Michael Pickens with USAC Midget at Angell Park Speedway

Michael Pickens (born 7 January 1983) is a racecar driver from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He races midgets and sprint cars in New Zealand, Australia and the United States. Michael is the 9 time New Zealand Midget Car champion and was the 2021 Speedcar champion. He was also the 2016 Australian Speedcar Champion. He has won races and championships in New Zealand,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Quarter Midgets Quarter midget racing is a form of automobile racing. The cars are approximately one-quarter (1/4) the size of a full-size midget car. The adult-size midget being raced during the start of quarter midget racing used an oval track of one-fifth of a ...

, 3/4 Midgets, Midgets,

Sprint Cars Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle * Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint ...

and

Karts Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

Racing career

In 2005, Pickens competed at the Chili Bowl midget car race at

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. He won Rookie of the Year honors with an outstanding drive from 19th starting position to a race ending 6th-place finish. He was noticed by some key people at

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

NEXTEL Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...

. While not having prior experience on pavement, as there are no pavement ovals in New Zealand, Pickens did compete in the Roush's Driver Development Competition Program in 2005. He made it to the final round of competition and was the last driver be cut. In 2005, Pickens won the 55th running of the

Australian Speedcar Grand Prix The Australian Speedcar Grand Prix is an annual dirt track racing meeting held in Australia for Speedcars. The meeting has traditionally been held in Sydney, but on occasions has been held on tracks in Victoria and in 2000 the race was held a ...

held at the

Avalon Raceway Avalon Raceway is a dirt track racing venue located in Lara, Victoria, Australia. The track is based on a clay sand mix, is oval shaped and is in length. History The track opened in 1976 thanks to the efforts of brothers Doug and Norm Drew, d ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. That year he also finished second in the

Australian Speedcar Championship The Australian Speedcar Championship is a Dirt track racing, dirt track motor racing championship held in Australia each year to determine the Australian national champion in midget car racing. The single championship meeting, run over two nights ...

at the

Perth Motorplex Perth Motorplex is a motorsport venue located at Kwinana Beach, Western Australia. It caters mainly for drag racing and speedway, although other events are held there regularly. Over 275,000 patrons attend the venue each year to many varied events ...

. He would later finish 3rd in the 2011 Australian Championship in Lismore,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. In 2016 Michael won the Australian Speedcar title at Paramatta Raceway. Michael's regular rides in New Zealand are his own #1NZ Midget and the Pipeline Industries #3NZ Sprint car. Michael's regular Australian drive is with Brett Morris, competing in the Australian Speedcar Championship and the World Midget Series. Michael also drives in the USA, competing at Midget Week, the

Turkey Night Grand Prix The Automotive Racing Products Turkey Night Grand Prix is an annual race of midget cars. It is the third oldest race in the United States behind the Indianapolis 500 and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. It has been held on Thanksgiving nig ...

and

Chili Bowl Nationals The Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is an indoor midget car race that takes place in January on a 1/4 mile dirt oval track at the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. NASCAR calls it the "biggest Midget race of the year". It is nic ...

. In the middle of the 2007 U.S. season, he raced for Ken Hendricks'

American Speed Association The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt a ...

Late Model Team, Urban Force Racing, mainly at

Madison International Speedway The Madison International Speedway (MIS) is a half-mile paved oval racetrack in the Town of Rutland near Oregon, Wisconsin, United States. With 18-degree banked turns, the track is billed as "The Track of Champions" and "Wisconsin's Fastest H ...

. He left the team in July (being replaced by Dan Lensing) near the middle of the season, and began running a mixture of midget and pavement car races for various owners. In the 2008 U.S. racing season, he raced a midget car weekly at

Angell Park Speedway Angell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile () dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The track has been run by the city's fire department since 1903. Racing occurs every Sunday approximately Memorial Day until Labor Day. Special racing event ...

and the #30 car in

ASA Late Model Series The ASA Late Model Series is an American stock car racing series. Founded by Ron Varney in 2003 as the "USPRO Cup Series", it was renamed "ASA Late Model Series" when it was purchased by the American Speed Association in 2004. After financial di ...

events.

Career Highlights

2016 Australian Speedcar Champion (and first ever New Zealander to win this title) 2015/16 International Midget Series Overall Winner (and winner of World 30 Lap Derby and 50 Lap Classic) 9 times New Zealand Midget Champion 1 time New Zealand Speedcar Champion Multiple winged sprint car feature wins Multiple track and lap records Multiple National Series Championship wins Multiple A-main wins including 9 consecutive A-main wins in a row 5 times New Zealand midget Grand Prix win 2 times North Island champion 5 times Barry Butterworth 40 lap winner Multiple International Series wins over 30, 40 and 50 laps Multiple seasons as International Test Team Captain Multiple Herman Tros shield wins Multiple USAC/POWRi/Badger feature wins 6 times Chili Bowl A-main qualifier 3rd 2011 Chili Bowl A-main UMRA TQ feature winner (on debut) 2 times Australian Super Series speedcar Championship winner (midgets) Australian Grand Prix winner (midgets) ASA Pavement Late Model Series feature and pole winner NASCAR Craftsman Truck Driver X finalist

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickens, Michael 1983 births Living people New Zealand racing drivers New Zealand speedway (auto racing) drivers Sportspeople from the Auckland Region Toyota Racing Series drivers