Fast Track to Success: Rincon Race Car Driver Haiden Cowan Finds the Right Gear

𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐳

Haiden Cowan has done much in his 19 years of life. He’s a licensed airplane and helicopter pilot who survived an explosive gasoline fire that knocked him off his feet and a crash in which his race car flipped seven times.

Despite these setbacks, the Rincon resident’s life remains on full throttle as he continues to fly around the track and through the air.

𝐑𝐮𝐦 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦

Haiden is a member of the Rum Runner Racing Team, which is based in North Carolina and owned by the Coulter family. He competes in the Super Dirt Late Model Series, featuring cars with longhorn chassis and 930-horsepower engines on quarter-mile and half-mile dirt tracks around the country.

Haiden drives at speeds averaging 80 to 100 mph and topping at 150 mph in races ranging from 50 to 100 laps.

In his first year in the series, Haiden, who receives a percentage of the four-man’s crew earnings, said he typically ran in the middle of the 24-to 28-car field; heats feature anywhere from 30 to 100 drivers vying for a spot in the race.

“I enjoy the competitiveness and driving fast,” said the Rincon native, who also competes for the family racing team with his younger brother, Gavin. “I get to travel around the country and race against people who have become my buddies.”

Harold Holly is Haiden’s crew chief. He was in NASCAR for 30 years, including 25 as a crew chief, and worked for such top drivers as Alan Kulwicki and Michael Waltrip. The Super Dirt Late Model Series, Holly noted, is the Cup level of dirt track racing and is much harder than NASCAR, with racers driving as hard as they can. With many of the drivers in their 30s and having competed in hundreds of races, Haiden is short on experience. Holly compared it to a yellow belt in karate going against a 12-degree black belt. Still, Haiden has shown he’s not out of his league and is setting a fast pace of his own.

“I’ve never worked with a faster driver in my career,” Holly said. “Haiden’s real fast. He’ll put his foot all the through the floor and run 10 laps. He’s so comfortable going at high speeds and wide open. He has an amazing ability to do that. His demeanor is so calm and he’s very, very smart. His foot-to-eye coordination is pretty unbelievable. That comes from flying a plane and helicopter.”

Holly said Haiden absolutely has the talent to compete in NASCAR or any other major race series. He noted there was a massive difference in Haiden’s performance from the first few races to the last part of the year and expects him to have a better sophomore season. Competing against older and more experienced drivers, Haiden managed to finish between fourth and ninth on average.

“On a scale of 1 to 10, Haiden is a 10 in terms of ability,” Holly said. “We want to put the tools in his bag so he can get the job done.”

Joey Coulter is a former Toyota Truck Series driver who owns the Rumrunner Racing Team with his parents. They were introduced to Haiden through dirt track driver Brandon Overton and were impressed with his laid back demeanor and how that countered Holly’s intense approach. They also were impressed with his performance on the track.

“He had a spectacular rookie season,” Coulter said. “Haiden exceeded expectations in every category. He worked well with Harold and showed some awesome speed. Haiden has the natural ability to go fast and the demeanor to stay really, really focused. You don’t see him making many mistakes. He has the potential to be among the best in dirt track racing.”

𝐀 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭

Haiden has gravitated toward faster modes of travel for most of his life. He started riding dirt bikes with Gavin when he was 3 years old and continued for some three years, until his older brother was killed in a car crash. Haiden’s father, Brad, said his sons were scared to ride after their brother’s death.

Two years later, Haiden, following the suggestion of a neighbor, took to the wheel of a go-cart at a the dirt track in Pineora and raced for two years. “I fell in love with racing,” he said.

Haiden graduated to mini late model cars and enjoyed some success racing from 2013 to 2016 on dirt tracks throughout the Southeast. In 2020, he went up to the late model series and finished fourth in his first race. “I thought to myself this is awesome,” Haiden recalled.

Brad Cowan said Haiden has always liked speed and learning how to race a car and fly a plane and helicopter. His helicopter pilot, he noted, said Haiden had a knack for learning to fly a craft that is difficult to operate. Although he never raced cars and finds it difficult to understand the sport, Brad said he’s proud of his son and has encouraged him to take advantage of every opportunity that comes along.

𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲

Cowan didn’t limit his fast travels to the ground. He earned his pilot’s license when he was 17 and flies a Cirrus single-engine plane. “I’ve always loved flying,” Cowan said.

Flying a helicopter, on the other hand, wasn’t something he planned. That came about due to an accident that resulted in Haiden flying twice through the air, once out of control and the second time as a helicopter passenger.

On Nov. 9, 2021, Haiden and Gavin were clearing space on their property to build a dirt bike track; they had stacked the wood and brush in a pile and had soaked it with diesel fuel the previous day but were unable to ignite it. Haiden, standing atop the pile of brush, soaked the stack with eight gallons of gasoline the next day. The volatile mixture of diesel fuel and gasoline produced an exploding fireball that blew the teenager off his feet.

Haiden suffered third-degree burns to his right arm and hand, neck and lower back and second-degree burns to his face. His brother was standing some 20 feet away and suffered less serious burns.

A neighbor saw the explosion and came over to help. He took Haiden to the latter’s home and called for emergency medical care. A Lifeline helicopter was dispatched from Springfield and landed in Cowan’s front yard. He was flown to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta and, amazingly, was released after four days, wrapped in bandages.

“I looked like a mummy,” said Haiden, who took several months to recover from his burns. “The pain was terrible. My jacket had melted to my arm. I had to have skin grafts.”

As a result of the accident, Haiden, who was the points leader, was unable to compete in the last two races of the late model series and missed out on likely winning the championship. On the plus side, he gained a new appreciation for helicopters.

“The helicopter landed in my front yard,” said Haiden, who is not yet licensed to carry passengers. “They can land anywhere. I decided to take flying lessons. A pilot trained me. It’s really, really hard flying a helicopter. You have to use your hands and feet. I enjoy the challenge.”

Then there was the wreck in which his car flipped seven times, leaving Haiden with a cervical sprain in his neck and a serious concussion. “God is watching over me, 100%,” said Haiden, noting he has butterflies prior to a race but is okay once he gets on the track.

𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

Haiden said it would be awesome to compete as a NASCAR driver, but he’s not putting all his lug nuts in one hubcap. If he doesn’t race for a living, Haiden will join the family business, Supply Chain Management, an import-export company started by his father and uncle.

In the meantime, Haiden will continue to race on dirt tracks and is scheduled to do a test run on an asphalt track. If the session goes well, he could compete in asphalt track races. Regardless of the surface, Haiden is right at home behind the wheel of a race car.

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Haiden said. “I enjoy the adrenaline I get out of it. I just love it.”