Tyler Walker (racing driver)
In 1996, young Walker made his stock car debut in the ASA AC-Delco Challenge Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park 33rd in the field during time trials and finished twenty-seventh after his engine expired ninety-five laps into the racing session.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.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.To prepare for this, he qualified the #38 Great Clips Dodge entry owned by Akins Motorsports, and driven by his USAC boss and now dear friend Kasey Kahne, on two separate occasions, first at Nashville Superspeedway,[9] and again at Kentucky Speedway,[10] both events coming within seven days of each other.Walker started the #70 Terry Kunes Chevrolet twenty-eighth, passed a net total of twenty cars, and finished eighth at the conclusion of the event, completing all 250 laps.[12] He chose to attempt his next race with BACE Motorsports, which fielded the #74 Outdoor Channel Chevrolet Monte Carlo and had won three consecutive Busch Series championships in the mid-1990s, when young Walker was but a teenager.He methodically and smoothly moved through the racing field to come home in twelfth position, his best finish to that point in NASCAR stock cars.[14] In 2005, Walker signed a contract to drive the #38 Great Clips entry for Akins, again splitting time with longtime friend and former boss Kasey Kahne.[15] Ultimately, Walker's tenure at the Akins team would be cut short after the Zippo 200 at the famed Watkins Glen International road course in the Finger Lakes region of New York State (not the city).This time, he re-joined the Craftsman Truck Series and was slated to drive the #36 360 OTC Toyota Tundra for Bill Davis Racing full-time.He returned to competition in the USAC Series at the famed Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway, finishing eighteenth in the final overall running order.[31] Walker was contracted to drive the historic Mike Heffner owned #27 entry in Pennsylvania to start the 2010 season in various sprint car series.On July 16, 2011, Walker won the famed Kings Royal race in the World of Outlaws at Eldora Speedway (owned by Tony Stewart) in Rossburg, Ohio, taking home $50,000 for the win.It is reported that he left the Nationals and the team due to an inner ear issue which was causing him to experience vertigo and he felt that he was unsafe to drive a race car.At the beginning of the 2012 season, Walker returned to 410 Sprints, this time driving the PA based, Charlie and Dawn Sorokach owned #35 machine.In 2013, he went midget racing for Josh Ford in the #73 car, with sponsorship dollars from the generous donations of Spike Chassis and Bob Wirth Chevrolet.