Landon Rapp
When people ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up,” I always answer with the same thing, “I want to be a race car driver.” I am 14 years old and have been racing since the age of 9. A strong desire to race is something I have always had. My goal is to keep racing and moving up as far and as long as I can.
I started racing at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte, North Carolina. I won the Youth League Championship there. VLK Youth League gave me a taste of racing, and I soon wanted to try my luck racing outdoors.
I got a bandolero for my 9th birthday. I raced my first beginner bandolero race at Concord Speedway. I finished 5th and loved everything about racing. I knew I needed to race again.
My next race was at the Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway a few weeks later. I won my first race in the Summer Shootout and was moved from the beginner division to the bandit division after only three races. I learned a lot that season, and I found myself getting more and more top 10 finishes, top 5 finishes, and then winning. What an amazing feeling that first win in the bandit class was.
2017 brought many great accomplishments my way:
2017 Bandit Nationals Champion (Bethel, New York)
2017 Bandit Sportsmanship Award (Concord Speedway)
3rd Place in INEX National Points.
I reached the peak of my bandolero career in 2018. I worked hard, stayed determined, and proved to myself that dreams can come true.
2018 INEX Bandolero Bandit National Champion
2018 North Carolina State Champion
2018 Winter Nationals Champion (Inverness, FL)
2018 Battle at the Big Top Champion (Texas)
2018 Concord Speedway Champion
While I was having an amazing year in the bandolero, I also wanted to give dirt racing a try. I started racing my 250 Mini Outlaw in the Intermediate class and discovered that dirt racing is just as fun as asphalt racing. I stayed focused, determined, and soon found myself in victory lane. My most exciting win to date in my mini outlaw was winning the 2018 KKM Giveback Classic Race (Intermediate Division) at Millbridge Speedway. It was one of those wins I’ll remember forever. My second most exciting dirt win was the Speed51 Open Intermediate win in 2019. Towards the end of 2019 I got a 500cc Open Kart. I haven’t gotten to race it much, but I know the fire in me is ready to get it done!
February 2019 brought yet another form of racing to my resume, and I am beyond excited about it. I started racing my legend car in February 2019 at Winter Nationals in Florida. I finished 4th in my first-ever race. I finished 2nd in overall points at the Summer Shootout in 2019. I was able to get two wins and a few top 5 finishes. I learned a lot throughout 2019 and am excited for 2020. I will be driving my 28 legend car and also the 48 house car of Ladyga Motorsports in 2020.
I think about racing every day, and I think about how extremely lucky I am. I never imagined I would get the opportunity to race at so many tracks and have so many people cheering me on. Dreams truly do come true. I am thankful beyond words for every opportunity I’m given, and I’m looking forward to the next green flag to drop. See you there! #ThatsARapp