As you know, OKO is our sponsored No Prep Driver. Following this race, OKO lost his friend and mentor. Rest Easy Taylor.
I flew into Las Vegas late at night. It was a strange experience, going from darkness to bright lights in the middle of nowhere.
Day 1 started at 7am. We went to the track and watched racers slowly make passes down the slippery track. We waited for the track to get better grip.
At 3pm, the track had enough grip to play it safe and run a soft tune for my first qualifying pass. The car went down the track straight as an arrow. I won the heads-up battle in qualifying by a margin of .03.
Next, Team Maclan put a really hot tune in. I went to the line, the lights came on, and both cars took off down the track. The other driver came into my lane, I reacted to avoid a collision, and I hit the wall and broke the car.
Without the support of my friends and family, I would have never had a chance to race the next day. My dad worked all night on the car.
I had qualified 140th out of 256, but I knew the car could go fast and compete. After sleeping in the pits, it was time to work. I started my pre-race program that Ash Hess designed. Racing is a mental game, and I was ready to go.
The lights came on, and my car was gone. Around 45 feet, the wind blew my nose to the right, and I crossed the center line. My race was over. I had a strong package all weekend, but it just wasn’t my day.
I am happy for my friend Travis Barnard, who won King Of The Streets 2023.
At KOTS, Taylor Spencer ran a 1.45, the fastest No Prep time ever. Three weeks later, we lost Taylor and I lost my friend.
Godspeed, OKO