COLUMBUS, Ohio — Thousands of young people across the country grow up playing soccer, baseball or American football, but it’s rare to hear about kids racing cars.
A central Ohio teenager fell in love with running while he was still in shorts.
“The first round is about establishing your rhythm, getting comfortable,” said Kamden Hibbitt, a sophomore at Big Walnut High School.
Hibbitt discovered his passion for racing while watching his first NASCAR race on television at age two.
At age five, he began his racing career when his parents founded the family racing team, Hibbitt Motorsports.
“My father never had the opportunity to race, but my family has a history in the world of motorsports. My great-grandfather and grandfather raced, so there’s a little bit of racing history in our family,” Hibbitt said.
Kamden began his career racing quarter-midgets. In nine years, he won over 120 races and later moved up to larger cars, where he had the honor of representing Mazda and driving for Williams E-Sports in the Prodigy P3 Championship.
“For the Mazda scholarship driver, there were three young people in the country and in the world in possession of this status, so being part of these drivers is a great pride that I never forget and for which I am always grateful,” adds Hibbitt.
At just 15 years old, Hibbitt is still too young to get his driver’s license, but he can pilot race cars reaching speeds of up to 135 miles per hour.
“High school is a pretty interesting place for a racing driver, to say the least,” he continues.
Kamden tells me he’s traveled all over the country racing, and one of his favorite tracks is Road Atlanta. He even has the chance to train on the circuits he frequents thanks to the simulator he built himself.
“I have a very high-level simulator here so I can train,” Hibbitt says.
The simulator faithfully reproduces the racing circuit. We feel the vibrations of the seat and we can visualize as if we were racing on the circuit.
He also highlights the importance of fitness to be a pilot, as the sport is physically demanding and can be dangerous.
“Leg strength is an often overlooked aspect. Some cars don’t have power brakes like on a road car, so if you can’t lift 400 pounds, you won’t be able to generate 400 psi of brake pressure,” says Hibbitt.
His end goal is to race professionally and make his childhood dreams come true.
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