Katie Hettinger ready for ARCA Menards Series West debut at The Las Vegas Bullring

At 15 years old, Katie Hettinger is already making a name for herself. On September 15, Hettinger announced that she has teamed up with Young’s Motorsports to make her ARCA Menards Series West debut at The Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring on October 14. Along with that, she will also run the West Series finale at Phoenix Raceway in November.

“Anytime I get in a race car, my goal is to win, but ARCA is a step up with strong teams and talented drivers, so the more realistic expectation is to finish Las Vegas among the top-five and, ideally, the top-three. Phoenix is a bigger track, the biggest one I’ll have ever been on, so that will be a little more challenging. A top-10 at Phoenix would be great,” said Hettinger during a press release.

Recently, she became the winningest female driver at Hickory Motor Speedway, racking up five wins.

Throughout most of her career, she has primarily competed in over a hundred late model races. “Every time I get into a new car, I just drive it like I normally would. I don’t struggle with switching classes or cars or anything like that,” said Hettinger.

Hettinger was just four weeks old when she attended her first race. Her grandfather, Jim Hettinger, was a very successful midget racer, earning two championships in 1984 and 1990. Because of his success, he was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame. Her father, Chris Hettinger, was also a midget racer, earning several wins, making Katie a third-generation driver.

Aside from racing, she is also a sophomore student at Almont High School, in her hometown of Michigan. She plays in a variety of school sports, including volleyball and basketball.