BJ McLeod and Travis Braden will join forces in 2021 to develop an extensive development program intended to create a ladder from short tracks to NASCAR national touring.
The program is called BJ McLeod Motorsports with Travis Braden, which will utilize FURY Race Cars, and utilize both principles experience and perspectives.
Braden is the 2019 Snowball Derby winner and a two-time CRA Super Series champion. McLeod recently launched Live Fast Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series with Matt Tifft and will continue to operate BL McLeod Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Prior to his NASCAR tenure, McLeod was a pavement Late Model racer out of Florida, where he’s captured a World Series of Asphalt championship and has won the Red Eye 100 at New Smyrna Speedway.
Both operators plan to compete in sporadic events while also cultivating younger funded drivers.
“I’m looking forward to this endeavor with Travis and the opportunity to return back to where it all started, super late models, which is our roots,” McLeod said. “Our goal is to bring top performing equipment and stellar coaching to enable drivers the opportunity to develop in the sport of short-track racing, and Travis’s hands-on approach and success over the recent years will prove to be very valuable to the team.”
In addition to his Tom Dawson trophy and CRA championships, Braden also boasts Super Late Model wins in the Winchester 400 and Kalamazoo Klash. He won in his ARCA Racing Series debut at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indiana back in 2015.
Braden, 26, still has NASCAR ambitions.
“I‘ve got a huge desire to expand my involvement in short-track racing for years to come as I pursue the next phase of my driving career, working to compete in NASCAR,” Braden said. “I want to see this sport continue to grow and watch the next generation flourish. When I came through the ranks, it was hard to progress without having any established names validating me to their audiences. I can help change that now.”
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