Brayden Kren Racing

Welp. That's crap. But we forge ahead. Swapping the cars to New Smyrna to be ready for the following weekend, and heading to FL in the rain anyway. Swapping the race track for Disney this weekend. Am I right, Crew Greenfield Racing, Bertrand Racing, and Knox Davidson Racing??

The bad news is, apparently Disney is terrifyingly expensive. The good news is, it's still cheaper than racing! 😆

🚨We are incredibly sorry to share this update…🚨

Due to the weather forecast for this weekend in Daytona, the Dixie Board has made the very difficult and unfortunate decision to postpone the race. This is not a decision we take lightly, and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment this causes for our racers, teams, and families.

Our number one goal is to provide the best event possible, and with the incoming weather, we felt this was the only way to ensure a safe and high-quality experience for everyone involved.

The event will now be moved to our scheduled Dixie Shootout rain date:
📅 September 18–20, 2026
✅ The event schedule will remain the same.

We completely understand that this is far from ideal, and we truly appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued support as we work to make this event the best it can be.

Registration Details:

If you are already registered, no action is needed—your registration will carry over.
Registration will reopen for any additional participants who wish to join.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out:
📧 [email protected]

Again, we sincerely apologize and thank you all for sticking with us.

RACE RECAP: Doubleheader Championship Series #4 & #5

Summary: New JUNIOR HONDA TRACK RECORD for Brayden, with an absolutely BLAZING lap in qualifying! Extremely pumped about that with all the time we put into our setups and line. Fast qualifier for all four of our races, but punished by the invert and could “only” turn it into one win on the day. Overall happy with our results given our starting spots and how difficult the track was and how fast our competitors were. Details below!

Junior 160 Race 1:

Qual: P1
Feature: P5 -> P2

Brayden worked from the back on this one and did really well. The car we gave him was fast, but it was too tight and did not want to turn down the track. Passes were difficult but he fought his way to second, but ultimately didn’t have anything for our best buddy Lawson Restivo Racing who has been improving every week, and was an absolute speed demon in this race, earning his first competitive class Win at NCQMA. Congratulations, Lawson, you earned it!

Junior Honda Race 1:

Qual: P1
Feature: P5 -> P3

Our starts and restarts in this car are….terrible. I think that is the right word, lol. Got moved to the outside before the start, and due to another terrible start, again essentially started in the back of a full field. Track tightened up and we didn’t adjust enough from our qualifying run, so while we had some speed and hustled back to 3rd, between the car being too tight and B struggling on restarts, 3rd was the best we could do and we will take it! Congrats to Mac MBMC Racing on his first competitive class win (and first of 2 on the day!!). As Brayden is working on his sportsmanship when he does not perform as well as he would like, one of our brightest moments of the day was B taking an extra lap after the finish so he could drive by Mac and give him a couple celebratory fist pumps

Junior 160 Race 2

Qual: P1
Feature: P4 -> P1

Again starting outside, again fell to the back on the start, and then went to work. Again car didn’t want to turn, but driver adjusted and managed to muscle it up to the front and take the checkers in this one! It felt good, and gave us some confidence going into the final race of this long, hot day.

Junior Honda Race 2

Qual: P1
Feature: P4 -> P4

The finish doesn’t tell the story here. We FINALLY had our first good car since qualifying. It was a rocket. Unfortunately, early in the race Brayden locked up the brakes to avoid an incident in front of him and spun and got t-boned and destroyed the whole front end of the car. Of the 8 things that were bent or broken, we had time to fix only one in the pits (thanks Henry Albright Racing and Little E Racing among others for all your help, without it we’d still be in the pits). I told him the car was perfect and sent him back and out told him to drive to the front. Well, he drove it to 4th and that is a damn miracle once we saw the extent of the damage after the race and the fact that the steering wheel wouldn’t even turn. I am still a bit mystified about how he did it, but we have never been more proud of a 4th place finish, and Brayden continuing to show perseverance which is something that did not come naturally to him earlier in his racing career.

Back to the highlight of the day real quick, and Brayden’s new track record. Huge thank you to Raptor Racing Engines and Ryan Freeman for building us rocket engines, and also building confidence in our driver. Also to Ultimate QM for building us these incredibly fast and safe X-wing chassis, and for fielding our incessant and annoying questions. Lastly, on that same note, no one fields more incessant or annoying questions from us than Case James Racingand C**t James. A genuine thank you for your patience with us over the last 4 years while we learn, and always making time for us no matter how busy you are.

Thanks ymphotography25 for capturing Mom handing out the checkers to our racer.

Next up, Dixie Shootout Series at the famed Daytona International Speedway

RACE RECAP: Championship Series Race #3

Summary: Two fast times. Another win for the B-man in Junior 160 and a P2 in Junior Honda, missing the win at the line by inches to our buddy Knox Davidson Racing, congrats buddy! Overall we have some things to work on, but also made big progress on a number of the things we targeted for improvement after Talladega. A very successful race day for our team!

Junior 160

Qual: P1
Feature: P1 > P1

Had a decent qualifying run on a slow/difficult track, putting us on the pole. New fire line location was a curve ball and we got passed on the start, but B made an awesome move from the center position of 3 wide to take the lead back in the next turn while avoiding heavy traffic all around. From there, never looked back and took the checkers!

Junior Honda

Qual: P1
Feature: P1 -> P2

On the pole again, and AGAIN struggled with the new start strategies and went from 1 to 4 in the first turn. We had good speed though, and within a handful of laps Brayden had already worked his way back to the front. Had a straightaway lead with 3 to go and caution came out. Our buddy Knox was the P2 car and took advantage, passing us on the restart, sparking a 2 lap crossover battle that ended with Knox beating us by a nose. Congrats Knox and team!

Doubleheader in the heat next weekend at NCQMA. Will post the live feed, if you want to tune in and watch. Thank you to all our friends, family, and sponsors who support us!

Raptor Racing Engines
Ultimate QM
ymphotography25

A pair of fast times has us starting on the pole in both junior 160 and junior Honda! Will post the live feed in a second.

RACE RECAP: NASCAR Youth Series at Talladega

Summary: Meh. We did okay, and admittedly a MONSTER improvement from 'Dega last year (when we wrecked both cars in practice, worked all night to fix them and then didn't make it out of the E Main). While we made an A main and assuaged our PTSD some, it was not what we are capable of. We learned though. And you can bet the house we will be better next time.

Jr Honda:

Heat P4 -> P2
A Main P6 -> P10

Fast in practice and heat. Made good moves early. Starts needed work. Drove straight to the A. In the A, got up to 4th, but too far up the track on exit leaving the door open and got into too many scuffles sending us to the back twice including with 2 to go. Not all our fault, but maybe we could have avoided them with some well placed decision-making.

Jr 160:

Heat P1 -> P5
B Main P8 -> P6

Well this one was 💔, but it was largely of our own doing. Brayden was blazing fast and had a half lap lead on the field in his heat coming to the white flag, when someone spun out. After two good restarts that were waved off, Brayden got a line violation and was penalized two spots. Then in trying to make it back with only 2 laps to go, we spun our good buddy MBMC Racing and got sent to the back. Just like that we went from starting 3rd in the A to 8th in the B, in just two 6.5 seconds laps. Brayden owned it though, through tears. Confidence was shaken and did not drive well in the B, did not transfer.

We get a few very welcome races at home at North Carolina Quarter Midget Association before we head to Daytona. Follow along, starting this Saturday!

Ultimate QM
Raptor Racing Engines
Jason Reasin Photography

RACE RECAP: Dixie Shootout Huntsville

Summary: New track for us, and a tough track. Caught a lot of bad luck in Honda, and did not make the A-main. Eked out a podium with a 3rd place finish in 160 though! It was a really challenging weekend overall, but we tackled it as a family and we had fun.

Jr Honda
Heat P7 -> P7

Brayden made the pass for 3rd on the last lap and was headed straight to the A-main when he got clipped from behind and turned around and was never able to even cross the finish line.

B-Main P7 -> P5
Got the car as unbent as we could and barely made the start of the B. Spark plug fouled late in the race, fell off the pace and did not transfer. A bummer after a strong start to the series in this class.

Jr 160
Heat P2 -> P2

Worked hard to finish P2 after the outside start, putting us starting P3 in the A-main.

A-Main
P3 -> P3

Inside lane did not get a good start (us included), and we didn't have the speed we usually have in this car. Driver fought his way back to 3rd, and we are proud of the way he improved his driving throughout the weekend on this new track, despite not having a ton of speed. Need to keep working on the d*mn starts and restarts though!!

Back to Talladega this weekend, if the rain holds off!

RACE RECAP: Dixie Shootout Series Round 1 at North Carolina Quarter Midget Association (NCQMA)

Summary: Mixed Emotions, but overwhelmingly positive. Brayden took home two 2nd place finishes in one of the most competitive events that we attend all year. Our first podium finishes ever at Dixie. A little disappointing because we had the driver and the car capable of winning both events, but a few things didn’t go our way and…that’s just racing. Just a year ago we couldn’t get out of a C-Main at these events without a wrecked car. Now Brayden is a threat to win on any given day, his racecraft is incredibly intelligent and he really takes care of the race car. The progress means everything to our little team! Full details below.

Jr Honda

Heat: P4 -> P2
A-Main: P5 -> P2

Tough pill draw put us starting 4th of 6 in the heat, and effectively last before we could get in line. Brayden went to work from the back, on a very cold morning track. No cautions would help us in this very short race, but Brayden made up ground and caught up with the front runners with a few laps to go. He made two aggressive but very smart and clean moves in the final two laps to take P2 all the way from the back! That put us straight into the A-main, starting P5.

On the startof the Feature, Brayden settled into P4 behind some very fast cars. The top 4-5 cars were lockstep in speed for the next 13 laps and no one could really make a move. Brayden’s car finally started to come in and he made the move for 3rd with 16 to go. By that time the top 3 were all up in lap traffic. B navigated it very skillfully and overtook P2 with 8 to go. The leader had checked out a bit, and we had a couple lap cars between us and it looked like there just wouldn't be enough time. But both Brayden and his car were wide awake by now, and he took both lap cars in one corner and set his sights on the leader. Caught him with about 3 to go, and had the speed for the lead. He hesitated just a moment and then they were on a lap car again which upset the timing a little, and the checkers flew with B taking second. It was a really fun race to watch, and congratulations to our friend Crew Greenfield Racing on your win!

Jr 160

Heat: P3 -> P1
Feature: P1 -> P2

Brayden drew a good starting spot of P3 in the heat. Did not get a great start but fast as always in this car and took the lead within a few laps. After a restart, B’s great buddy Tucker Bertrand Racing was right on our bumper having come all the way from 7th! B was able to hold onto the lead, winning the heat, and securing pole position for the A-Main!

In the A, we were flying. B had a straightaway lead on the P2 car with 16 to go and was in lap traffic when there was an incident in front of him to bring out an untimely caution for us. He did an amazing job to avoid it, literally squeezing his car between the spun car and the wall touching both but impacting nothing. While it was a celebration at the time, we did not realize he had picked up a lot of debris on his RF tire due to where he had to go on the track to avoid the wreck. On the restart, the car was pushing like a snow plow for 5 laps until we got the RF cleaned off. In that time, the P2 and P3 cars both got by him. The car came back to life with a few laps to go and he was able to take P2 back but could not catch the leader before the checkers flew. Congrats to Dax Terrell Motorsports on your win!

This is Brayden’s best car on his home track, (and it was 11pm and he’s 8, lol) so he was extremely disappointed/upset. But once he had a chance to outlive the moment, he realized just how far we’ve come, and what a 2nd place finish means at this event, and we went home with our chins up!

Our next race is yet another Dixie Shootout, this time in Huntsville, AL on 4/18. Stay tuned!

Ultimate QM
Raptor Racing Engines

https://www.youtube.com/live/vHi2Cy4VXCc?si=PRlDkO5w5WA_tiMc

Dixie Shootout Series • Round 1 - NCQMA - 03/28/2026 Dixie Shootout Series • Round 1 - NCQMA - 03/28/2026

RACE RECAP: Championship Series #2

Summary: Another huge day for Brayden, winning both Junior 160 and Junior Honda in some of the largest fields we’ve had in the junior classes at our home track. He looked fast, clean, and aggressive when he needed to be. We are thrilled with his progress. Details are below!

Jr 160

Heat: P6 -> P3
Feature: P3 -> P1

B’s been so fast in this car lately, the tough starting spot in the heat couldn't hold him back. He worked his way to third, trying for second at the line but didn’t quite make it. That put us starting 3rd in the feature. He settled into 2nd on the start, made the pass for the lead a few laps later, and never looked back. The sun popped out during this one and surprised everyone, making the track a little difficult for what we were set up for but he kept a handle on it. Did a great job with lap traffic, solid restarts, and took the checkers!

Jr Honda

Heat: P5 -> P1
Feature: P1 -> P1

In the words of Brayden when he came off after his heat, he “drove the HELL out of that thing!” Okay we will work on his language later, but he's not wrong. He wanted the front, and he found it. 5th to 1st in the heat was good enough for the pole in the feature in an 11 car field. Got out to a big lead early, but some cautions reset the field and we had some very fast cars in MBMC Racing and Knox Davidson Racing that were coming in behind us as we were starting to fall off. It was a nail biter through the final laps but Brayden managed to take home his second win of the day, and fourth straight.

Grateful for the opportunity to race with some real class acts, both drivers and handlers.

Also had some extra support this weekend from Libby Allison and Todd Allison (best neighbors ever) and Tietze all the way from Vermont, we appreciate y’all so much.

Dixie Shootout Series at NCQMA this weekend! Big car counts and big competition from all around the Southeast and beyond, if anyone wants to come watch!

Ultimate QM
Raptor Racing Engines