Drivers who have won at Charlotte Motor Speedway read like a who’s who of racing greats: Jimmie Johnson, Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip.

 

Now you can add one more name to the list – Kaden Rogers. 

The 4th grader from Bell Elementary won the 2018 New York State Points Championship at the INEX Bandolero races at the iconic race track.

 

“It was fun,” said Rogers. He wasn’t surprised to win but, “it was close.”

 

 

Bandoleros are smaller-scale race cars almost 11 feet in length with 30-horsepower engines. They are stepping stones to larger cars that Rogers would one day like to race as well.

The 9-year-old began racing when he was “five or six” years old. He learned from his grandfather, who also raced. He works on his car with his father. Rogers doesn’t race locally during the winter, but once the weather cooperates, he races weekly in Owego.

“Practice,” Rogers says about how to get better as a racer. 

One Spring comes, Rogers will be back on the track, looking to improve and preparing to defend his state title in 2019.