Kenzie Ruston

Kenzie Ruston

Ruston (right) at Dover International Speedway in 2014
Nationality  American
Born (1991-10-12) October 12, 1991
El Reno, Oklahoma
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career
Debut season 2013
Current team Rev Racing
Car no. 4
Crew Chief Mark Green
Former teams Turner Scott Motorsports, Ben Kennedy Racing
Starts 31
Best finish 6th in 2013
Finished last season 9th (2014)
Previous series
2011 ARCA Racing Series

Kenzie Ruston (born October 12, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She currently competes full-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, driving the No. 4 Toyota Camry for Rev Racing.

Racing career

Early career

Ruston began racing Bandoleros at Texas Motor Speedway when she was 14 years old. When she was 16, she switched to Legends car racing, competing in the track's Semi-Pro and Young Lions divisions, finishing third in the latter's Winter Series. In addition, she raced in TMS' Summer Stampede, finishing second, and in the top-ten in Charlotte Motor Speedway's Summer Shootout. When she turned 17, Ruston moved to North Carolina. In 2009, Ruston won TMS' Winter Series, Summer Stampede and the track's Driver of the Year award,[1] along with the U.S. Legends asphalt championship, the first woman to win the title.[2] The next year, she began racing in super late models, finishing 12th in the PASS Series Southern Division's championship.[1]

Stock car racing

In 2011, Ruston began competing in stock cars, which included four ARCA Racing Series races with Venturini Motorsports, making her debut at Toledo Speedway in the No. 25 Toyota, and finished 10th. She switched to No. 55 for three additional races, finishing 10th, 12th, and 26th in those races.[3] During the year, she also competed in the Champion Racing Association, winning at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.[1] In December, she participated in the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway for Jeff Fultz, finishing 31st after a crash on lap 145.[4]

NASCAR

Ruston's No. 34 car at Richmond International Raceway in 2013

In 2013, Ruston was signed by Turner Scott Motorsports to contest the 2013 K&N Pro Series East season,[5] and in June, she was named a member of the NASCAR Next program,[2] the first woman to join the program.[6] She ended the year with four top-fives, including a best finish of third at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, and finished 6th in the points standings.[7]

For the 2014 season, Ruston was signed by Ben Kennedy Racing.[7] During the year, she became the highest-finishing female driver in series history, finishing 2nd at Iowa Speedway. However, she was not retained by BKR at the end of the season due to sponsorship, being replaced by Kaz Grala.[8]

On January 26, 2015, Ruston was announced as a member of the 2015 Drive for Diversity roster, joining Rev Racing for the full 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season.[9]

Personal life

Ruston's father, Darren, was a dirt bike racer in Oklahoma, while her step-grandfather, Jerry Morrison, was an Oklahoma dirt track racer.[1]

The youngest of two daughters, Ruston was a cheerleader and volleyball, soccer, and basketball player in high school.[1]

On July 28, 2015, Ruston became engaged to Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Hemric.[10]

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points Position
2011 ARCA Racing Series Venturini Motorsports 4 0 0 2 0 635 35th
2013 K&N Pro Series West Turner Scott Motorsports 14 0 4 6 0 459 6th
2014 K&N Pro Series East Ben Kennedy Racing 16 0 3 7 0 522 9th
2015 K&N Pro Series East Rev Racing 13 0 0 4 0 408 11th

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Deb (July 25, 2014). "Kenzie Ruston's high school decision leads to racing career". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Meredith, Luke (June 12, 2013). "AUTO PACKAGE: Turner Scott driver Kenzie Ruston on the rise in NASCAR K&N Pro Series". Fox News Channel. Des Moines, Iowa: FOX News Network, LLC. Associated Press. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ "ARCA Racing Series Results (races)". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2011 Snowball Derby". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ Meredith, Luke (June 12, 2013). "Kenzie Ruston on the rise for Turner Scott". Associated Press. Des Moines, Iowa: AP Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ruston to Race for Kennedy". Motor Racing Network. December 19, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  7. 1 2 DiZinno, Tony (December 22, 2013). "Kenzie Ruston joins Ben Kennedy's NASCAR team". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  8. ↑ James, Brant (October 30, 2014). "NASCAR prospect Kenzie Ruston Raring To Go -- If She Gets A Ride". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ James, Brant (January 26, 2015). "Kenzie Ruston looks to defy odds in NASCAR diversity program". USA Today. Charlotte, North Carolina: Gannett Company. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Hemric, Ruston announce engagement". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kenzie Ruston − 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
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