Machart looks to keep momentum going in INEX Legends

There is a lot of young talent in the Red River Valley in the INEX Legend class, and 17-year-old Kody Machart of Moorhead is one of those promising drivers.

Machart has six feature wins in the class since 2023, including one last Sunday at Buffalo River Speedway. Like many in the class, he is a graduate of the go-karts.

“It wasn’t too bad, the learning curve from a go-kart to a Legend is pretty tall,” Machart said. “Once you get used to it, they are really fun. The class is pretty competitive too.”

Machart is in his fourth year in the Legend class. He got into racing as his uncles, Chad Sogge and Cameron Sogge, were into racing.

Machart, at the age of 14 in 2022, won the INEX Young Lions national title.  Several other top Legend drivers locally have won the Young Lions title in their careers previously, including Tim Estenson, Tye Wilke and Ryan Braseth.

“Winning the national championship in 2022 was a huge accomplishment and gave us a good feeling that we had big things to come in my career and hopefully more championships along the way,” Machart said.

Machart recorded his first two Legend wins in 2023 and followed with three more feature wins in 2024. The 2024 season had its ups and downs – there were 17 top five finishes in 44 starts but also nine DNFs.  He did pick up the three wins later in the year -- one each at Red River Valley Speedway, Jamestown Speedway and Buffalo River Speedway --  in a span from July 28 to Aug. 24

“It was pretty good. The first little bit of the year, I had some troubles, still figuring out the setup.  But I figured it out eventually, and really dialed it in,” Machart said. “We got three wins towards the last half of the year.”

Seat time, and learning how to set up the car, have paid dividends for Machart, who just completed his junior year at Moorhead High School.

“Just figuring it out, really, and just trying different setup things with the car,” Machart said. “I’ve been able to get it to work.”

Machart is adding a new challenge to his racing in 2025: he has bought an IMCA Sport Mod. He is driving the car previously piloted by Keyna Peterson. In four sportmod starts, his best finish is fourth at Buffalo River Speedway on May 11.

“We were thinking of getting into something bigger,” Machart said. “The price was right, so we’ll just move up from here.”

So far, Machart’s luck in the Legend car has not been great, with four DNFs, including on May 26 at Sheyenne Speedway while leading the feature. He broke through for his first win of the season on Sunday at Buffalo River.

“Hopefully we can do the same, or a little bit better,” Machart said of his goals for this season.

What does he enjoy about racing?

“The best part about racing is strapping into the car and everything else fades out and it’s just you and the car,” Machart said.

Driver Profile

Kody Machart

INEX Legend #7/IMCA Sport Mod #17

Age: 17

Residence: Moorhead, Minn.

Sponsors: Dr Training, PTI of America, A Transmission City, Mak’n Photography