Travis Donald Braden (born March 25, 1994) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver. He most recently competed full-time in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

, driving the No. 27

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

for RFMS Racing. He has also raced super late models, winning the

Winchester 400 The Winchester 400 is a 400-lap short-track super late model stock car race held each fall at the Winchester Speedway, a half-mile long paved oval motor racetrack in Winchester, Indiana, United States. Held annually since 1970, the Winchester 400 ...

in 2016 and the

Snowball Derby The Snowball Derby presented by Bayou Fox Hooters is a 300-lap super late model stock car race held annually at the Five Flags Speedway, a half-mile paved oval track in Pensacola, Florida, United States. The race has been contested every year s ...

in 2019.

Racing career

Travis Braden in victory lane and Berlin Raceway

Travis BradenARCAMidwestTourDixieland250

Braden began racing when he was eight years old, competing in mini-wedges, quarter-midgets and

Legends car racing Legends car racing is a style of auto racing designed primarily to promote exciting racing and to keep costs down. The race car bodyshells are 5/8-scale replicas of American automobiles from the 1930s and 1940s, powered by Yamaha XJ1250, FJ1200 ( ...

, winning a Young Lions national points championship. He later won the

Whelen All-American Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...

state championship in Ohio. He raced super late models in 2013 and 2014, winning the

ARCA/CRA Super Series The CRA Super Series is a super late model stock car racing series owned and operated by the Champion Racing Association. It is a touring series based in the Midwestern United States, which competes at paved short ovals. It was formerly known as t ...

championship both of those years. Braden made his

debut in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and won his first start in the series, passing William Byron near the end of the race at

Lucas Oil Raceway Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. I ...

. In 2016, Braden went

super late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

racing, winning the

Winchester, Indiana Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 4,935 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. It is the home of Winchester Speedway. History Winchester ...

. 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. Braden returned to RFMS for a second full season in 2019, and early in the year, led the championship point standings, which he would finish fourth in at the end of the season. In 2019, Braden entered the

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. He was declared the winner of the race after original winner Stephen Nasse's car failed post-race technical inspection. 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 Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and focus on large

races and races in

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 ...

's top three divisions.

Personal life

Braden is a native of

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

, and attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

where he double-majored in aerospace and mechanical engineering. Braden is a 2012 graduate of

Wheeling Park High School Wheeling Park High School is a public high school in Wheeling, West Virginia, United States. It is the only public high school in the Ohio County School District. Athletic teams compete as the Wheeling Park Patriots in the WVSSAC Class AAA, as we ...

Motorsports career results

ARCA Menards Series

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Braden, Travis Living people 1994 births ARCA Menards Series drivers ARCA Midwest Tour drivers Racing drivers from West Virginia Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia West Virginia University alumni