Special from Kenzie Ruston Racing

There wasn’t much that 20-year-old Kenzie Ruston didn’t accomplish in her 2011 racing campaign except a series championship and that’s what she is set out to do in 2012. Ruston and her No.39 team have fully committed to running the entire 2012 Champion Racing Association (CRA) Super Series tour in hopes of being crowned champion at the end of the season.

In 2011 the El Reno, Oklahoma native has competed in over 20 events between Super Model races and Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) races. Ruston captured her first victory during the October 2^nd event at Lucas Oil Raceway (IN) which etched her name in the history books by becoming the first female to ever become fast qualifier for a CRA Super Series event along with the first to win a feature event.

Ruston who races out of her Mooresville, NC shop focused more on gaining valuable experience this year instead of racing for a championship which many believe has made her a better racecar driver all way around.

"We jumped around a lot this year competing in select races up and down the East Coast and we experienced a lot of success in the CRA Super Series. Our team didn’t feel that we were ready to run for a championship and be competitive every week so we traveled a ton racing some of the best racers in the Country to prepare for the next step in my career." said Ruston.

The last time she raced for a championship she was successful in her efforts by becoming the first female to ever win a Legends Car National Championship in 2009, so she definitely is no stranger to what it takes physically and mentally to compete for a title.

"We haven’t run for a championship since 2009. It took a lot of traveling to accomplish that title and it’s going to take equal amount of traveling for the CRA title as well. My team spent countless amounts of hours on the road and at the shop chasing that title and it paid off."

Ruston who has been working with crew chief Nick Easton for a full season says she feels as comfortable now behind the wheel of her super late model than she has ever felt. The pair has accumulated over 20 top 10 finishes, and a victory in just the first year of working together.

"Working with Nick has been a great experience for me on and off the track, he knows his stuff when it comes to these cars and our chemistry is stronger than ever. I can tell Nick what the car is doing and with one adjustment we are heading in the right direction. Since Nick came on board our performance has picked up every week along with picking up our first career victory in the CRA race at Indianapolis."

When asked why she decided to race for the CRA title her answer was simple, the people.

"The CRA series is a great series and we feel at home racing with such a great staff and group of drivers. Each week that we show up to the track they make it a point to come over and make sure to say hello and you don’t get that with a lot of series and tracks. R. J. (Scott, series co-owner) and Glenn (Luckett, series co-owner) have built a great group of officials and I enjoy working with those guys, so we are really looking forward to competing every week and hopefully we can do exactly what we are aiming to do, and that is win!"

When told of Ruston’s commitment to run for the Championship in 2012, Scott commented "We are very fortunate to have a talented driver like Kenzie commit to our series for next year. She and her team have proved to be very fast everywhere they go and already have a win under their belt. They truly have to be considered one of the favorites for the 2012 Championship. We will enjoy having her with us while we do, because we certainly understand that a young lady with a skill set like hers will only be with us a short time before somebody signs her and takes her into the highest levels of racing."