For Logan Bearden, a native of Leander, Texas – racing is in his blood.
Raised 12 miles northwest of Austin, Texas – Bearden was surrounded by the roar of race cars from an early age watching his dad being a mechanic for his friends at local short tracks in the Lone Star state, Bearden’s instant love for Motorsports started within the first year of his life.
At the track to support his father at just 11 months old, Bearden by two years old was working on the ground alongside his dad handing him wrench’s underneath the car and by the tender age of four had been cleverly able to identify the manufacturers of the race cars by simply looking at their logo emblem.
Attending his first go-kart race at seven years old, his desire to race only intensified. By eight, the craving was serious.
But there was a catch.
After being diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade, Bearden briefly lost focus and by a year later, his grades plummeted.
Bearden’s dad offered a compromise. If he could improve his academics in third grade and pass the state test he would buy him a go-kart and his dream to become a race car driver would become a reality.
Quickly, Bearden was able to climb the hill and improve his grades and aced the state test and the journey to become a successful race car driver had made it to the starting grid.
Beginning his racing career at Hill Country Kart Club (HCKC) where in his rookie year he would win eight feature races and rack up 10 top-five finishes to claim three overall championships including in the junior and rookie brackets.
In 2006, he would also be victorious in the Polar Bear championship, a winter series in Denton, Texas just outside of Dallas, Texas where he scored three feature wins in just three races.
2007 would bring more success as winning would become the norm. To correlate with 10 wins and the Oklahoma National Series championship, Bearden was signed by Motorama Kart Parts (MKP). In his first race with the organization he finished third in the Tag World Championship races in Denver, Colo.
Later that year he would participate in Daytona Kart Week with the World Karting Association Manufacturers cup where he would go on to qualify on the pole and finish second.
Continuing to build success apart of the WKA tour, in 2008 he was tied in the championship standings.
Pressing on, he would continue to rack up the trophies with two more national victories between the WKA Manufacturers Cup and Snap-On Stars of karting. With his success on the Snap-On Stars of karting, Bearden would earn a trip to London, England where he would represent the United States.
Progressing well in go-karting which included the Yamaha Jr. Lite national title in the WKA Manufacturers Cup, he would begin his next tenure in Motorsports at the start of the 2012 season.
Making his debut in the Texas Super Racing Series (TSRS) where he earned one win, five top-fives and seven top-10 finishes, he picked up Rookie of the Year honors too.
When the series abruptly ceased operations, Bearden and his family-owned team turned their attention to a pro modified where he continued to gain experience and win races. To go along with his four wins, 10 top-fives and 12 top-10 finishes, he picked up the 2018 championship title at Houston Motorsports Park.
While learning his craft in the pro modified, he has also been competing in top Super Late Model Series races across the country through the end of the 2019 season.
Big plans were in store, however for Bearden in 2020, then the pandemic hit.
With safety being the top priority throughout the pandemic, Bearden’s racing career took a half-idle approach in 2020 and 2021 respectively as Bearden continued to make headway on the track in modified competition winning three races, as well as returning to the Super Late Model scene on a sporadic basis.
The 2022 racing season kicked off in January with a pre-pandemic feel for Bearden.
Bearden tackled the “World Center of Racing” in mid-January for a two-day test in the ARCA Menards Series where he maneuvered top-five speeds and successfully earned his superspeedway license driving an ARCA Menards Series entry for AM Racing.
Three weeks later, it was back to the Super Late Model scene at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway for the All-Star Showdown where he qualified eighth before roaring to a third-place finish aboard his No. 66L Parker Electric | Bearden Automotive Chevrolet.
For Irwindale, Bearden concentrated on his efforts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he successfully made his series’ debut at his hometown track of Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas on March 26.
Throughout the remainder of the 2022 season, Bearden’s part-time Super Late Model season was highlighted with finishes of fourth at Jennerstown Speedway Complex, fifth at Anderson (Ind.) Speedway, sixth at Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and an additional seventh place run at Winchester.
In all, he posted three top-five and five top-10 finishes in eight events.
Off the track, Bearden made a huge personal move last spring leaving Austin, Texas for Mooresville, N.C., where he joined AM Racing and has been a vital asset to the team’s ARCA and NASCAR programs.
Looking ahead to 2023, Bearden will continue a NASCAR and Super Late Model presence with the intent to increase his visibility in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.