 | 32 | Kyle Larson # | Chevrolet | 174.923 | 54.744 |
| 20 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 174.904 | 54.75 |
| 21 | 20 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 174.77 | 54.792 |
| 22 | 4 | * Landon Cassill(i) | Chevrolet | 174.382 | 54.914 |
| 23 | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 174.363 | 54.92 |
| 24 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 174.16 | 54.984 |
| 25 | 70 | Johanna Long | Chevrolet | 174.119 | 54.997 |
| 26 | 85 | * Bobby Gerhart | Chevrolet | 173.998 | 55.035 |
| 27 | 79 | Jeffrey Earnhardt # | Ford | 173.859 | 55.079 |
| 28 | 74 | Mike Harmon | 173.821 | 55.091 | |
| 29 | 55 | * Jamie Dick | Chevrolet | 173.676 | 55.137 |
| 30 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 173.573 | 55.17 |
| 31 | 24 | Jason White | Toyota | 173.387 | 55.229 |
| 32 | 44 | Hal Martin # | Toyota | 173.036 | 55.341 |
| 33 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 172.855 | 55.399 |
| 34 | 0 | * Blake Koch | Toyota | 172.762 | 55.429 |
| 35 | 89 | * Morgan Shepherd | 172.367 | 55.556 | |
| 36 | 52 | * Donnie Neuenberger | Chevrolet | 171.964 | 55.686 |
| 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 171.927 | 55.698 |
| 40 | 92 | * Tim Andrews | Ford | 171.764 | 55.751 |
| 38 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 171.594 | 55.806 |
| 39 | 40 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 171.024 | 55.992 |
| 41 | 15 | * Stanton Barrett | Ford | 170.561 | 56.144 |
| 42 | 25 | * John Wes Townley(i) | Toyota | 0 | 0 |
Bowyer upbeat heading to the “wildcard” weekend at Talladega
Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) driver, Clint Bowyer is smiling and upbeat heading into the Aarons 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Many drivers look past Talladega and hope to just make it through unscathed. The track has been long considered a “wildcard”, due to the unpredictable nature of the racing here.
Talladega is one of only two tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule that utilizes restrictor plates, the other being Daytona. The restrictor plates lead to pack style racing that many drivers do not really care for. The pack racing usually leads to the “big one”, a massive crash that takes out many cars and plays no favorites in the process. There are many different strategies used at the 2.66 mile track. Some drivers try to get to the front and stay there so the big one will be behind them. Others fade to the rear in an attempt to see the big one before they get to it and get involved.
Maybe the best strategy is to treat it as any other race and stay positive. That seems to be Bowyer’s plan. As he spoke to reporters on Friday, Bowyer seemed happy as he joked with media members. Asked about the importance of attitude at Talladega, Bowyer replied, “Absolutely. There’s a lot of guys that come to this track worried, nervous and not scared that they’re going to get hurt I don’t think. It’s scared they’re going to lose points, they’re going to get caught up in a crash and it’s going to cost them and take a month to overcome a bad race.”
Bowyer has been successful at Talladega in the past. In 14 starts he has two wins, four top fives and seven top tens. He finished a strong fifth place in the spring race last year and has an average finish of eighth in the last four races. His MWR teammate Martin Truex crashed out of the spring race in 2012, but finished a respectable 13th in the fall race. Truex has also ran well this season, currently sitting 15th in points with three top ten finishes.
Bowyer’s positive attitude coupled with strong performance this season from MWR creates a recipe that could lead to a successful “wildcard” weekend in the MWR No.15 Peak Toyota Camry.
Jimmie Johnson Foundation Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope Program
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation’s Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope Program will draw two more charities on Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. The Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program was developed six years ago. The program gives NASCAR fans and media the opportunity to nominate their favorite charities to be featured on the helmet of the five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson.
In addition to being featured on Johnson’s helmet, each charity selected also receives a grant of $10,000 and a Blue Bunny ice cream party from the program’s title sponsor, Blue Bunny Ice Cream. Since its development, the program has contributed more than $430,000 to 61 different charities.
Six charities have already been chosen for the 2013 program. The charities selected thus far are Against Abuse, Inc., Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Chelsea’s Hope, Me Fine Foundation, Denver Kids, Inc., and Miracle League of Pensacola.
Fan nominations will be accepted until 5:00 pm ET on Monday, May 6 2013. Media nominations will be accepted until 5:00 pm ET on Monday, May 20 2013. Nominations can be submitted at http://jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.
The 2013 Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope Drawing Schedule is as follows:
Week 1- April 13: Texas Motor Speedway
Week 2- April 21: Kansas Speedway
Week 3- April 27: Richmond International Raceway
Week 4- May 5: Talladega Superspeedway
Week 5- May 11: Darlington Raceway
Week 6- May 26: Charlotte Motor Speedway
The 2013 program will end with Johnson wearing the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope at Michigan International Speedway on August 18th.
