Travis Braden

Travis Donald Braden (born March 25, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He most recently competed full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 27 Ford for RFMS Racing. He currently serves as a mechanic for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Alex Bowman.^[1] He has also raced super late models, winning the Winchester 400 in 2016 and the Snowball Derby in 2019.

Travis Braden
Braden in 2019
Born	Travis Donald Braden (1994-03-25) March 25, 1994 (age 30) Wheeling, West Virginia
Achievements	2013, 2014 ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion 2019 Snowball Derby Winner 2016 Winchester 400 Winner
ARCA Menards Series career
50 races run over 5 years
Best finish	4th (2019)
First race	2015 Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 (IRP)
Last race	2019 Kansas ARCA 150 (Kansas)
First win	2015 Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 (IRP)
Wins Top tens Poles 1 34 0
Statistics current as of August 8, 2022.

Racing career

Braden in victory lane at Berlin Raceway in 2014

Braden in the ARCA Midwest Tour race at Wisconsin International Raceway in 2017

Braden's 2018 ARCA car at Madison

Braden's No. 01 late model on the campus of West Virginia University

Braden began racing when he was eight years old, competing in mini-wedges, quarter-midgets and Legends car racing, winning a Young Lions national points championship.^[2] He later won the Whelen All-American Series state championship in Ohio.^[2]

He raced super late models in 2013 and 2014, winning the ARCA/CRA Super Series championship both of those years.^[3]

Braden made his ARCA Menards Series debut in 2015, and won his first start in the series, passing William Byron near the end of the race at Lucas Oil Raceway.^[4]

In 2016, Braden went super late model racing, winning the Winchester 400 in Winchester, Indiana.^[5]

After running part-time for RFMS Racing in the 2017 ARCA Racing Series, the team and Braden agreed to a full-time slate in 2018.^[6] Braden returned to RFMS for a second full season in 2019,^[7] and early in the year, led the championship point standings,^[8] which he would finish fourth in at the end of the season.^[9]

In 2019, Braden entered the Snowball Derby for the first time. He qualified 30th, the last car in on time trials, after qualifying with a rebuilt car after being wrecked by another competitor in practice.^[10] He was declared the winner of the race after original winner Stephen Nasse's car failed post-race technical inspection.^[11]

In early 2020, Braden revealed that he would not contest another season in the ARCA Menards Series, instead using the year to move to Charlotte, North Carolina and focus on large super late model races and races in NASCAR's top three divisions.^[9]

Personal life

Braden is a native of Wheeling, West Virginia,^[9] and attended West Virginia University where he double-majored in aerospace and mechanical engineering.^[12] Braden is a 2012 graduate of Wheeling Park High School.

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Menards Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2015	Platinum Motorsports	01	Chevy	DAY	MOB	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH	CHI	WIN	IOW	IRP 1	POC	BLN	ISF	DSF	SLM	KEN 2	KAN 6	36th	655	[13]
2016				DAY	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	NJE	POC	MCH 4	MAD	WIN	IOW	IRP	POC	BLN	ISF	DSF	SLM	CHI 7	KEN	KAN	61st	405	[14]
2017			Ford	DAY 22	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	ELK	POC	MCH	MAD	IOW	IRP	POC									31st	845	[15]
	RFMS Racing	27														WIN 4	ISF	ROA	DSF	SLM	CHI 11	KEN 9	KAN 17
2018				DAY 22	NSH 15	SLM 14	TAL 9	TOL 8	CLT 11	POC 4	MCH 12	MAD 11	GTW 9	CHI 7	IOW 9	ELK 7	POC 9	ISF 4	BLN 3	DSF 15	SLM 5	IRP 12	KAN 20	5th	4445	[16]
2019				DAY 8	FIF 10	SLM 12	TAL 7	NSH 8	TOL 13	CLT 9	POC 10	MCH 6	MAD 4	GTW 7	CHI 5	ELK 12	IOW 7	POC 9	ISF 11	DSF 7	SLM 9	IRP 7	KAN 5	4th	4780	[17]

References

1. "Seven NASCAR Roots drivers score 2024 'Road to Daytona' invites from ARCA Menards Series". ARCARacing.com. January 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
2. "Travis Braden-ARCA Racing". ARCARacing.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
3. "Two-Time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion Enters This Sunday's "Father's Day 100" at The Milwaukee Mile". ARCA Midwest Tour. Retrieved January 5, 2020.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
4. Donnelly, Doug. "First Start – First Win in ARCA For Travis Braden". Speed51. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
5. "Travis Braden scores Winchester 400 win in wild finish". WDUN. October 11, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
6. "Braden & RFMS Unite For Full ARCA Schedule". Race Chaser Online. December 14, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
7. "Braden Back With RFMS For Full ARCA Season". Speed Sport. February 8, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
8. Krall, Charles (April 24, 2019). "ARCA Menards Series Championship Leader Travis Braden Heads to Talladega Looking for First Win of 2019". ARCARacing.com. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
9. Flatley, Jake (January 5, 2020). "Wheeling native Travis Braden racing towards NASCAR dreams in 2020". WV MetroNews. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
10. Sullivan, Connor (December 7, 2019). "Braden Pulls A Miracle on Snowball Derby Qualifying Day". Speed51. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
11. Bonkowski, Jerry (December 9, 2019). "Stephen Nasse DQ'd, Travis Braden declared Snowball Derby winner". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
12. Krall, Charles (May 17, 2019). "Consistency Key to ARCA Championship Leader Travis Braden's 2019 Success". ARCARacing.com. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
13. "Travis Braden – 2015 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
14. "Travis Braden – 2016 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
15. "Travis Braden – 2017 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
16. "Travis Braden – 2018 ARCA Racing Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
17. "Travis Braden – 2019 ARCA Menards Series results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 9, 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Travis Braden driver statistics at Racing-Reference