Rich Kuiken, Jr.
Asphalt Modified Driver

I am a third generation racecar driver. My grandfather, Ray Kuiken, who raced under the name Ray Cook, was a NASCAR Modified Champion at Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ in 1955. He also was an accomplished dirt racer, racing at Orange County Speedway, NY for many years in the 1960's. My father, Rich Kuiken Sr., also raced for many years on both dirt and asphalt.

In 1997, at age 6, I began my racing career in the quarter midgets at Sandstone Speedway. In my first year I won two races in the Jr. Novice class at Little Airport Speedway in New Castle, DE. In my seven years of quarter midget racing I compiled 17 A-main wins, and 72 top 3 finishes. Also in 2003, the only year Sandstone Speedway had a points championship, I was the Champion in the Heavy Honda class and 2nd place in the Heavy 160 class.
At the end of the 2003 season, at age 12, we bought a 250cc microsprint and ran it three times at Middleford Speedway in Seaford, DE to get some seat time for the next year.

In 2004, at age 13, I ran in the 250cc Jr. Class at Middleford. I won once and finished 4th in the point standings. During the course of the year I was having motor problems with my 250cc motor and decided to put our 270cc motor in to go race at Hamlin Speedway in Pennsylvania to run the 270cc Rookie Micro Sprint class. I ran at Hamlin three times and won every time. At the end of the year when we were done with the 250cc Jr. point standings we ran the 270cc class at Middleford and got one more win.

At the end of the 2004 season we bought a 600cc microsprint. In 2005, at age 14, we ran both the 270cc and the 600cc micro at  Kutztown Fairgrounds on Wednesday nights and on Saturdays we raced other tracks including Bridgeport, Hill Valley, Path Valley, Greenwood Valley, Lanco (Clyde Martin Memorial), Trailways, Linda's, Middleford and Airport Speedways. I finished 5th in points at Kutztown Fairgrounds with two wins in the 600cc class and 7th in points in the 270cc Class. Over the 12 years I've been racing, I've raced at 32 different tracks in 11 states

In 2006, I raced a slingshot at the Atlantic City Indoor Race in the Young Lions Division. I couldn't race my 600cc microsprint because in New Jersey you have to be at least 16 years old to race one, I was 14 at the time. After leading at the beginning of the race, I was pushed up into the wall and finished 12th. We raced a full schedule in 2006 at Lanco/Clyde Martin Memorial Speedway in the 600cc Division where I finished 7th in the point standings. Also I ran a full schedule at Kutztown Fairgrounds where I finished 5th in points (600cc Class). I also ran a 270cc Microsprint for part of the season in the Joe Hogan owned #88H. In July 2006, we ran the Super 600 Showdown, there were over 100 cars there and I qualified for the A-Main and finished 9th.

At the end of 2006 we sold the 600cc Micro Sprint and are now racing an asphalt modified. We raced two races at the end of the 2006 season at Mahoning Valley Speedway, PA and Lancaster Raceway Park, NY.

In 2007 we raced in the Atlantic City Indoor Race in the Champ Kart and Slingshot Divisions. We won the Dirty Dozen Qualifying Race in the Slingshot Division. We also ran some NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races, some ASA Southern Modified Tour races and the North South Shootout in Concord, NC.

In 2008 we raced again in the Atlantic City Indoor Race in January in the Slingshot and Champ Kart Divisions. We also ran the entire NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour finishing 10th in points, and the ASA Southern Modified Tour finishing 9th in points. We will also raced in the North South Shootout again this year.

We will start off 2009 once again by racing in the Atlantic City Indoor Race in the Champ Kart Division. In addition, we are seeking sponsorship to run the 2009 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. Interested parties please e-mail richkuikenracing@aol.com.

Photos of Rich's previous rides