Schrader began his 51st year of racing on January 9 at the prestigious 30th Annual Ice Bowl Race at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL.  Schrader started ninth in the 20-lap main event and drove the Vaden Chevrolet Special to a second-place finish.  Schrader will have the #9 Vaden Chevrolet Special race car on display at Vaden Chevrolet during the photo and autograph session.

Schrader began his racing career in his native Missouri in 1971 and became a multi-time United States Auto Club (USAC) National Champion in multiple open-wheel Divisions.  Schrader won the USAC Silver Crown Division National Championship in 1982 and the USAC Sprint Car Division National Championship in 1983.

Schrader was one of the first USAC drivers to work his way into NASCAR racing in the 1980s.  From 1984 through 2013, Schrader had four NASCAR Cup victories and three Daytona 500 Pole Position starts.  Schrader drove for many top-flight teams that included Hendrick Motorsports. 

After retiring from active NASCAR competition at the end of the 2013 season, Schrader still enjoys competing in short track Open-Wheel Modified competition, not only driving the Vaden Chevrolet Special for Mike Vaughn Racing, but also his own Modified out of his Ken Schrader Racing stables.  Schrader also ran in the 2020 Little 500 Sprint Car Race in Anderson, IN.

The event will limited to essential race personnel only and no spectators per state and local guidelines.

Fans can watch the race live and for free through Trackpass on NBC Gold.

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In her two career starts at Daytona in the ARCA series, she scored finishes in the top six. Additionally, in 2018 Decker won the pole for the race, becoming the third female to do so at Daytona in ARCA. She would finish that race in 5th place and in 2019, finished in 6th.

“We are obviously very excited to have Natalie in the seat for the Daytona race! With her previous ARCA experience, we are pulling in with one of the more experienced drivers in the field,” says Ken Schrader.

It will be a chance for Natalie to get out on the track before her first NASCAR Trucks series start of the year, which will come a week later on, Feb. 14th, when she begins her journey with Niece Motorsports. Ken Schrader Racing and partner, Fury Race Cars, adds to a strong core of teams Decker will race with during 2020.

In Schrader’s nearly 40 years in the sport, he has seen through hard work into success, both behind the wheel and as a team owner. Schrader has captured 18 ARCA wins and has 65 top 10s after 28 years behind the wheel. Additionally, he had four wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“In years past, we have won 3 times, but you’re only as good as that day. So much of the finish depends on staying clean and were going to try really hard to give her what she needs,” say’s Schrader. >>READ MORE

One would think driving for one of the top teams in NASCAR and winning Winston Cup races is fun.  One would think winning USAC National Championships would be fun.  One could also have a good time winning over 40 National Midget races would be a good time.

The amazing thing about this story is that Ken Schrader has done all of the above, and made that statement at Talladega Short Track after stepping out of a Modified Sportsman race car at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL on November 10. >>READ MORE

JOLIET, IL (June 29, 2018) – After coming off back-to-back wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Will Rodgers wanted his first visit to Chicagoland Speedway for the ARCA Racing Series Presented by Menards Scott 150 to be memorable.

Rodgers recently added Chicagoland Speedway to his schedule from primary sponsor with Drydene Performance Products. Rodgers practice speeds showed his No. 52 Ken Schrader Racing entry was in a decent place of 11th and wanted to improve upon that for a good qualifying effort at the 1.5-mile track.

While on pit road, getting into position for qualifying, the No. 55 came up on the right side of the Drydene Ford and tore a significant gash through the door panel. With the track being hot, crew chief Donnie Richeson could not go over the wall to access the damage and determine if it was safe for Rodgers to go for a qualifying run. With time running out in the 20-minute session, Rodgers returned to the garage for review by the team and ARCA Officials. With proper installation of repairs to the No. 52, the Drydene team showed what persistence and dedication is all about. Team Drydene would start from the back in the 27-car field. >>READ MORE

The ARCA Racing Series rookie began his day with a solid sixth place qualifying effort after absorbing advice from 10-time series champion Frank Kimmel during a ride around the 2-mile oval. Pumped up about the qualifying effort, Rodgers went to work in preparing for the 100-lap race.

 “I’m so very thankful that Dave Klinger and Drydene Performance Products provided me with an opportunity to race at Michigan,” said Rodgers post-race. “Michigan’s high speeds provided another unique challenge for our team, but we adapted to it so very well from the beginning of practice all the way up to the checkered flag on Friday night.”

The 100-lap event saw Rodgers steadily running in the fifth position for more than fifty laps of the race, only to be dampened by a caution during a cycle of green flag pit stops; this forced Rodgers to pit for fuel while pit road was closed, sending him to the tail end of the longest line for the restart. After a quick yellow flag flew on the restart, Rodgers was able to move back into the lead pack, working his way back up inside the top ten. The NASCAR Next star climbed to the sixth position as the checkered flag fell on the Zomongo 200.

“I found a lot of confidence racing up with the leaders at Michigan, even pulling away from some of the winners from earlier this season,” stated Rodgers. “Runs like these are what we need to put together to keep the momentum rolling at Ken Schrader Racing. We didn’t finish how we wanted in Pocono, but I made sure to put that behind me before stepping foot on the Michigan Speedway property; just look what we were able to do in my first visit here. I look forward to bringing what I learned to Chicagoland Speedway where I believe we’ll be a threat for the victory.”

The additional races include Michigan International Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway for Will Rodgers, along with a return to ARCA competition by racing veteran Ken Schrader at Gateway Motorsports Park, on June 22.

“The exposure that Team Drydene has garnered from this partnership to date has been exceptional.  We are very proud to extend our support of Will Rodgers and Ken Schrader Racing. The response from our customers has been tremendous and that shows the power of being aligned with the right team combination in motorsports,” said Dave Klinger, president of Drydene Performance Products. “Seeing Ken Schrader in our Drydene red firesuit will be a thrill for our customers and employees.” >>READ MORE

His high school buddies are used to Grosso's routine. In fact, Grosso is a regular among the dirt modified ranks throughout the northeast and is gone most weekends during race season. He won a big modified race at New Egypt Speedway last year.

"I have a lot of friends who actually come to the races," said Grosso. "They'll sleep over at the house and head down to the track the next day. If they're not at the track, they follow me on Facebook and my Instagram page. We should have won at Bridgeport (Speedway) the week before New Egypt. I was leading the race with six laps to go and got a flat tire."

Grosso has already announced that he'd be competing on the full ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards tour in 2018 in the 52 car. Fortunately, he turns 18 on March 30, which will clear him to race at all the big tracks. It also prevented him from competing in the season-opener at Daytona; however, he did get the opportunity to participate in the mid-January open test. Grosso, in order to procure points for entering and competing at Daytona, was permitted by ARCA officials to make a lap in practice Thursday before the race. >>READ MORE

Rodgers, in the No. 52 KSR-Drydene Performance Products Ford, was also impressive in open testing over the weekend at Daytona, coming in seventh fastest overall among 62 drivers who posted time and speed. Rodgers, born in Maui, Hawaii in 1994, took his first laps at the historic superspeedway in preparation for the race.

"First of all, it was a unique experience," said Rodgers. "I had never been on a track more than a mile long…that was an oval anyway. It was a little more demanding than I thought. You have to put a little bit more wheel on it to keep it where you want."

Rodgers also said that he was glad he had the chance to test ahead of the race.

"If I hadn't had those test days, it would not have helped my case for the race. I found out the cars move around a bit…you had to pay attention to manipulate the car as to not get in a bad spot. It was very helpful to learn what the car feels like in a large pack. It was kind of like getting thrown to the wolves. I'm sure glad I got the chance to test." >>READ MORE

“Timing is everything,” said Grosso. “To be able to make my first ARCA Racing Series start with Ken Schrader Racing and then be able to race with them full-time is an amazing opportunity. I'm looking forward to working with Donnie (Richeson/crew chief) and the team, and especially excited knowing that Kenny will be available to provide advice and direction is a high confidence booster for me. I realize I have a very big seat to fill and I'm up for the challenge. There are so many people that have helped me get to this point, especially my family, and I do not want to let them or the Ken Schrader Racing team down.”

The "very big seat to fill" is a reference to Theriault, who took the series by storm last year, winning seven races en route to the national championship. >>READ MORE