Kenzie Ruston Hemric

Kenzie Ruston Hemric (born October 12, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. She last competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2015, driving the No. 4 Toyota Camry for Rev Racing. Hemric is married to current NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Daniel Hemric.

Kenzie Ruston Hemric
Ruston (right) at Dover International Speedway in 2014
Nationality	American
Born	Kenzie Ruston October 12, 1991 El Reno, Oklahoma
Related to	Daniel Hemric (husband)
Debut season	2013
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Years active	2013–2015
Teams	Turner Scott Motorsports, Ben Kennedy Racing, Rev Racing
Car number	4
Crew chief	Mark Green
Starts	44
Championships	0
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	6th in 2013
Finished last season	11th in 2015
Previous series
2011	ARCA Racing Series

Hemric began her professional stock car racing career in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series, driving four races for Venturini Motorsports. She later competed as a NASCAR Drive for Diversity member in the K&N Pro Series East, where she competed for three seasons (2013–15). Her best career finish came in 2014 at Iowa Speedway, where she finished second.

Racing career

Early career

Ruston both raced and played volleyball in high school before deciding to focus on racing full-time prior to her senior year;[1] she began racing Bandoleros at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) when she was 14 years old.[2] When she was 16, she switched to Legends car racing, competing in the track's Semi-Pro and Young Lions divisions, finishing third in the latter's Winter Series.[2] In addition, she raced in TMS' Summer Stampede, finishing second, and in the top-ten in Charlotte Motor Speedway's Summer Shootout.[2] Upon turning 17, Ruston moved to North Carolina. In 2009, Ruston won TMS' Winter Series, Summer Stampede and the track's Driver of the Year award,[2] along with the U.S. Legends asphalt championship, the first woman to win the title.[3] The next year, she began racing in super late models, finishing 12th in the PASS Series Southern Division's championship.[2]

Stock car racing

In 2011, Ruston began competing in stock cars. She made four ARCA Racing Series races with Venturini Motorsports, making her debut at Toledo Speedway in the No. 25 Toyota, and finished 10th. She switched to No. 55 for three additional races, finishing 10th, 12th, and 26th.[4] During the year, she also competed in the Champion Racing Association, winning at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis.[2] In December, she participated in the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway for Jeff Fultz, finishing 31st after a crash on lap 145.[5]

NASCAR

Ruston's No. 34 car at Richmond International Raceway in 2013

In 2013, Ruston was signed by Turner Scott Motorsports to contest the 2013 K&N Pro Series East season,[6] and in June, she was named a member of the NASCAR Next program,[3] the first woman to join the program.[7] She ended the year with four top-fives, including a best finish of third at Greenville-Pickens Speedway, and finished sixth in the points standings.[8]

For the 2014 season, Ruston was signed by Ben Kennedy Racing.[8] She was not retained by Kennedy at the end of the season due to sponsorship, being replaced by Kaz Grala.[1]

On January 26, 2015, Ruston was announced as a member of the 2015 Drive for Diversity roster, joining Rev Racing for the full 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season.[9] She finished 11th in the points standings, with a best finish of sixth at Motordrome Speedway.[10]

Personal life

Ruston's father, Darren, was a dirt bike racer in Oklahoma, while her step-grandfather, Jerry Morrison, was an Oklahoma dirt track racer.[2] The youngest of two daughters, Ruston was a cheerleader and volleyball, soccer, and basketball player in high school.[2]

On July 28, 2015, Ruston became engaged to Camping World Truck Series driver Daniel Hemric.[11] They married on January 7, 2017.[12] In November 2019, the Hemrics announced that they were expecting their first child.[13] Their daughter Rhen Haven was born on May 9, 2020.[14]

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Position
2011	ARCA Racing Series	Venturini Motorsports	4	0	0	2	0	635	35th
2013	K&N Pro Series East	Turner Scott Motorsports	14	0	4	6	0	459	6th
2014	K&N Pro Series East	Ben Kennedy Racing	16	0	3	7	0	522	9th
2015	K&N Pro Series East	Rev Racing	13	0	0	4	0	408	11th

NASCAR

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

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	NKNPSEC	Pts	Ref
2013	Turner Scott Motorsports	34	Chevy	BRI 11	GRE 3	PEN 5	RCH 19	BGS 4	IOW 26	LGY 12	COL 8	IOW 5	VIR 12	GRE 8	NHA 20	DOV 13	RAL 11			6th	459	[15]
2014	Ben Kennedy Racing	96	Chevy	NSM 6	DAY 6	BRI 22	GRE 12	RCH 35	IOW 13	BGS 8	FFL 4	LGY 3	NHA 14	COL 12	IOW 2	GLN 9	VIR 11	GRE 12	DOV 14	9th	522	[16]
2015	Rev Racing	4	Toyota	NSM 10	GRE 14	BRI 27	IOW 15	BGS 9	LGY 12	COL 10	NHA 16	IOW 22	GLN 18	MOT 6	VIR 14	RCH 22	DOV 13			11th	408	[10]

ARCA Racing Series

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

ARCA Racing Series results
Year	Team	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	ARSC	Pts	Ref
2011	Venturini Motorsports	25	Toyota	DAY	TAL	SLM	TOL 10	NJE	CHI	POC	MCH	WIN											35th	635	[4]
		55											BLN 10	IOW 12	IRP 26	POC	ISF	MAD	DSF	SLM	KAN	TOL

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

References

1. James, Brant (October 30, 2014). "NASCAR prospect Kenzie Ruston Raring To Go -- If She Gets A Ride". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
2. Williams, Deb (July 25, 2014). "Kenzie Ruston's high school decision leads to racing career". The Charlotte Observer. The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
3. Meredith, Luke (June 12, 2013). "AUTO PACKAGE: Turner Scott driver Kenzie Ruston on the rise in NASCAR K&N Pro Series". Fox News Channel. Des Moines, Iowa: FOX News Network, LLC. Associated Press. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
4. "Kenzie Ruston − 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
5. "2011 Snowball Derby". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
6. Meredith, Luke (June 12, 2013). "Kenzie Ruston on the rise for Turner Scott". Associated Press. Des Moines, Iowa: AP Sports. Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2013.
7. "Ruston to Race for Kennedy". Motor Racing Network. December 19, 2013. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
8. DiZinno, Tony (December 22, 2013). "Kenzie Ruston joins Ben Kennedy's NASCAR team". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
9. James, Brant (January 26, 2015). "Kenzie Ruston looks to defy odds in NASCAR diversity program". USA Today. Charlotte, North Carolina: Gannett Company. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
10. "Kenzie Ruston – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
11. "Hemric, Ruston announce engagement". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
12. "Daniel Hemric and Kenzie Ruston Tie the Knot in Jamaica". RCR Racing. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
13. McFadin, Daniel (2019-11-29). "Daniel and Kenzie Hemric expecting first baby". NASCAR Talk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
14. "Daniel Hemric, wife Kenzie welcome baby girl Rhen | NASCAR". Official Site Of NASCAR. 2020-05-10. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
15. "Kenzie Ruston – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
16. "Kenzie Ruston – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

External links

• Kenzie Ruston Hemric driver statistics at Racing-Reference