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

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver. He most recently competed full-time in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, 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 ...

, 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 currently serves as a mechanic for

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

and the No. 48

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro shar ...

for

Alex Bowman Alexander Michael Warren Bowman (born April 25, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 f ...

. 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 racing, stock car race held each fall at the Winchester Speedway, a half-mile long paved oval motor racetrack in Winchester, Indiana, Winchester, Indiana, United States. Held ...

in 2016 and the

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

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 (as of 2022, a brand-new Legends car could be purchased in the USA for $17,500 USD). The race car bodyshells are 5/8-scale replicas ...

, 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 in the United States and Canad ...

state championship in Ohio. He raced super late models in 2013 and 2014, winning the ARCA/CRA Super Series championship both of those years. Braden made his

debut in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, 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, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. It includes a ...

. In 2016, Braden went

super late model Late Model stock car racing, also known as late model racing and late models, refers to a type of auto racing that involves purpose-built cars simultaneously racing against each other primarily on oval tracks. This type of racing was early-on ...

racing, winning the

Winchester, Indiana Winchester is a city in White River Township, Randolph County, Indiana, United States. The city is the county seat of Randolph County. The population was 4,843 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Winchester Speedway. History Winchester was l ...

. After running part-time for RFMS Racing in the

2017 ARCA Racing Series The 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was the 65th season of the ARCA Racing Series. The season began on February 18 with the Lucas Oil 200 (ARCA), Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire and ended on October 20 with the Kansas ARCA 1 ...

, 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 Stephen Nasse (born May 5, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 09 Toyota for Jett Motorsports. He also competes in various super late model events. ...

'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 List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

's top three divisions.

Personal life

Braden is a native of

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

, and attended

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

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) (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 CARS Tour drivers