For driver Travis Braden, racing is about more than just the championship titles he’s been racking up since 2007. For this Wheeling native and West Virginia University senior, it’s about garnering positive attention for his beloved Mountain State.
Engineering a dream: A freshman’s drive toward a NASCAR career
Video courtesy of WVU University Relations
Written By Mary Dillon
Ten months out of the year, you can flip through the television channels and find a car race. Names like Earnhardt, Gordon and Johnson are commonplace among the racing leaders, and with a little bit of luck, the name Braden may someday join them.
Travis Braden, a Wheeling native, is quickly making a name for himself in big-time racing circles, having recently captured his first win in a nationally televised Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) series event in Indianapolis.
“Travis is one of the better hands-on drivers I’ve been able to work with,” says veteran crew chief Matt Weber. “He knows what each adjustment should feel like and how to diagnose the car and any problems he may be having.”
According to Braden, moving up a level from late models to the ARCA series was an enormous gamble. “If our first ARCA race had been a disaster, it more than likely would have ended my career,” he says of the Indianapolis event. “Ninety percent of the battle is getting the right people behind you, which I have, and if that race didn’t go well, I could have jeopardized those connections.”
The most recent connection for Braden came in the form of veteran NASCAR driver Ken Schrader.
“Mr. Schrader has a very successful racing team, and he told me he wanted to see me make the move to ARCA and would help in any way he could,” says Braden. “The first step was finding a good car, which we did when we purchased a Hendrick Motorsports car that was previously driven by Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliott. Next came the engine, which we purchased in May, and then we spent June and July prepping the car for the July 24th event in Indianapolis.”
In 2007, Braden won his first national championship in the quarter midgets, a racing category in which drivers between the ages of 5-16 compete on a one-twentieth of a mile track. Since then, he has won races and championships in every racing division in which he has competed, including back-to-back titles in ARCA’s Champion Racing Association (CRA) late model series. The only thing holding him back from making the move to the next level of competition on a full-time basis is sponsorship.
“When it comes to talent and work ethic, Travis has it, but racing is 50 percent talent and 50 percent marketing,” says Weber. “The marketing side usually comes with some sort of family connection. There’s a whole lot of networking that needs to happen both at the track and away from it.”
Gary St. Amant, the crew chief for Braden’s late model team, agrees. “The percentage of people who do what he’s trying to do—make it in big-time motor sports—is very, very small. Because of his success, people know who he is and what he can do. He just needs the right person to notice him.” A former short track ace himself, St. Amant sees the potential Braden holds. He has compared the West Virginia University (WVU) student to six-time NASCAR champion Jimmy Johnson, noting, “What Jimmy was at age 22 or 23 is what Travis is at age 20.”
Braden is confident about the future of his career, including the funding. “I have absolutely no doubt that the lack of sponsorship dollars is only temporary,” he says. “I have too many people surrounding me and helping me for it not to come together in the near future.”
Braden’s main sponsor is one easily recognized in the Mountain State: West Virginia University. Braden is a senior in WVU’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, dual majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He approached the university with a sponsorship package his freshman year.
“It’s great to have the backing of WVU, the Mountaineer Nation and my entire home state,” he says. “That big WVU logo and the colors on the car bring so much additional attention to our team that it boosts the exposure of our other sponsors. When people see my car, they are instantly a follower or fan of my team. And usually once they meet me at a race or promotional event, they become a fan for life. They see the pride and confidence I carry with my beloved state’s backing.”
The backing from WVU has come in other areas as well. Braden has worked with students from the Reed College of Media’s Martin-Hall Agency, a student-led, student-run and self-funded professional integrated marketing communications agency, on branding and website construction. Recently, he has spent time in the LaunchLab, WVU’s startup resource center, where students have access to the resources needed to build their companies.
“The LaunchLab has been an enormous addition to my career’s success,” Braden says. “They have helped me tie up all the loose ends I had, primarily on the business side of things. We have been able to put together a structured plan of approach for the next few years of my career, which has already boosted our progress.”
Most students who work with the WVU LaunchLab come in with just the bare bones of an idea, but Braden was ready to hit the ground running. “Travis came to us with a tremendous driving resume, and it was fairly straightforward to take care of the legal issues needed to form his race team,” says Fonda Holehouse, associate director of LaunchLab. “Our focus is on sponsorship and marketing strategies and on finding the funding necessary for Travis to focus on driving in 12 nationally televised races next summer.”
With all the pieces in place, Braden feels confident he has what it takes to succeed full time in motor sports. “I’m convinced no other race team has what we have,” he says. “Many drivers have huge potential, but if they aren’t 100 percent dedicated to every aspect of the business, it doesn’t work out.”
No one can doubt his dedication. If he’s not under the hood searching for ways to make his car faster, he’s working on marketing and building networks with sponsors and members of the media in an effort to take his career to the next level.
“Some drivers may be involved in some of those aspects of their careers, but none that I have met or read about are involved as deeply as I am,” Braden says, adding that all of this is happening while he’s getting a degree, a step most drivers skip.
“This is not just about driving cars,” he says. “This is a business with many moving parts and people. You have to be willing to give up all of your time and all of your effort to be the best. If you don’t, someone else will. It can be cut-throat, but it’s also very rewarding. If you put in more work than everyone else, it usually shows up on the track, and I think my statistics reflect the amount of work and effort I have put forward.”
