At just 14 years old, Kayden Kratt will be the youngest driver in the history of the MLRA series and will be aiming to top the Sunoco Race Fuels Rookie of the Year rankings for the 2023 season. (Lloyd Collins FastTrack)
Wheatland, Missouri — With less than three weeks to go until the Lucas Oil MLRA season, the list of dedicated drivers looking to become the next top talent as Sunoco Race Fuel Rookie of the Year continues to grow.
This time Kayden Kratt throws the hat into the ring. The just 14-year-old driver from Ashland, Missouri will be looking to win the coveted rookie title as the youngest driver in series history.
A passion for racing that began as a kid riding go-karts at the age of 4.5 has now evolved into a full-blown opportunity to make that dream a reality, as he prepares for his recent fourth season. model race.
Klatt has won multiple Maxxis Karting Championships in 2018-2019 and won every step of the way, including his first super late model win and track championship at Moberly Motorsports Park in 2021. rice field.
“I want to do this when I’m young, so if it happens, it’s going to be a bigger accomplishment.” I think it’s impressive, I thought we did pretty well for most of the races with the MLRA last year, so this year we want to move forward and hold on to what we’re doing.”
The small family business launched Crate Late Models in 2020 when she was 11 years old and it didn’t take long for people to take notice. “We started slow, but I was lucky to get some help from some people who gained a little bit and believed in me,” said current car owner Reed Kratt of Millard said, “Reed came in when we were at the Hell Tour show and ended up putting us in a super late model. I focused on gaining experience and time.”
“Just knowing that someone believes in you like a lead and supports you in a sport or a position that you never imagined when you were younger is really nice. He’s a good role model.” But he taught me the marketing side of things and how to present myself in public.He really helped me in the way my career changed.”
Last season, Klatt and the team competed in a total of 11 MLRA events, scoring his first career Top 10 at the series at Off-Road (Nebraska) Speedway in June. Hopefully that experience will motivate him into his first full season on tour.
“The last two years have been all about getting seat time, figuring out how the car drives, figuring out the set-up. There are a few things and I know them,” Kratt said. “Last year I attended smaller and larger tracks trying to understand the different track types and I think it certainly helped me know what I needed to look at with the car in my setup before I got to the track. increase.
“Learning different types of tracks and things like that really helps you know what to do before you get to the track.”
The 8th grade student at Southern Boone Middle School spends the first two months of the season juggling and racing at school, but he’s already familiar with it.
“I can take online school on the go. I take my Chrome Book and everything I need,” Clatt explains. “Usually when we do Friday and Saturday shows, we do a little bit on Friday morning and Saturday morning, and we like to finish it on Sunday night. It seems to work pretty well.”
With the new 2023 Black Diamond chassis ready for the next campaign, Kratt hopes to follow in the footsteps of other notable Rookie of the Year winners who have been key to his growth in the sport. increase.
“Jeremiah (Hurst-2020 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and MLRA Champion) was one guy who really helped us in the beginning. Now Garrett (Alberson – 2022 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Rookie of The Year) has really helped me with my driving and setting up the car, it’s really nice to have people like these guys who have more experience than us and are more than happy to help.
“I think it shows how humble and kind people are to this sport.”
