By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
Colton Rychener just turned 14 years old last month, and for the Pettisville eighth grader, he has spent half of his life racing go-karts.
Though he admitted that he didn’t want to compete in go-karts at the beginning, his father, Eric Rychener, who is the owner of the Pettisville Garage, had asked him if he was interested in pursuing the opportunity.
“It wasn’t like a huge thing for us back then, maybe once or twice a month competing in the little kids’ classes,” said Colton Rychener.
Once he showed interest in go-karts, Rychener would begin his successful racing career, competing in local races at the Stateline Speedway, which is located near Edon on the Ohio-Indiana border.
From there, he would then go down to Eldora, Ohio, located in west central Ohio, to race once a month on Sundays.
“It was kind of like a hobby because I wasn’t really good at it,” said Colton Rychener. “My dad was still figuring it out and getting to know people.”
Despite the early challenges, it took two to three years for Colton Rychener to become a successful go-kart driver under the guidance of his dad.
“It really took me what I considered a while to get somewhat good at the sport,” said Colton Rychener.
Besides the guidance of his dad, the younger Rychener was fortunate enough to meet several local people, including Dustin Hillard and Tony Huard, who were already involved in go-kart racing and competed at area tracks.
“We did a bunch of local racing at the time,” said Colton Rychener. “Cole Huard, who was four years older than me, and the rest of them were around my age, and they were all from Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana.”
Colton Rychener didn’t do much traveling to compete in 2020 after COVID-19 hit, resulting in the closure of all of the tracks throughout the tri-state area.
The closure of tri-state area tracks forced Rychener to travel eastward for his first big race in West Virginia in the spring of 2020.
That same year, Colton Rychener made his first and longest trip to Batesville, Mississippi, to compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts National Kart Championships in November.
However, two weeks earlier, he finally reached the winner’s circle, winning three races at the Burris Southern Winter Nationals in North Carolina.
“It was our really first big win,” pointed out Colton Rychener. “Looking back at the race and the results, there were some big names there.
“A lot of people that we race with now at nationals were down there. It wasn’t an easy event to win, but there was some stiff competition.”
Rychener admits that go-kart racing in North Carolina is more publicized than in other states.
“Go-kart racing is a lot more popular in North Carolina because it feels like there is more money into it, like there is more prize involved,” said Colton Rychener.
“It’s not that they are better, it’s just more better people down there because it’s more popular. When we race with them down there, we compete well. It’s a little tougher, because you got people who like when we race, it’s usually just people who might run for a team with a couple of people on it.”
Colton Rychener credited his dad’s huge influence on his go-karting career.
“He (Eric) has been a big part of this because he has financially helped me throughout my career,” said Colton Rychener.
“I don’t know where I would be without him because just probably a couple of years ago, we started to really run with Mike Dickerson, who is an expert in racing tires.
“Me, my dad, along with Tony and Cole Huard started to work with him (Dickerson) in 2021, because Tony (Huard) had needed some help with tires because he knew Mike (Dickerson) at the time.”
Dickerson’s influence enabled Colton Rychener to improve his own driving skills and start to reach the winner’s circle more frequently.
“We ended up winning one of the big classes at the O’Reilly Kart Nationals at Batesville in 2021,” said Colton Rychener.
“He’s (Dickinson) is from southeast Ohio and has made quite a big influence in my racing career.”
Rychener was one of three area go-kart drivers who competed at Batesville over Thanksgiving Day weekend, along with Cole Huard of Edgerton and Alex Geren of Montpelier.
Competing in this year’s Batesville event, Rychener had three third-place finishes while being more consistent this time around.
“At the same time, I felt like maybe being a little bit limited to my go-kart because we really had a bad bounce on it because the track was a little tough,” he said.
The son of Eric and Amber Rychener of Pettisville, he has two sisters, Shelby (12), who used to compete in go-karts until 2023, and Bristol (9).
He has notched between 80 and 100 victories during his successful racing career.
“When I was really young, I really didn’t like it that much, but I didn’t want to make my dad (Eric) mad, so I didn’t tell him that I didn’t want to,” said Colton Rychener.
“I really enjoy go-kart racing now and enjoy the friends I make doing it. I enjoy winning, running up front and just keep on driving.”