About Kaden Rogers

Kaden was 3 years old when he started his passion for racecars and watching NASCAR. My father (Kaden's grandfather) put Kaden on his John Deere tractor at age 3 and had him driving it by himself, maneuvering it around all the trees in the yard. Since that day he told myself and Meghann that "We have a driver on our hands! He's going to race cars when he's older..." He was right.

For Kaden's fourth birthday we purchased him some small karts to play with in the driveway. He would take chalk and draw out an oval track and race his imaginary races all day long. I mean all day long.... At this point I really started to think what my father said was true. After a bunch of electric cars and karts, Meghann and I decided to purchase Kaden his first race car on 9/14/14 (Open Wheel Microd #88 (just like a Quarter Midget)). Kaden was 5 years old.

When he first got strapped into the car the day we bought it, he said "I'm only going to do 2 laps."

Well..... about 20 laps later he stopped and said he loved it. That sealed the deal.

He ran his first race in 2015, which ended up being harder than I thought. He was a great driver, but when he got onto the track with other cars he didn't do as good. We participated in two races in 2015, the first race and last race. In between those two races, Kaden did a lot of practicing on the track. He ended up pushing the track champion around the track in the last race. It really was an amazing race for him. People in the crowd could not believe this was the same kid from the last time they saw him. In the following years, Kaden picked up 20+ wins and multiple track championships in the Microd division. We were at the point to get him something faster.

At age 8 we purchased an INEX Bandolero. He won the NYS Champion every year he raced. His final year (and first year for the new award) Kaden brought home the Northeast Bandit Championship trophy. We had a lot of fun traveling with the Bandolero to places like Bethel Motor Speedway (home track), Evergreen Raceway, Chemung Speedrome, Charlotte Motor Speedway (oval & road track), Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Citrus County Speedway in Florida. We planned on racing the full 2021 season, but almost halfway through and winning his last race at Evergreen Raceway, we decided to sell his Bandolero and focus all our time on his new racecar.

We ended up putting Kaden in a 602 Sportsmans Modified and he ran 5 races in the 2021 season. I was impressed how fast he picked up on a bigger and more powerful car. He did great in his first race. Most of the time we were trying to figure out setups. In the beginning of 2022 it was more of the same. Just trying to figure out setups and mainly racing at Evans Mills Raceway Park. By mid season Kaden was running middle of the pack and eventually winning his first Heat race. With two races to go, Kaden was involved in a terrible wreck that put him head on to the wall. The car was destroyed and needed a new front clip. Kaden was determined to finish off the season, and put a social media post up. Not really thinking anything would come of it… We received a call within 24 hours by the track owner. He told us he had a car Kaden could run for the last points race and also the John Burr Classic. Kaden was so grateful of the offer. We took Kaden’s seat up to them and they finished the car and set it up. Kaden ended up winning the heat race. Everyone was very happy he was back in the car after witnessing the evil hit he took just a week prior. With him finishing out the season, he ended up 10th in points and received the “Young Gun Award”. It was a very successful first full season.

Kaden’s sophomore season was in 2023. We started off the year early and went to Mahoning Valley Speedway. Now Mahoning is a 1/4 mile bowl ring with very little to no straight-a-ways. Kaden took a liking to the track and had a very successful day there. 21 cars entered the race, we started 13 and parked it in 6th. Unfortunately, that was the only time we went down there. The rest of the time we were back up north at Evans Mills. Kaden had a great season with multiple top 5 finishes. Then a top 3 finish, and then the big race came on 8/20/23 where Kaden at 14 years old parked it in Victory Lane. We missed 5th place by 1 single point, but still happy finishing 6th overall in a powerful weekly field.

We are now gearing up for the 2024 season. Updates to follow…