FENELTON — Aaron Raible and Colton Haid are cousins who enjoy racing quads.

So much so that they’ve taken it national.

Raible, 25, is in his second year of competition in the New East Extreme Dirt Track Racing series. Haid, 14, is in his first season with NEEDT.

Both are Fenelton residents and both previously competed in Competitive Riders of America (CRA) events.

“This is radically different,” said Raible, a three-time CRA points champion. “CRA is a local series while this (NEEDT) circuit runs up and down the east coast.

“We’re riding against some of the best in the country now, from Vermont to Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, etc., people show up to race.”

Raible’s uncle introduced him to quad racing six years ago. Raible himself got his younger cousin interested.

“Colton watched Aaron race and wanted to try it,” Haid’s father, Ed Haid, said. “He was 11 when we started him out in the mini-quad division. He wanted to bump up this year, so he’s racing a 250cc. He’s gone 60 miles per hour on it.”

Like Raible, Haid is a former CRA points champion. He recently earned his first NEEDT victory, taking the novice division at a race in North Carolina.

“We’ve done eight national races this year and Colton has done well,” his father said. “He’s strictly a racer. He likes the speed.This is his sport.

“As long as it continues to be fun for him, we’ll keep supporting it as a family.”

Colton’s 16-year-old sister, Amber, does not race a quad, but did work and keep score at CRA events. She attends the NEEDT races “to cheer for her brother,” Haid said.

NEEDT races are held in Ashtabula (Ohio), Jamestown (N.Y.), Kingston and Busch Beach, N.C. The only relatively close series race is in Latrobe.

“Colton and I practice together a lot,” Raible said. “When we first get to a new track, I’ll go out there with him, show him some things and help him get a feel for it.

“He’s doing pretty well. He picks things up quickly.”

Raible competes in the Open B division and is still looking for his first win in the series. He’s finished as high as fourth in a national race.

Consistency has Raible fifth in points, however. He finished 10th in points during his debut season with the NEEDT series last year.

“The races are tough,” he said. “Amateur races are 10 laps long while the pros go for 20 laps. Lap length varies by the track, but your typical feature race lasts 20 minutes.”

As many as 28 quads may show up for a given series race. When there are high numbers of racers, competitors must fare well in heats to make the feature, similar to dirt track auto racing.

“It’s a lot of travel and expense, but I want to continue doing this as long as I can ... at least a couple more years,” Raible said.

He will likely have some company.

“You never know, but I don’t see Colton giving this up anytime soon,” Ed Haid said.