NASCAR recently honored Walter Thomas III for his outstanding and groundbreaking achievements during the fifth annual NASCAR Diversity Awards Luncheon in Daytona Beach, Fla., with the Young Racer Award.
Thomas’ young racing career began at 4-years-old when he started racing quarter midgets, followed by three years in junior dragsters. For the past two years, he has raced in bandoleros, where he scored a win in a national qualifier as well as becoming the first African-American to win the Outlaw Track Championship at Indianapolis’ Speedrome. Thomas finished 2011 in a legends car where he will continue his racing career this season. The 13-year-old’s success and work ethic extends into the classroom, where he is an honor roll student at St. Andrew and St. Rita Catholic Academy.
