LUBBOCK, Texas — The family that races together at Abilene Speedway will do so again at the IMCA Speedway Motors Super Nationals fueled by Casey’s.
Veteran Vince Ogle, son Kade and daughter Kenzington make the 900-plus mile trip from Lubbock, each looking for glory and a berth in Saturday’s night IMCA Modified main event at Boone Speedway.
The event will be broadcast live by SPEED SPORT.tv affiliate IMCA.tv.
“It would be the greatest thing if all three of us would make the main,” said Ogle, who qualified for the Big Dance through an exciting last-chance feature at Super Nationals in 2000. “I know that’s a pretty high expectation, but that’s our dream. Realistically, our goal is to go and be competitive. If we happen to make the show, that’s a plus.”
Vince has run a limited schedule this season while crewing for Kade, 23, and Kenzington, 18. They made their first racing vacation to Super Nationals last year, when Vince and Kade started in same heat one night, multiple cars got sideways in a hurry and both ended up getting sent to the pits before completing a lap.
They talked it over afterwards over a beer and everybody had fun the rest of the week.
“I just love the atmosphere at Super Nationals. I love getting to race every day. It’s a racing vacation for us, even though it’s a lot of work,” said Kade, who’s won one feature so far this season, leads points at Abilene and looks to qualify for the Rage Chassis Race of Champions in addition to the main event.
“My realistic goal is to make a couple qualifying features. If I can make the dance that would be a dream come true,” he added. “This will be my third year at Super Nationals. Boone is a different animal for sure. We have some tracks around here with similar banking but the racing surface is very different. The stuff I’m used to racing on is red farm dirt, it’s not even a clay.”
Kade ran a Hobby Stock before moving up while Kenzington stepped up from the mini stocks. She graduated from high school early and has been able to focus more on her Modified education this season.
“It has been a challenge. I started in the back every night the first year I was in a Modified and worked to get better and to gain respect,” Kenzington said. “Going to Super Nationals has been fun, I loved it.”
“The racing was challenging and a lot of my favorite people were there,” she continued. “But even when the racing was tough it didn’t make you want to hang your head. I’ve been to quite a few races and the vibes at Super Nationals are different. Boone is just awesome.”
“Another thing I like about Boone is celebrating his birthday with dad that week. He’s always made the impossible possible.”
“I never thought I’d get to race with my kids at Super Nationals,” said Vince, who celebrates his 61st birthday on Sept. 4, the first day of qualifying for the Modifieds at Boone.
Wife and mom Heather completes Team Ogle. She works in the scoring tower at Abilene and stays neutral during all the races but continues to be her family’s biggest fan when they race elsewhere.