Background and career
Kenneth William Schrader (born May 29, 1955) is an American professional racing driver. He currently races on local dirt and asphalt tracks around the country. He also last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 11 Ford for Fast Track Racing. He has also previously competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as well as the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a first cousin once removed of fellow NASCAR driver Carl Edwards. Schrader races in many racing divisions and has been successful in any division he has stepped into. He owns a dirt late model and dirt open-wheel modified car. Both of these cars, along with his Camping World Truck Series and ARCA series cars, are sponsored by Federated Auto Parts. He owns Federated Auto Parts Raceway (formerly I-55 Raceway) in Pevely, Missouri, and is co-owner of Macon Speedway, near Macon, Illinois, along with Kenny Wallace, Tony Stewart, and local promoter Bob Sargent. During the 1990s and the early part of the 2000s, Schrader was running as many as 100 races among many types of racing, including NASCAR's national and regional touring series, ARCA, short track, and dirt track.
Schrader was born in Fenton, Missouri. In 1971, he was the sportsmens champ at Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park. That same year, he moved up to sprint cars, racing in various locations across the Midwest. In 1980, he started racing in USAC's Stock Car Division and was the series' rookie of the year. He returned to USAC's Stock Car Division one year later, finishing third in points. Early in the decade, he moved to the USAC series, competing in its various sprint car competitions. Schrader attempted to qualify for the 1983 Indianapolis 500, but wrecked his car during practice. In the USAC series, he won four USAC sprint car races, six Silver Crown races, 21 in USAC midgets, and 24 midget races in other divisions.
Schrader made his NASCAR debut in 1984 in the Winston Cup Series, leasing out the No. 64 Ford normally owned and driven by Elmo Langley. He ran his first race at Nashville, qualifying 27th and finishing nineteenth in a thirty-car field. He ran four more races out of the 64 that season, his best finish seventeenth at North Wilkesboro Speedway. In 1985, he signed to drive the No. 90 Ultra Seal-sponsored Ford for Junie Donlavey full-time. He had three tenth place finishes and finished sixteenth in points, winning rookie of the year honors. In 1986, Red Baron Frozen Pizza became the team's new primary sponsor, and Schrader had four top-tens, including a best finish of seventh twice, and finished 16th in the standings in points for the second consecutive season. In 1987, Schrader won his first career pole, at the TranSouth 500, where he led nineteen laps and finished fifth, notching his first top-five. He had nine other top-tens and finished tenth in the final standings. He also made his Busch Series debut, at North Carolina Speedway, finishing fifth in his own No. 45 Red Baron-sponsored Ford.
In 1988, Schrader moved over to the No. 25 Folgers sponsored Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, the No. 25 Chevrolet listed Rick Hendrick's father, "Papa Joe" Hendrick, as the owner. In his first race, he won the pole for the Daytona 500, beginning a three-year streak in which he won the pole for that race. After initially failing to qualify in the No. 25 for the following race, Schrader purchased a racecar from Buddy Arrington to drive in the No. 67 Ford, this time successfully qualifying. Schrader won his first career race, at the Talladega DieHard 500, and finished fifth in the final standings. He won his second career Winston Cup Series race the following season at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and finished fifth in the standings again. He also earned his first career Busch Series win at the Ames/Peak 200. Kodiak became Schrader's sponsor in 1990. Although he failed to win, he collected three poles, and seven top fives, dropping to tenth in points. In 1991, he got his third win, at the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500, and his final Winston Cup Series win, at Dover International Speedway. He had nine total top-five finishes and finished ninth in the final points standings. In 1992, he dropped to seventeenth in the standings after posting eleven top-tens. The following season, Schrader returned to ninth in the points and won a career-high six poles. He had his career-best points finish in 1994 when he finished fourth. He also won his most recent Busch race at Talladega. In 1995, Budweiser became Schrader's primary sponsor. Schrader lost the top end of his left thumb in a mishap at Evergreen Speedway in a NASCAR Supertrucks practice session on May 13. He won his final pole with Hendrick, at Pocono Raceway and dropped back to seventeenth in points. He survived a horrific crash in the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. After he improved only to twelfth in the standings in 1996, Schrader left Hendrick Motorsports after a nine-year association with the team.
In 1997, Schrader was hired to drive the No. 33 Skoal Bandit Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Andy Petree Racing. He had eight top-tens and won two poles, finishing tenth in the standings, his most recent top-ten points finish. The following season, he posted three fourth-place finishes and won two poles over the last five races of the season. He won his final Winston Cup Series pole, at Talladega, in 1999, but despite a fifteenth place points run, Schrader failed to finish in the top-five all year and departed Petree. Schrader signed to drive the No. 36 M&M's Pontiac Grand Prix for MB2 Motorsports. In his first year of competition, Schrader had two top-tens and finished eighteenth in the standings. He posted five top-tens in 2001, but dropped to nineteenth in the standings. While competing in the Daytona 500, he was involved in a final-lap crash where Dale Earnhardt crashed into the wall and died. The image of Schrader peering into Earnhardt's car, only to jump back and frantically signal for assistance, is etched into the minds of many racing fans; his interview with Jeanne Zelasko during Fox Sports' post-race show was the first sign to many that something was wrong with the seven-time Winston Cup champion, as he appeared visibly shaken and upon being asked if Earnhardt was okay, he said "I don't really know. I'm not a doctor. I got the heck out of the way as soon as they got there." Schrader later stated in a 2011 interview that he knew Earnhardt was dead, but didn't want to be the one to announce it. In 2002, Schrader did not finish in the top-ten in a single race, the first time since 1984. Following that season, he departed MB2. Despite an original lack of sponsorship, Schrader was announced as the driver of the No. 49 BAM Racing Dodge Intrepid for 2003. Soon, 1-800-Call-ATT became the team's primary sponsor. At the Brickyard 400, Schrader's qualifying time was too slow (and the team was out of provisionals) to make the field, the first time since 1984 that Schrader had missed a Winston Cup Series race. He DNQ'd three more times that season and fell to 36th in points. In 2004, Schrader's previous sponsor, Schwan Food Company, became BAM's new sponsor, while Schrader had a sixth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway. He had three more top-tens the following season and matched his previous year's run of 31st in points.
In 2006, Schrader drove the No. 21 Little Debbie/Motorcraft/United States Air Force Ford for Wood Brothers Racing, earning his final two career top-tens that season. In 2007, he ran a part-time schedule with the Wood Brothers, sharing the ride with rookie Jon Wood. After the team fell out of the top-35 in owner's points, Bill Elliott became their new driver until the team returned to the top-35. Schrader returned to BAM Racing at Indianapolis, and later regained his spot with the Wood Brothers beginning at Loudon, before being replaced again by Elliott late in the year. Schrader also drove seventeen races in the Craftsman Truck Series for Bobby Hamilton Racing in the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Ram, earning two top-five finishes.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
