Early Life and Career
Walker began his racing career in two-wheeled vehicles. He started competing bicycles at the age of six and upgraded to motorcycles (similar two-wheel prototypes to bicycles but only with motors) at the tender age of eight years. He then upgraded to go-karts, and won four California state karting championships and had a total of 200 wins, coincidentally the same number of victories Richard Petty has in NASCAR. When he turned sixteen years old, an age where many of his peers were first learning to drive, Walker began his Sprint Car racing career. His first competitive foray was in the All Star Circuit of Champions series. He was victorious seven races throughout the season. In 1996, young Walker made his stock car debut in the ASA AC-Delco Challenge Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park. He timed in 33rd in the field during time trials, and finished twenty-seventh after his engine expired ninety-five laps into the racing session. Before long, he was invited to partake in the prestigious World of Outlaws competition and won several main feature events over the next two seasons. He also won Rookie of the Year honors in 1996 at the famous Knoxville Nationals. He would join the All-Star Circuit of Champions in 1997, winning seven races and claiming Rookie of the Year honors in his first full season of sprint car competition. The next calender year, he swept all the main feature events in the World of Outlaws' Western World Championships at the famed Manzanita Speedway. He would follow up with a win at Tri-Main Speedway in 1999, the last year of the millennium.
During this time, Walker would later be invited to make his first full-time attempt at full-fender stock car racing. Tyler had signed with Tyler Jet Motorsports, owned by Tyler, Texas native Tim Beverly, to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series in the year of 2000. To prepare for this, he made a start in the grueling ARCA Bondo/MarHyde Series driving for Beverly. His #15 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix qualified and finished twenty-eighth, three laps off of the pace at the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 150 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Unfortunately for Walker, the necessary sponsorship needed to finance a competitive entry did not materialize for the 2000 season, so Tyler's deal with Tyler Jet out of Tyler, Texas became null and void. He made one attempt at the BellSouth Mobility 320, driving the #28 Larry Lockamy entry, but his qualifying speed was too slow to make the competitive 43-car field.
Read more about this topic: Tyler Walker (racing Driver)
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