BIG THINGS YOUNG LOCAL DOING
IN RACING
WRITTEN BY: Brian Bonner
When you meet Ben Maier from Chester, Maryland, he seems like your average bright and active 9-year-old. He gets very good grades at Bayside Elementary School and over the last year he helped his Bayside Dolphins teammates win championships in baseball and football; his soccer team came up a little short in 2nd place. So, we’ve learned that Ben likes sports, but when you learn what really makes him special, you might be surprised. Ben Maier is one of the top go-kart racers in North America in the cadet (7-12 years old) category. He drives for Team Nitro Kart, a kart manufacturer and race team based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Ben won three national championships and capped the year off with a thrilling photo-finish victory at the SuperKarts USA! SuperNationals in Las Vegas; the Super Bowl or Daytona 500 of kart racing. For those that think that go-kart racing is something cute and fun to do at the local amusement park, think again; kart racing is the most highly-competitive form of motorsport in the world and the training ground for most of the top racers in the world. Virtually all Formula 1 drivers grew up racing karts, including world champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel. Plus, almost all current IndyCar drivers and many top NASCAR drivers, including Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, got 22
Shore Sports Magazine | Summer 2019
their start in karts, so Ben is on the right path to be a top professional race car driver. Racing does run in the Maier family, but not the kind you might think. Ben’s mom, Beth, raced sailboats in her youth, including collegiately at the University of Rhode Island. Ben’s dad, Jim, spent time racing jet skis when he was a teenager. Ben started driving on four wheels at the age of 2 with a Power Wheels in his yard at home. He soon wanted something faster, and at 3 years old, he got his first gokart, an Emmick Kid Kart. At 4 years old, he began racing at Nicholson Speedway, a local 1/4-mile paved kart track in Chestertown. Ben soon won a Kid Kart race at Nicholson Speedway and in 2015 he won his first national event at Badger Kart Club in Dousman, Wisconsin; one of three national wins that year. Fast forward to this year which saw Ben win 15 national-level main events all over the country, plus the aforementioned crown jewel of a SuperNationals victory in Las Vegas last month. All of that travel requires a great commitment from the whole family, including Ben’s 6-yearold brother Alex, known as “Big Al” on the karting circuit. Fortunately the Maier family is able to travel to most races in an RV, creating some great experiences and memories along the way.
ShoreSportsMag.com
