Fast Facts: Kenzie Ruston

credit: NASCAR/Mike Medows

NASCAR recently announced the new class in their NASCAR Next program, highlighting up-and-coming drivers. Among the drivers named to the program for 2014 was Kenzie Ruston, currently competing in the K&N Pro Series East for Ben Kennedy Racing. Learn more about Ruston in this week’s Fast Facts.

• Kenzie Ruston was born Oct. 21, 1991 in El Reno, OK. She began racing Bandolero cars at age 14, running only a few races before getting her first victory. She spent much of the season at Texas Motor Speedway, finishing second in points at TMS as a rookie. The following season at TMS, she won the Spring Nationals in Bandolero Young Guns and finished fourth in national points.
• At age 16, she moved into Legends cars, finishing third in points in the Young Lions division winter series at TMS and second in the Summer Stampede at TMS. In 2009, Ruston won seven championships and became the first woman to win the US Legends Car Asphalt National Championship.
• 2010 saw Ruston move into Super Late Model cars, finishing 12^th in points in the Pro All Star Series (PASS) Southern Division in her first season in a full-bodied stock car. In 2011, she competed in more than 20 Super Late Model races and made her ARCA Racing Series debut; the following year, she finished second in points in the ARCA/CRA Super Series Championship.
• Ruston made her NASCAR debut in 2013, racing in the K&N Pro Series East and earning a career-best third-place finish at Greenville-Pickens Speedway; she finished sixth in points. In 2014, she’s driving the No. 96 Chevrolet in the series for BKR.
• Learn more about Ruston at her website, gokenzie.com.