Almont Community Schools issued the following announcement on July 30.
TRI-CITY AREA — Fourteen year-old Katie Hettinger is making a name for herself as an accomplished stock car driver but most often her family and friends don’t get to see her race in person.
During the racing season, the soon-to-be Almont High School freshman and athlete spends most weekends in North Carolina, considered the heart of stock car racing country but this Saturday, July 31, Katie will compete closer to home in her one and only Michigan race for the 2021 season.
Katie will be racing with the Champion Racing Association’s JEGS Late Model Series at the Birch Run Speedway in Birch Run.
“It’s really exciting. Most of my family and friends are from this area so this is a race they can all come to,” Katie said.
Katie will take part in an autograph session on Friday at the speedway and on Saturday, before the race, she’ll be in the stands with her fans for driver introductions.
Typically, Katie said her family and friends have been able to watch her races through live video feeds provided by the tracks she’s competed at throughout the midwest and southern states.
“It’s a little nerve wracking every time my mom mentions that more people are planning to come to the race,” Katie said with a laugh.
In addition to having those familiar faces in the crowd, Katie said she’s a little nervous about competing against other experienced drivers at Birch Run, plus she’s never raced on the big track there.
Despite those nerves, Katie said she’s looking forward to it all.
This year’s racing season started in March and will wrap up in October. Katie admits it can be hard to juggle school, sports and her racing career.
“When there’s a race I usually miss school on Thursday and Friday but my parents are very strict about school coming before racing,” she said, noting that she can’t let her school work slide if she wants to keep racing.
Katie credits her teachers for making it all possible too.
“They’re very supportive through all of it,” she said.
Katie is the third generation of racers in her family. She first started competing at the age of five. By the time she was 12, Katie was behind the wheel of full-bodied stock cars in the CRA Junior Late Model Series. In 2020, she became the first female champion in the series’ history. That same year she set a new track record at Anderson Speedway in Indiana. In 2021, she graduated from junior competition to the highest level of stock car racing.
For more information about this weekend’s race, visit the ‘Katie Hettinger Racing’ Facebook page.
For more information about Katie’s career and accomplishments, visit https://www.katiehettingerracing.com/schedule.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Almont Community Schools
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