For Jessica Walker, 15, her plans for the future are slightly different from those of her peers. She has her eyes set on becoming a professional NASCAR racer.
“Right now, I want to end up in NASCAR. I really like NASCAR drivers like Mark Martin, and I’ve been watching him for as long as I can remember,” she said.
It all started when Jessica, now a sophomore at Valley Christian High School, was only 10. After watching professional racing on television with her father, Doug Walker, she started to gain interest and wanted to take her passion for the sport a step further. She went with her father to a racetrack, and after driving around for a few laps, discovered that racing was something she truly loved to do.
“We went out and started practicing a lot,” said Jessica. “We liked it so much we got hooked, and we’ve been racing ever since.”
Perhaps the greatest aspect of racing is the feeling she gets when she is behind the wheel.
“It feels great, it feels like I’m meant to be there,” said Jessica. “When I’m in the seat, I’m there and all I do is concentrate on racing. Nothing else is going on in my head except going through the race and making as few mistakes as possible.”
In order for her to join the Quarter Midgets of America, a competitive racing circuit for youth, she had to first successfully complete a novice-training program. She was required to drive laps around the course and understand basic flag signs so that she would remain safe during a race.
“We joined the club, and the next thing you know we’re graduated,” said Doug.
Jessica has already competitively driven in several different racing classes, ranging from Senior Novice to Heavy Honda. During the races, the cars, which can reach speeds of up to 45 miles per hour, are driven around an eighth- or quarter-mile-long track for approximately 30 laps.
Behind the scenes, Jessica and her father have invested hours upon hours each weekend practicing for upcoming races and tournaments. Whenever they aren’t driving on the course, they are fine-tuning their cars.
“It’s a rigorous program,” said Jack Diettrich, one of Jessica’s sponsors and coaches. He works in Danville with Doug Walker. “They go there on a Sunday for two or three hours. She’s been doing it for about seven or eight years.”
“We just spend a lot of time on the track with different setups and gear ratios. The more time they’re in the seat doing laps the better,” said Doug Walker. “She’s actually to the point where she is real comfortable and she can tell me what to do.”
All of her hard work has certainly paid dividends. Last year, she shattered the local club’s track record and received the “Sportsman of the Year” award. In December, she beat out 36 other competitors to place second in her heat race at the Western Grands in Las Vegas, which is the regional championship. There were a total of 300 competitors, 38 of them within her engine class.
Considering the limited funds her racing team has at their disposal, Jessica’s high finish was a pleasant surprise, Diettrich said.
“A lot of these teams are very well funded, and they have sophisticated trailers, almost like NASCAR. Doug and his wife and I are part-time sponsors, and our financing is minimal,” said Diettrich.
Despite all of the hours she has spent racing, Jessica manages to find the time to keep up with her schoolwork and to play on the varsity softball team. But it hasn’t been easy.
“We’ll be going somewhere for a racing event so I’ll have to leave school. Then I’ll have to worry about homework, and when its softball season I’ll have to miss games,” she said. “Since I’m committed to racing, that’s my first priority.”
“Between races, she’s in the trailer doing her homework,” added Doug Walker.
For the time being, it looks like this high school sophomore is on the right track to fulfilling her dream.
“For what she has, for the guidance she’s had, I think she’s doing very well. Depending on the funding we get in the future, it’s not impossible for Jessica to be doing the same thing as Danica Patrick,” said Diettrich.
