The weather wasn’t the only thing that was hot in New Smyrna, Florida during the 45th Annual World Series of Stock Car Racing. Kenzie Ruston and her Jeff Fultz Racing team would turn the heat up on the competition for 3 straight nights of racing at the fast half mile of New Smyrna Speedway.
Ruston has proven herself week in and week out for the past several months in the ultra competitive Super Late Model ranks and she hoped to capitalize on that at New Smyrna in her #39 KMK Trucking, MelMark Pipe & Supply, Racing Electronics, SumSeeds, Racing 2 Cure, Irwin Trailers, Shell Shock, Cam2, Phil Harper Engines, Jeff Fultz Racing Ford Fusion.
Wednesday brought on a different challenge with only two practice sessions to get her comfortable with the racetrack along with getting the car right for the feature race. You then add in the pressure of a rule in place that she must start the race from the back of the field due to not competing in previous World Series Racing, so now Ruston would be forced to start her top 5 car in the 21st position.
“Not being able to qualify isn’t exactly what we were hoping for, it’s going to be a task to work our way to the front but we will salvage all we can so we can have a better start for tomorrow.” says Ruston. As the green flag dropped she was on the move towards the front by picking up 10 spots in the first handful of laps in the 25 lap feature. Several cautions would delay the racing action but that didn’t slow her down much as she would gain 12 spots in the 25 lap dash to rally to a 9th place finish in night 1 of her New Smyrna experience. “We had a great car tonight, I’m proud of my guys for not giving up because we had to start 21st.”
Night two would bring warmer weather off the racetrack and hotter action on the track. “I feel confident in tonight’s race because now we will start 9th and have a shot at working our way to the front.” Rolling off from the 9th spot Kenzie would look to move towards the front and in stock car racing everything doesn’t always go as planned. “The car got very loose at the beginning and we just didn’t get the breaks we needed, the track was very greasy and slick and the car was sliding everywhere.” Kenzie would get shuffled around before settling into the 13th place spot and riding out the caution free 25 lap dash during Thursday night’s show.
Finally the big night for the Crate Late Models was here. A 50 lap feature with qualifying so Kenzie and her team would now have the opportunity to show the strength of their car. “Qualifying will make a huge difference, we’ve had a top 5 car both nights but was forced to start towards to back of the field, so tonight is an all new ballgame.” The 21 car field was set for qualifying and Kenzie would show her strength by qualifying in the 5th position against cars with years of experience on New Smyrna Speedway.
“Nick and the guys have worked hard on this car all week and its going to pay off tonight.” Another rule in place at New Smyrna is the pole sitter must draw a pill to determine how many spots will be inverted for the feature event. In this particular situation the number 6 was drawn so now Kenzie will roll off from the 2nd starting spot.
The field comes to the green flag and Kenzie quickly falls into the 2nd position and rides for the first handful of laps before falling back to the 4th position. After getting shuffled around after several restarts she would find herself in the 6th position fighting to get her car back into the top 5. A few late race cautions would open the door up and Kenzie would take advantage of that and battle all the way to the checkered flag and bring home a solid 3rd place finish.
“I’m excited to be able to give these guys a 3rd place finish, they worked hard all week long to give me a great car and I fault all the way to the end for it. This is a tough place to race, the track has a lot of unique characteristics and the local drivers don’t give an inch. I just have to thank everyone that’s helped me get here and all of my great sponsors.”
For more information on Kenzie including race results, schedules, photos and more please visit GoKenzie.com
The Snowflake 100 would prove to be the biggest and toughest race of 19 year old Ruston’s career. With some of the best Super Late Model drivers in the country attempting to qualify into the 36 car field it was going to be a tough task for a rookie and with the added bonus of raising money for Cancer Organization Racing 2 Cure it was setting up to be a memorable weekend.
Earlier in the week Ruston and her team got together and joined forces with Non-Profit Organization Racing 2 Cure and begin taking lap pledges for each lap she completed with all proceeds going to the organization.
Ruston felt confident going into the event as she had competed at Five Flags Speedway (FL) earlier in the year and nearly brought home a victory on the tough half mile speedway. “I feel like when we came here for one of the weekly shows that I had the car to beat and my team is carrying that momentum into this event.” says Ruston.
On practice day it didn’t take long for the young female star to find her rhythm as she would be in the top 10 quickest cars of the 50 plus that were on hand for this particular event. “The car is good, it drives off the corner better than any other car out there. No we just have to work on our qualifying to make sure we get into this event.”
Kenzie and her team had proven they were a top 10 car all weekend and when it come to qualifying Ruston didn’t get exactly what she wanted when she put in a 19th place starting position. “It’s not the qualifying effort we were looking for but it locks us into the show and I’m confident we will have a great car come race time.”
Now that all the pressure of making the field is over, it’s time for Kenzie to focus on the 100 lap event. “I just need to go out there and save my tires and stay on the lead lap so we will be there at the end of the race.”
With the stands full and the drivers strapped in it would be time for the “Allen Turner Snowflake 100”. Once the green flag dropped Kenzie would ride in the 15 position until the first caution came out on lap 34. Once the field went back to racing Kenzie would find herself on the outside groove and loosing several spots each lap before working her way back to the bottom groove.
Now with Ruston falling back into the 20th position it was going to be a tough task to work back into the top 15. The break she needed came around lap 50 when the caution would come out for the second and final time of the race. On the restart Kenzie starting moving towards the front of the field and within 10 laps to go found herself in the 11th position applying pressure on the 10th place car in which she would take over that spot with just a handful of laps remaining and would go on to bring home a 10th place finish in the prestigious 100 lap event.
“It feels awesome to bring home a top 10 finish, I really think we had a better car than that. I started using my head at the end of the race and picked up a lot of speed. I just ran out of laps at the end and needed a caution. The car was great and we had a awesome weekend, I just didn’t put everything together till the end of the race but all in all it’s a successful Snowflake 100 and not even a scratch on the car so we are happy. I just have to thank everyone who made this possible, all of my fans for donating to Racing 2 Cure, SumSeeds, Cam2, Racing Electronics, KMK Enterprises, and most importantly my great crew and my crew chief Nick Easton.”
Not only did Ruston earn a top 10 finish in the biggest race of her career she also raised $4269.00 for Racing 2 Cure. “We would like to thank everyone who pledged along with Kenzie and her great team for their support of Racing 2 Cure. It’s an amazing opportunity for both Racing 2 Cure and Kenzie Ruston Racing. We can’t thank everyone enough.” says Todd Stewart, CEO, Racing 2 Cure.
Kenzie Ruston Racing is supported by SumSeeds – Energized Sunflower Seeds, Cam2 Racing Oil, Racing Electronics, KMK Enterprises, Irwin Trailers, Racing 2 Cure, Butler Built Seats, and Shell Shock Helmets.
For upcoming schedules, news, media, and more on Kenzie Ruston you can visit her website at www.gokenzie.com
For more information on Racing 2 Cure Organization visit their website at www.racing2cure.org
