While competing at Christopher Bell's Micro Mania at Texas Motor Speedway, DJ was involved in a vicious accident that left him with a spinal cord injury and paralyzed from the neck down. Recovery will be a long road and we kindly ask for any donations to help the family in the coming years by going to www.go2mro.com/donate and referencing DJ.
It is easy to say that the ultimate highlight of my asphalt career was finishing 2nd in the 2011 Snowball Derby in my rookie attempt. Beyond that, we enjoyed great success racing over the southeast between several different teams.
My time spent in pro late models in the southeast amassed in four track championships and countless wins. In 2010, between Mobile Speedway (Mobile, AL) and 5 Flags Speedway (Pensacola, FL) we did not lose a single race we entered.
My first ride in a full sized race car was at Lanier Speedway in Georgia in early 2005. From that point on, we went on to win a multitude of races all across the southeast.
I spent a brief two years in a winged 360 USCS sprint car driving for a team out of Mississippi. While it was vastly out of my comfort zone as an "asphalt guy", it greatly improved my capabilities as a multi-faceted driver.
During my five year stint in INEX Legends cars, we were able to capture three Alabama state championships, multitudes of wins, and were lucky enough to be invited to several nationwide Invitational Races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
To say I cut my teeth in go karts is no understatement. Over a handful of seasons as a child, my family team and I won championships across both dirt and asphalt disciplines. This success is undoubtedly what sparked my life long addiction with motorsports.
In what is arguably the highlight of my asphalt career, I came within inches of beating NASCAR Cup champion Chase Elliot in the famed Snowball Derby. In this, my rookie attempt, we were elated simply to make the 36 car field out of over 100 entries. The weekend culminated in a 5th place qualifying effort and a 2nd place finish and has led to multiple opportunities for my driving career over the years.