16-Yo USAC Star Claims Penultimate Redemption at Hickory Motor Speedway Days After CARS Tour Disgrace

Life has given Katie Hettinger a chance at redemption. The 16-year-old speedster has not let go of this opportunity either. Having stolen headlines after her recent tussle in Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s CARS Tour that ended up with her receiving a one-race suspension, her first win in the Carolina Pro Late Models series comes as a huge relief.

Delivering the goods at one of the biggest Late Model Stock Car races held annually in Southeast America, the win is a testament to her ability behind the steering wheel. With Fall Brawl at Hickory Motor Speedway being in the backdrop, a full day of high-octane racing had been ensured for the fans.

Katie Hettinger gets her career breakthrough

Earlier in October, Hettinger was slapped with a suspension for intentionally wrecking fellow driver Caden Kvapil. The incident put her in a bad light in the community after she lost her cool on the track. However, the second door of opportunity has finally opened up for her.

Hickory Motor Speedway was host to the iconic 200-lap Fall Brawl race, which also offered $17,000 in prize money. Katie Hettinger has been a previous winner on the track, with a feature win in 2022 coming after one victory, five top-5s, and six top-10s in 13 races in the Limited Late Model circuit.

Hettinger has transitioned well from 600cc Micro Sprints dirt tracks to stock cars. Ending her dirt-track experience in 2018, 2019 marked her entry into the CRA Junior Late Model Series. Since then, she has grown by leaps and bounds and found a place on the CARS Tour roster.

The CARS Tour is undeniably a huge opportunity, especially due to the involvement of big names in it. Katie’s outburst was a topic of discussion in the community. The extent of the talk went as far as Kevin Harvick slamming the learning process in NASCAR in a recent conversation with Junior.

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Hettinger has shown promise in the younger circuit

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Katie Hettinger finished fourth in the 2019 CRA Junior Late Model Series. This encouraged her to push her limits, and she acted upon it in 2020. After winning the 2020 championship in the same tourney, she became the one and only female to win the championship in its 25-year-old history.

Achieving such widely recognized titles by the age of 14 is commendable. Matt Piercy Racing was the first team to take notice of her talents and immediately recruited her for the NASCAR Weekly Racing series. September 2021 saw Hettinger become the youngest female winner at Hickory as she cruised to a win in the 50-lap long Bobby Isaac Memorial race.

In the same month, she also won another 75-lap featured race. Hickory has yet again produced another NASCAR star in the making. Matt Piercy availed her services again in 2022, and the story has continued. Highland Motorsports has also used her talents in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series and CARS Pro Late Model events.

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The future is surely looking bright for Hettinger. The occasional moments of lapse need to be worked on, but with the talent and opportunities at her disposal, she could surely rise to the upper echelons.