World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series
Teenaged daughter assists WoO's rookie trek
By Mike Warren
World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series
Lacey Walker and her father Dustin Walker. (jacynorgaardphotography.com)
Dustin Walker has hit the grind of the World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series head-on in 2023. However, it’s a journey the Germfree Labs Rookie of the Year contender isn’t doing alone.
When the Polk, Mo., driver started the season at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., five months ago, his daughter Lacey was by his side.
Together, the two have traveled across the country to every national touring event with plans to continue at 81 Speedway’s Wichita Late Model Showdown on June 23-24 to kick off the inaugural WoO Heartland Speedweek.
While Lacey is helping her dad check off an item on his bucket list, every day on the road has been a learning experience as she learns more about the aspects of her dad’s race car.
“I started when I was 6ish handing him wrenches and stuff,” Lacey Walker said. “But I could not lift a tire when I was 6 years old. And then, as soon as I could, it evolved to doing more and more.
“I still don’t know a lot of terms to different things. Like he’ll say upper, lower, or whatever, and I’m like, ‘Can you just tell me what side and where it’s at, and what it looks like.’ ”
While Lacey continues to gain knowledge about the car, one thing her dad never has to question is her work ethic. It’s one of the qualities that keeps pushing Dustin through the grueling World of Outlaws schedule.
“She’s probably the hardest working person back here,” Dustin Walker said. “She does a lot to keep it going. If it wasn’t for being with my kid and not wanting to quit in front of her, I’d have probably packed it up and went home.”
Lacey also had a challenge through the first few months of the season — balancing her schoolwork with working on the car. She finished her final semester of high school remotely in the spring and doesn’t miss the late nights that came with it.
“I’m officially a graduate,” Lacey Walker said. “But when I was doing it, it was kind of a lot just because I couldn’t really do it at night because it was midnight, and I wanted to get to sleep.”
While the two are battling through the grind of the World of Outlaws schedule, it hasn’t been all work. They’ve seen different parts of the country, including historical landmarks.
“It was the first time for her seeing the Atlantic Ocean when we were in Florida,” Dustin Walker said. “And then we went and saw Niagara Falls, so we’ve gotten to do some sightseeing on the road, too.”
The sightseeing and working on the road together have only strengthened their bond as the season approaches its halfway point. And no matter what the results show at the end of the season, Lacey is proud of his accomplishments.
“I’m very proud of how far he’s come,” Lacey Walker said. “And I think he can go a lot farther.”
The Walkers have one of their longest stretches of the season upcoming. After the tour’s stop at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., the Heartland Speedweek schedule takes the series to Off Road Speedway in Norfolk, Neb., on Jun 25. Mason City (Iowa) Motor Speedway is up next on June 27 followed the next day by a race at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D. The trip wraps up June 30 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., and finally July 1 at I-94 EMR Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minn.
