S1 Episode 17- Armani Williams

We’re honored to feature trailblazer Armani Williams — the first autistic NASCAR  driver! 

In this powerful episode, Armani shares his journey to the NASCAR O’Riley Auto Parts series and what it took to break barriers in the racing world. From overcoming challenges to chasing his dreams at full speed, his story is nothing short of inspiring.

He also opens up about his passion for advocacy—using his platform to raise awareness for autism and connect with others through speaking engagements that truly make an impact. 

This episode is all about resilience, representation, and proving that differences are a strength.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome back to Mom's Raising the Spectrum. We're so glad you're here with us today. We have an incredible guest joining us and we're really excited for this conversation. I'm gonna pass it over to Amy to introduce him.

SPEAKER_04 0:24

Well, what an amazing honor it is today to have a wonderful guest with us. Uh, our the first autistic NASCAR driver. Come on. Uh it's so special to me being a huge fan of NASCAR and my family. Armani, thank you so much for joining us. Feel free to introduce yourself.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Thank you. Well, first off, I appreciate you two having me on this podcast. This is gonna be a lot of fun. Uh well, let me just say to the you know, audience who none know me. So my name is Armani Williams. I'm uh 26 years old uh from Gross Point, Michigan, which is right near Detroit. And, you know, I'm a professional mass car driver, but also a motivational speaker with autism. So how my story begins is that it all started when I was a very, very young kid. I kind of had this love and evaluation for uh cars. I would get every Hot Wheels and Matchbox car that I could get and any store that I could find. And I would just have a whole collection of them where I would just play racing with them. It didn't matter if it was on the floor or kitchen table at my parents' or grandparents' house. So that's kind of where it all started. I just love cars. And then I do remember one moment where I ended up getting maybe one or two die-cast cars, which resembled a NASCAR right around when I was like three years old for Christmas. And that's when I kind of was like, oh, NASCAR? This sounds really interesting. And it made me want to, you know, look into it a lot more, learn more about it. So I decided that one day that I was gonna watch a NASCAR race on TV. And what really caught my eye, and what really stood out to me, was just how fast those cars were going. I mean, you talk about 180 to 190 miles per hour, and as a kid, I thought that was the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life. And just how cool the paint schemes were, it just said like the competition level was just unreal. Like how much these drivers were pushing every lap and every corner. And that's when I was kind of hooked from NASCAR here on now. And it made me want to watch more and more NASCAR races a lot more. And it kind of made me wanted to try a little bit of driving myself. I can remember times when I was a kid, and oh, in you know, you go out with your parents and you go out to amuse these amusement parks, right? One of the first things I always tried to look for was uh seeing if they had a go-kart attraction. So if I first saw it, that was the first thing that we were gonna do, and I wanted to do it like so many times, like and never get tired of it.

SPEAKER_04 3:12

You just wanted to keep going.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Right. It just uh unfortunately the only problem was is that I wasn't tall enough to drive on the go-kart yet. So it's like I had to have my parents drive, but I just wanted to get that feel of what it's like to actually drive, actually get that racing feeling. And I kind of sort of developed this love and passion for it. That I when I was about eight years old, that's when I told my dad that, hey, I wanted to do what those guys are doing on TV. I wanted to become a professional race car driver. And um, mind you though, that my my family didn't really come from a big racing background, like none of my family race. But if there's one connection that we could kind of rely on in racing, is that we kind of had a thing or two about knowing how to work on cars or know how to work on things. Like my great-grandfather owned a Auto Body shop in Detroit.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

So you knew you knew cars and how they work, huh?

SPEAKER_00 4:06

Yeah, a little bit like that. You you know, you talk about the mechanics and what it's like to try and like build an automobile, build a vehicle, and he kind of passed the knowledge down to my grandfather, and then even my dad had to, you know, learn the hard way of like knowing how to work on stuff. So if you had something like that to rely on, but none of my family raced, but they kind of understood that like this is something I love, this is something that I wanted to do because they could have easily just said that no, do something given like you know how racing is unlike any other sports, you know. But you know, thankfully they were on board with it and they were willing to do everything necessary and possible to help make my dream come true as a race car driver. And you know, so I started building this career where I start racing in go-karts and uh minicup carts that were like a half version of a stock car.

SPEAKER_04 4:55

You know, there in Michigan, you did that?

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah, all in Michigan. Yep. Um, I pretty much have lived in Michigan all my life. I haven't really lived that in any other state. And I think it was right around when I was 15 years old where I started to recognize that, you know what, let's try make something that's bigger than just my racing career. And, you know, knowing how my life was like growing up with autism and all the challenges and everything that I was going through. And, you know, learning that there are millions of other people with autism who you know are also impacted by autism and are dealing with the same situations that I did, that we can kind of help use my platform of racing to help uh build awareness and inclusion for autism, you know. And, you know, one of the things like I've done throughout that span, you know, is that like I mentioned, I'm a motivational speaker with autism. So I get up to have the opportunity to speak at companies, nonprofit organizations, and even uh schools where I get to speak with kids. And I just mainly share my story about my entire journey of not only being a race car driver, but also my journey of like, you know, everything I've gone through with life with autism. And I think mainly what I try to get out there is to help people get a better understanding of autism because it's it's one of those where, unless you have a family member of yours or you know somebody that's been impacted by autism, it's hard to understand uh to people like what people with autism go through on an everyday basis, you know, and just how much uh support, how much of a support system that they need in order to you know move forward in life. So people get the basic understanding of that, but also a lot of the potential and the positives that come with autism into how they into what they can contribute in this world. And you know, whatever dream that they think about of wanting to be in life, if it's something that they have a love and passion for, no matter what, go chase it. As long as you continue to believe in yourself and you still're a great example of that, right? Yeah, absolutely. Because it was not an easy journey for me. I mean, it took a lot to help me get to where I am today, you know, and that's just part of it. But I mean, as long as you work hard at like whatever you need to do in whatever dream you're trying to chase, if you just do all those things, then all those things are possible for autism, you know, and that's sort of the message I try to share to people all the time. And so, you know, those are two things that I enjoy a lot is just racing as well as uh, you know, being an advocate for autism, you know, to try and help get back to the autism community.

SPEAKER_04 7:40

Well, you are probably changing the world and you are motivating and inspiring so many others, I'm sure. So you are incredible. We want to dig in a little bit more about um your racing and how you got to where you are today, and then we'll go on to a little bit more about, like you said, your motivational speaking. So uh tell us a little bit. You said you started when you were younger. Um tell us a little bit about that journey of how you got into um the NASCAR like circuit. Were you doing other um races? And I think you're in are you in Xfinity racing right now or no?

SPEAKER_00 8:24

Um well as of the moment, yes. Although the Xfinity part. Um, so the series had a new title sponsor for this year. It's not the O'Reilly out of parts series.

SPEAKER_04 8:36

That's right. See, I you think I would remember that. I was just at the Phoenix race in A in March and I knew that, but you know, I'm so used to saying it.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Believe me, there's still a lot of people in the racing industry that are still trying to get used to trying to say the O'Reilly's instead of Xfinity, since that title sponsor went on for like 10 years. So it's taken a little time for us to get used to it.

SPEAKER_04 8:59

That's when when it was like next, was it next cup series or whatever? I got I it was so hard for me to not say the kind of feels like that a little bit, yeah. Yeah, you know. So for uh for MJ and those listeners who don't quite know, you have um like the truck series, then you have the exfinator the um running card series, and then you have the the uh what do they call the other the NASCAR the NASCAR Cup series? Cup series, there you go. So you have those kind of three. So tell us a little bit about that journey, how um how you got there?

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Yeah, so I mean, I guess we got to like kind of go back a little bit, like kind of like I mentioned before. So like I would have started racing when I was eight years old. And um there was this uh racetrack facility in Jackson, Michigan called the Jackson Speedway. And interestingly enough, their layout consists of two different tracks where they had a very short road course built track along with like a you know payment oval track, which you know I heard like they've turned that into like a dirt oval, but back then it used to have uh payment. So when I did the go-karting, so at first I had to go through an eight-week karting school there, where you know you basically just learn like how to drive and specifically learn how to drive go-karts, you know, and if you get past it though, like you can be able to like go up and you know, race in competition races uh up in that checks and speed rate. So I think like, you know, when I did that, we kind of raced on the road course stuff. We didn't necessarily race down the ovals as much, you know. So I did that for kind of a couple years. Uh, and then I moved up into now was a closed car, which is the mini cup car. So like you kind of look at like what the NASCAR Cup series now. This was sort of like a small kind of half version of it, you know. So at first I kind of did some races uh at Jackson Speedway, but then like one of the track promoters uh told my dad that, hey, you should try and like race in this series, which at the time was called the GLS uh mini cup series. And you know, it was kind of a regional series where we raced at a lot of very small tracks, whether it be in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, sometimes and all that. And this kind of level, I wasn't just racing against kids my age, I was racing against adults too, who have been in that series for a while. And I think first time I raced up in that series, I ended up um so it was at a track at Mottsville Speedway, which is like very west of Michigan and stuff. And you know, I ended up winning my heat race, and then I had to come from all the way in the back. So apparently they had this rule where, like, you know, you have to start in the back if you won your heat. And there might have been like maybe 15 to 18 something cars. I can't remember how many was, but I know it was a lot of cars, so I had to pass a lot of people, and I ended up coming from the back to almost winning my feature race. So that's where it kind of gave me the confidence to say, like, hey, I mean, these are yeah, you're sort of like different age, different levels of experience.

SPEAKER_04 12:13

So it's like how old were you when you did that?

SPEAKER_00 12:17

So that was when I was about 12 years old, pretty much.

SPEAKER_04 12:20

Wow, wow, good for you. Wow, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Thank you. So I ended up running that series from like 2012 up until I think 2015 or something like that. I had some great success in in those years, and then um, you know, there was this up came the next step, which was the Arca Truck Pro Series, which again was another kind of regional series in the Midwest. Uh, because right around the end of 2015, um, one of the team owners uh like uh from that series invited me to come test one of their trucks uh at Sandusky, Ohio.

SPEAKER_04 12:59

Oh Sandusky, yep. I I have family from Toledo, Ohio. So I know that whole area you're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Because uh apparently, like their driver, like he left to move on to something else and and they needed a driver. And so they kind of see me or what I've done in Minicub. I think his name was Steve Perkins. He was the one who owned the truck and stuff. And you know, he invited us, invited me to come down to Sandusky, Ohio and test the truck to see how well I can drive in that thing. And I did well in that test to where they decided to make me their full-time driver for 2016 and all that. So that was kind of another step ladder to where now we're talking about you know bigger, faster vehicles, but also a unique challenge, too, to where you know I'm trucks are different, huh? Yeah, but what was also different at the time was this was the first time I I had to use like one of those H-pattern transmissions to where now, like, you know, you're stick shifting and all that because I didn't have to do that before in the mini cups and uh that was another unique challenge, which uh funny enough, like before I I could do any of that, we thought it would be a good idea if we could find me a little small driving school to where they do have stick shift cars that that way I could just learn the basics of learning how to get through the gears and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 14:16

And we don't really see stick shifts anymore, even in 2016, they weren't really a thing anymore. So yeah, wow.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Yeah, it's just not many people just like driving a stick shift car apparently.

SPEAKER_04 14:28

So um dad tried to teach me it was a no-go.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

Yeah, definitely. So I mean, from that point, I mean, I fit I I get the whole like you know, learning how to get through the gears well. And so I was pretty much ready to run the full-time seats in a truck. And um, you know, we had a pretty good year and all that, and it was definitely a learning process as well, given that like, you know, this was a bigger, faster vehicle, you know, and I'm just I'm learning how to like drive these, you know, trucks that uh we were racing around. And it was kind of the same thing like it was in the minicubs where we're racing at short tracks in Michigan, we're racing at short tracks in like, you know, Indiana or Illinois sometimes, even Ohio and stuff, you know. Um, and I think right around that same year is when I got noticed by NASCAR because they have uh they had one of their programs called the NASCAR Driver Diversity Program, where they are able to invite any upcoming drivers, whether they're you know female drivers, African American drivers like me, or you know, autistic per se, or even drivers that weren't even from you know the US that are coming to America to try and make a name for themselves. So it was just an opportunity to where, you know, like where you can have a big stepping stone and move up the ladder even more in racing. So I actually got invited to that program twice. And the team that was running that program at the time called uh Ref Racing by an owner named uh Matt Siegel and all that. And we we went through, I think the it went on for like probably, I can't remember three or four days maybe, um, where they put us through tests uh where we did like certain workout programs. So they wanted to test like you know how much we work out, how good we are in fitness.

SPEAKER_04 16:17

You gotta have good like body, like cardio and all that. People don't realize it takes a lot of physical to you know handle those cars and the heat, and there's so much that goes into it.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

People don't realize what what what happens inside a cockpit of race cars and the chief forces that you deal with lap after lap after lap. I mean, like, listen, like you know, you better make sure like you're ready for those because you you know it's not simply just hoping these stains and think you know you're just gonna be all comfortable, like you got and those inside of those cars, MJ, are not comfort, it's not comfort, it's safety and speed efficient. Yeah, so it's like you gotta be able to handle all of that without being so bothered by it. So, yeah, there was that part of it. They even put us to test to where like they could see how well we could talk to the media because you always have like press conferences and stuff like that. So they wanted to test to see how well they did in that, and then up came the fun part, though, where like they brought these late models up, and we were we were able to at least drive them, see how good our practice could be.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

So I think when we did them, they did them down in Florida, like right around New York Daytona, but like where we did those late models, they have a short track down there in New Smyrna Speedway, which is where we drove those late models, and everybody took a turn, you know, maybe running five to ten laps, you know, by themselves and see how they did. So that was all the tests that they had us going through. Now, you know, in the end, if they feel like, you know, uh they feel like this driver's good enough to be in their team, like, you know, that they chose them. Unfortunately, that never happened to me twice. But fortunately, though, I think someone in NASCAR caught a glimpse and an eye of like the potential I had. And that was kind of the recognition I needed that they were like, yeah, well, we're happy to have you join NASCAR. So that would have been around 2017 was when I started racing in NASCAR. Um and interesting enough, so like, I mean, I'm sure like we'll probably cover this uh like that. This is where I would go through like a variety of different NASCAR series that uh you know I started from 2017 on and stuff. So I mean, I guess that's kind of where it all started, yeah. NASCAR and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 18:40

That's so cool that they, you know, that they have those events for upcoming drivers and give you that opportunity because you know, it's like if you don't have if you're not uh like say uh Earnhardt, you know, and you don't have that generation of family name, like there's so many other drivers out there, and you know, it's a great way to showcase all of your guys' talents.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Yeah, and thankfully, yeah, that and thankfully that program has helped pave the way to like a lot of racers that are in NASCAR right now. Like I could think of a few of them, like um, you know, Bubba Wallace went through that program.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

Um, he did.

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Yes, he did, yeah. Um, you know, Rachel Karuth that you know, who I know pretty well, he went through that program as well. Um, Nick Sanchez.

SPEAKER_04 19:26

I know he's not Nick Sanchez, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

But he went through that program as well. Um Daniel Suarez, his Suarez, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:33

He's a he's a good he's a top contender now.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Yeah, this program, the program that I was able to go to, it's helped like benefit a lot of drivers that came through that program, you know, and I'm sure there'll be many more to come. So I'm just thankful for that, you know. And I, you know, without that, I don't know where I would be today, honestly.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

So that's right. All of it, things happen for a reason, right? They lead you to where you need to be.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Yeah, yeah. All right, MJ, I'll let you ask the next question.

SPEAKER_02 20:03

Uh so what was the moment like when you raced in your first race, and what track was it?

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Um, well, if we're gonna go from the beginning though, like so this is a fun part. So like 2017, I I think NASCAR had a series up in Canada called the NASCAR Canada series.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Um, where like wow, yeah, incredible, right?

SPEAKER_00 20:30

Um that's where they wanted me to start at because like apparently there's this approval process to where you kind of go through like the smaller tracks and then you kind of work your way up to where you race set um bigger tracks. And for the NASCAR Canada series, they're all across the country of Canada, you know, that I would have the opportunity to race that. So that's kind of where they wanted me to start first. And you know, it's an incredible experience uh when you get to race like you know, outside your own country and you get to see what other racing there is around the world. Yeah, kind of the full experience of it. Like I can remember at times where um, you know, where they do the pre-race ceremonies, and of course they'll do the Canadian national anthem first with all the Canadian drivers. Yeah, but like knowing that they did the US national anthem, that because like there was an American in the field though, like that was kind of like that moment of oh man, like these fans, these drivers, this series, like they're really friendly, you know, to you know, people that come to Canada and race and all that. So that that's one thing I could remember. But I think so. The first race I would have ran there, it was a track in Delaware Speedway, which is right around Ontario and stuff, or at least right near Ontario.

SPEAKER_04 21:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:47

Um something like that.

SPEAKER_04 21:49

I think they very rare they raced there in the Cup Series, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:54

No, no, no, not in the Cup series. No, not a lot of Canadian tracks on a schedule. No, it's familiar hmm anywho go ahead yeah um so like i think when i first ran my first race there i'm kind of thinking like man you know like out now i'm a professional i'm i'm racing against like the best canadian drivers in the world i mean like you know heck good seeing like dj kennington in the field who's come to america to run NASCAR and then even uh Alex Tagliani who I've heard about a lot because he was a former any car driver a former any car any any 500 uh pull center stuff so these are who I'm racing against and so like man this is you're like whoa yeah I mean like this is surreal this is insane and all that and you know and I wanted to do everything I could to make sure I run well and you know not not be part of the story in like a negative way but just run like a clean race and you know just learn a lot while I'm there and so um I think I may have ran like several races in that series but it was such a incredible experience you know and I had a lot of fun and that series kind of was the first step in teaching me how to be a professional track the things you have to do to conduct yourself like on the track you know during race weekend the things you have to do like off the track and stuff like there was a lot that I had to learn and that kind of just started to carry forward when I came back to the US and continue racing at the NASCAR level. Wow so after you came back from Canada did you did you then race in the then Xfinity series is that kind of how you got into there well well not yet though like there's other series I had to go through before I got to the NASA lead us through lead us on this journey Armani tell us how you got there I'm I'm curious to know sure yeah so I come back to America in 2018 and I run um several races in the ARCA West and Arca East series you know whatever tracks they consist on those schedules I kind of ran some races in both of those series that kind of went along from 2018 to 2019 where I raced at uh tracks like Methodist Methodist International Speedway which actually like uh you know that track's no longer around anymore I actually thought that was a really nice facility and awesome track and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 24:22

Did you know that Milwaukee used to have one Milwaukee yeah I know about the Milwaukee ones I think they still do every now and then race some circuit there but I lived there for a little bit and I got to see it.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

I was like well this looks like a cool track yeah definitely I didn't get a chance to race there as well and then I ran some races in Aka West um particularly a track in like uh Ernstale Speedway which I don't think that track's no longer around anymore and that was kind of a unique track as well and then uh New Hampshire that the Aka East had on their schedule stuff um and then in 2020 which uh you know that was during the COVID year but I got to year the world shut down so I mean there was still some racing going on that year. So I moved up to the Aka Minar Pro Series and kind of ran like I think a couple starts there in uh where I ran Phoenix in Michigan later on the year which I mean the Michigan one was kind of memorable because it was the first time I got to race set hometown track. Michigan International Speedway is about half an hour away from where I'm from so that was kind of a cool moment for me and my family and everybody involved that made that happen.

SPEAKER_04 25:39

But that was extra special huh?

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Yeah definitely I just kind of wish though that like there would have there would have been at least fans there to attend to it because like people wanted to make it like the story of me racing at Michigan for the first time. So that would have been even more special.

SPEAKER_04 25:56

Yeah man I just unfortunately had to be the time when the world was not out in the open right yeah some things are just bad timing you want them to be well but sometimes you know they just don't time up well you know so that's just life and it is what it is.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

But then after going through that experience uh come 2021 that's where I made the move up to the NASCAR truck series where I made my debut at uh Gateway International Speedway. I know it's called Worldwide Technology Raceway, but you know just the hardcore race fan in me just knows it as uh you know gateway and stuff. So I always keep calling it gateway and stuff. Um and then I ended up running more truck races you know from 2021 to about 2023 and stuff. And that's when I made the move up to the NAS Parks Finity series which you know now it's the O'Reilly Alapart series where I made a couple starts there at New Hampshire and Homestead near the end of the year. And so that's kind of where things have stand right now.

SPEAKER_02 27:04

Nice that's quite a journey for sure. Do you have a favorite track favorite track?

SPEAKER_00 27:13

I think I would say it would have to be Michigan International Speedway. You know like yeah that track is a it's a two mile oval that's wide and very fast. You can run 200 miles per hour there and you can run all over the racetrack. So I mean that that that racetrack is just so well done and it's like you know I think it's just a driver stream that not only you can go fast but you know it's not like one lane and stuff where everybody runs the same like you can run everywhere around the racetrack it's that wide enough. So I kind of enjoy racing that at that track uh more than any other tracks that I've raced on.

SPEAKER_02 27:52

Nice awesome um have you had fans able to see you race there now that it's I guess it's post-COVID?

SPEAKER_00 28:03

Uh yes they have you know like both like in the grandstands and even on TV you know I have some like family friends that you know when when I tell them I'm gonna race at this particular event at this time, they'll be sure to watch it on TV and stuff. And you know even at the racetrack too there'll even be some families particularly parents who bring like you know their child who's autistic to come to race check just to kind of experience what a a race day weekend is like and of course want to see me race. So you know like uh there's definitely you know people cheering me on on like you know both you know in person and you know even on TV that's for sure.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

That is so awesome I'm gonna have to show my son he has like every car that there is to to have so he definitely loves cars I'm gonna have to to show him some stuff and Amy I left for a second a bad day it's super windy out here but uh so what did I miss?

SPEAKER_00 29:10

You're talking about uh you got into the truck series right yeah the truck series so I think I left out saying like before you got before you froze there so like where I made my debut in the truck series was at uh gateway uh motorsports park now I know it's called Worldwide Technology Raceway but just the hardcore race fan in me just knows it as Gateway you know so that's where the gateway first started then I ran like several other races in the truck series uh like up until 2023 and that's when I made the move to go up to the NASCAR Xfinity series which you know now it's the O'Reilly out of parts series where I made a couple starts there in 2024 at New Hampshire and then Homestead near the end of the year. And that's kind of where things stand right now.

SPEAKER_02 30:01

So nice wow that is so cool and what drivers did you look up to growing up or still look up to today yeah so I mean there's about a few drivers that I looked up to.

SPEAKER_00 30:17

So when I was a child my favorite driver was always Jimmy Johnson. I remember like him driving that 48 with that low sponsorship on the car. And you know I just like the way he carried himself like as a driver like he he could wheel pretty much any car. Like you know he was just that good and that skillful but I just liked this kind of cool demeanor about him. Like you know he just seemed like a cool classy person. So you know you talk about like a great driver on the track but I think even a greater person off the track you know he just had that cool vibe about him. And I almost try to like you know emulate a lot of what he has into my own racing and stuff. And then you know just you know seeing what other drivers you know particularly people like me you know pay the way in racing you know I've learned about a a driver named Wendell Scott and this is like way back then you know where like he was the first African American driver to win an Ascar Cup race in 1963 and all that. And you know just seeing everything he had to go through in those times and you know him winning a race which was in Jacksonville, Florida, you know, that kind of started like the possibility that hey you know people like me who are African American can be successful in NASCAR and can win at the highest level. So those are like just two drivers that I kind of find some inspiration for and you know that's why I'm racing today.

SPEAKER_02 31:46

That's pretty awesome. You're so amazing like it's like Amy dropped off again but we'll move over to some autism topics.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Do you know how old you were when you were diagnosed with autism yeah so this is something I asked my parents about so from what from my parents they said I was diagnosed with autism at two years old which was a very very young age you know mean that I'm 26 years old I don't quite exactly remember what I was doing at the two years old but that's when I would have been diagnosed with autism because I mean like my parents from what they were telling me at the time they could see certain things that I was doing that didn't seem normal to them or they thought that you know something was wrong. And I think more than anything they were just trying to you know make sure you know their their kid was all right you know that you know nothing bad happened to him. So I think they went to go see you know somebody see a doctor or somebody who can you know diagnose me run a couple tests and that's when you know the the doctor figured out that you know I was diagnosed with autism. And my parents kind of found the answer that they needed. Now of course this was during a time where you know autism I mean at the time it was prevalent but not as uh prevalent as it was back then. I think it was like something like one out of every 100 or 115 kids were diagnosed with autism.

SPEAKER_01 33:21

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:21

And there weren't a whole lot of resources for autism uh back then and all that. So I guess like mainly you know my parents more than likely were just trying to look for every help, every resource they can to help better support me in what life was going to be me moving forward now that I had autism. But so far we've like handled it pretty well since I've been diagnosed with autism.

SPEAKER_02 33:46

Yeah pretty much the same journey with my son around like two years old is when everything started to change and we started seeing things.

SPEAKER_00 33:56

So I can definitely relate when it comes to that did you have any challenges that you faced during childhood or in school yeah so I think it was mainly communication and social interaction and you know I know a lot I'm pretty sure a lot of kids were back then but like I was always that one kid that no matter what, I wanted to try and make as many friends as possible. And you know in the schools that I was in I was dealing with basically normal kids you know kids that didn't really have autism and all that. You know I think like mainly I wanted my parents thought this would be good to kind of like help me get used to you know how to you know um communicate and social interact with you know kids that were normal. And I think for whatever reason there was this there was always this disconnect where I was I wasn't quite sure what was going on. Like did these kids just see me as weird or was it something that I said or like you know there was so many things wrapping around my head that I just couldn't figure out because it wasn't very easy for me like I thought it was. And so you know I mean as you can imagine like at that time I didn't even know that I had autism that I didn't even know at that so I think it was um right around the time I was in middle school where my parents that I was old enough and mature enough to be able to understand to where they told me that I had autism. And so when they told me that that's when everything kind of clicked for me I I kind of replaying all the experience that I had through school through my childhood like everything kind of made sense now. And it made me feel a lot better because now like it gave me something that I could work with. I could try and like research and learn more about autism myself and understand the challenges and figure out how to overcome but I would say beginning beginning through school it was definitely communication and social interaction back then.

SPEAKER_02 36:01

Yeah those are like the struggles that my son has he'll be six in September and I almost I don't I don't think he quite knows that he has autism and I like I kind of wonder like has because you brought it up that like what age would would be the best age for me to tell him that for him to actually understand why people react certain ways because he can be very awkward when it comes to like playing and socializing with other kids and everything. And I just know right now he doesn't quite understand it but maybe maybe in a few years he will yeah some things just take time like you gotta kind of like let kids grow up a little bit you know to where like you know the brain they're able to process things and be able to understand certain things more.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

You know and so you you know it's just a lot of it kind of depends on like you know a lot of it depends on like you know what child you're dealing with you know and whether or not you you can feel or see that like hey you know if I'm able to tell certain things that you know he or she is not going to get like caught off guard by it. Like they'll be able to you know know exactly what you're trying to convey to them. So some of that takes time you know so that's kind of what happened with me.

SPEAKER_04 37:27

So okay um well this kind of okay so the this question I have for you I also am curious because my son is eight he's nonverbal well he's starting to communicate but he likes you obsessed with cars I mean I constantly like he's stimming and he's racing all the time he loves his lightning McQueen did you like lightning McQueen growing up? Oh yes I remember that cars movie from back then that's one of my childhood favorite movies so I definitely had one two and three just always over and over and over again and he just loves it and he recreates you know reenacts like the cars racing and we took him to NASCAR for the first time this year and he got to hear all the noises and you know all the excitement and he um is part of this event because on top of autism he's also a leukemia cancer survivor and there's a um organization called the Driven Project and they do like supercar therapy and so we went to an event we'll be doing twice a year but we hit 138 miles per hour on the the track a small track that we have out here and he loves it um and I feel like I feel like he could you know you're someone definitely he could look up to on maybe if he wants to be either a driver or somewhere working in that field how do you feel racing has helped you you know not only with being on the spectrum but just in life and both yeah I think when it comes to a lot of people with autism I don't know if a lot of people know this but we have this unique ability to be laser light focused on anything that we set our minds to like whatever catches our interest it's like well we're we're just sewn in locked in on that one thing learning everything about it.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

Yeah. So I think it's just more so like just the ability to be focused and just blocking everything out. And I think it's kind of helped me with racing especially at the speeds that we're going with inside those cars it's like you you you have to keep an eye out for everything, you know, like you know don't think about anything else and just kind of focus on the trap of hand and what you need to do behind the wheel. You know, focus on like you know if you're trying to if you're closing on a car and you're about to make a pass like you try to you know think in your head strategic wise how am I going to give back this uh car um you know it just you you kind of think of all the objectives throughout the race in terms of like what you need to do and stuff to get to the finish. And I would say like as far as a communication and social interaction it does help when you have something in common with everybody else you know and I know that's kind of a normal thing for everyone but particularly with autism is that you're able to kind of like build those connections build those relationships and make a lot of friends with people who kind of share the same interests that you do. And it's kind of helped me a lot you know especially like in the when I'm at the racetrack and all that because I know everybody's into racing everybody talks about racing all the time so we we can then have we can talk about things racing like all day long you know and uh you know just kind of having those back and forth conversations. And I would say at least off the track though I mean the the whole focus part though like never leaves too you know like I always have like a basic structure and routine that I go through from like morning to afternoon and night. And I always have them inside my head too of like what do I need like what I have to do yeah what do I have to do where do I have to go and you know things of that nature. So it's like you know I think it's more of like just a mental state that comes with autism and that you're just always so laser focused on anything that you do it like so that's kind of the same for me whether it be on the racetrack and off the racetrack.

SPEAKER_04 41:44

Right. And it's like you kind of have you know I feel like you know how they say autism some people say it's a superpower in your sense you kind of do have a little extra of a superpower being behind the wheel with that. But do you on the flip side do you feel like you face different challenges other than the other drivers that are you know are not on the autism spectrum?

SPEAKER_00 42:10

I I don't necessarily think so. I think like every driver out there deals with challenges of um of some sorts. I guess it depends on you know like uh what what really you struggle the most um and especially for someone like me who's autistic like it's no different you know I mean I think mainly like what I kind of struggle with a little bit like early on though was like just uh how much sensory overload that I have how many like you know there's so many people and there's so many like different moving objects going on that like something were to happen like how do I respond?

SPEAKER_04 42:48

How do I act you know to make sure I keep myself in control and all that because there's so many things going on you know you're trying to process everything all at the same time within split second but you know right I just think of like you know you have the spotter talking to you of your crew chief talking to you and just how that could be you know for someone on the spectrum if you know a while to get used to that sensory overload like you said.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

Yeah you know and you got to put yourself in situations that you may not be uncomfortable with first until you start to get comfortable with it. And you know as long as you put yourself in the same environment over and over again eventually you get used to it and it doesn't become an issue issue to you like you know mentally and stuff. So I've been able to overcome that and now it's not so much so much of a challenge for me anymore. But I know like at least like studying the racing world like those that was like one thing I know that I had to uh overcome for sure.

SPEAKER_04 43:49

With practice right and just that getting used to it.

SPEAKER_00 43:53

Absolutely just like anything else right yeah I mean you know more you practice the better you're gonna get you know that's

SPEAKER_04 44:00

I mean it's just like it might be a little harder for you, you know, may take a little bit longer for someone on the spectrum.

SPEAKER_00 44:06

Yeah, true. You know, it takes time, but you know, eventually you can make it through as long as you do, you know, all the right things and you do what you needed to.

SPEAKER_04 44:14

Yeah. I had a question, uh, one more thing about NASCAR. So I saw on um, I think one of your pictures, you one of your suits, you were sponsored by Visit Mesa from here in Arizona.

SPEAKER_00 44:31

Yes, definitely. That that was one of my sponsors that I've had for a few years now.

SPEAKER_04 44:36

Um, you know, they're one of yeah, they're the so as you know, Mesa here in Arizona is is the first certified autistic city. And I talked to some people over there um about trying to team up with them on some stuff. It's just hard because I live so far from Mesa, but that's so cool. How did that reach out to you? Did you reach out to them? How did that relationship come about?

SPEAKER_00 45:03

Well, it was more of a collaborative with not only just me, but like, you know, a team I was working with at the time. And I think we were just like trying to look for, you know, any companies or any organizations that were related to autism. And this is Mesa was one of the ones that came up. And you know, it's so amazing of what they've done. You know, they've kind of made the city, you know, more autism friendly, you know, it and I've got to visit uh town of Mesa a few times. It's a really nice, like low-key town, but a lot of fun activities, a lot of cool places to check out. And I've got a chance to meet the you know, a few people that are involved with um visit mesa, like uh Mark Garcia, who's like the CEO of Preston Visa Mesa, and then uh Austin Brooks, who like, you know, that's kind of where we first uh met and kind of started this whole partnership. And I've been able to at least do some things with them where I've been like a part of panel discussions with them. We even had them as a sponsor on my truck when I ran at Phoenix in 2022. So they're an amazing organization that are all uh you know the city as possible, you know, and it's a great thing of what they've done.

SPEAKER_04 46:18

A city from Arizona uh has you know made such a big impact. And may hey, if you've ever come back and visit Mesa, holler at us. We'd love to come see you if you're speaking or wherever, you know. Uh yeah, they're doing wonderful things. Anywho, I saw that this morning and now I was like, I gotta remember to ask him about that. That's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 46:42

That's amazing.

SPEAKER_04 46:46

We got some Arizona connection, huh? So why have have you how many times have you raced at, and I always want to say PIR because I'm old school, it's Phoenix Raceway, not Phoenix International Raceway. So how how many times have you raced at uh Phoenix Raceway?

SPEAKER_00 47:02

So I think I've only raced there about a couple times. So like ARCA, like Arca would have been the first time I've ran at Phoenix and you know, 2020, but this was like before the closed then, you know, because everything was normal at that point. Um and then you know, the truck series, which um that one they had Phoenix host like the final race of the season for like all star uh levels. And so that's when I would have made my second star. And that's when we had the Fizz and Mesa uh partnership there. So you know in 2022.

SPEAKER_04 47:39

Yeah. In 2022, did they I can't remember? No, I think they did the they remodeled, like they restructured it, they re-uh banked it and everything. I'm trying to remember what year that was.

SPEAKER_00 47:51

So that would have been so that would have been 2011, I think. So that was when they like you know, kind of reconfigured the entire track to where now you have like payment, you know, outside the track, and we call it a dog link. And many drivers like short short shortcut to dog leg just to try and make up time and to try to make yeah, you know. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:15

I know I try to explain the dog leg to people that don't watch NASCAR and they're like, What? I you did a great job of explaining it kind of because I can't. Did you uh race there? Like, did your races were they at because Phoenix Race where we used to have night races in some circuits? Uh was it a night race, day race? Did you do both? Tell me a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

Both of them were, I think both of them were night races. I know the arc one to the extent, I think like it was kind of like one of those transitions from day to night, you know, to where where like we start the race and the sun's setting. And this is of course for all drivers, right? Like the sun kind of peaks over like on top of the grandstands. And so when you hit like and it hits you, right? And it's like, you know, you can do all you can to try and block the sun from obscuring your fishing, but that was always the worst part of the beginning of the race. Yes, and then you know, once it completely set down, it was all better. But I know, like for that ARCA race, it was kind of that transition from day to night. And so technically I ran like both night races and uh that's so cool.

SPEAKER_04 49:21

I miss the night races, but I think I was trying to explain to my husband, I think that's why they don't do them anymore because that evening it hits. I mean, MJ, I'm sure you know driving down some of our freeways. If we're going west and it's at a certain time of day, it's like blinding.

SPEAKER_02 49:37

It's brutal. You can't brutal, you can't even see the lights.

SPEAKER_04 49:41

Like, yeah, yeah, but it gets so hot in Arizona that I'm like the nighttime, it would be cooler because even in March and November, it's still hot, you know, especially inside those cars, huh?

SPEAKER_00 49:56

I will say, at least, like it's good that we run it at night because of like how hot we are inside those race cars. If we had to like run them like during a day, it would have been absolutely brutal. It would have it would have felt like uh Miami, Florida heat to an extent. So I'm kind of happy that we ended up made these two things.

SPEAKER_04 50:15

So uh all right. I I I might have more NASCAR questions. Who knows? I may come up later. My mom, I if you couldn't tell, huge NASCAR fan, so I'm so proud of you. And my dad says hello because he's like he know he's seen you race a few times, uh, and he's just like, what? So my dad says hello. His name's Doug. If you could give him a shout out.

SPEAKER_00 50:43

Hello, Doug.

SPEAKER_04 50:46

He he's the reason why I'm huge, you know, big into NASCAR. And my husband is huge into NASCAR, and so it's only natural that our son is as well and loves racing. And uh, we're excited to continue to watch your racing future um come to life, but we'll we'll go back to the other questions.

SPEAKER_02 51:09

Go ahead, MJ. All right, next we'll talk about your speaking engagements and events, your motivational speaking. You're very active in the community, especially when it comes to the autism awareness and acceptance. Uh, can you tell us about some of the events or speaking opportunities you've been a part of?

SPEAKER_00 51:30

Yes, absolutely. So I've been a part of like quite a bit of um speaking engagements. And I would I would say, like, even before I started doing all that, you know, I kind of had in my mind, you know, through high school that like eventually in the future, while I'm making a career in racing, that I was gonna have to do like some speaking events and all that. And so fortunately, my high school had a uh speech class, though, which wasn't really required for me, but I just felt in my mind that, you know what, this would be good to for me to like learn how to talk in front of an audience. So I took that class, kind of learned the basics about speech, and it kind of transitioned, it kind of made the transition easier for me when I started actually doing speaking engagements. So, I mean, as far as speaking engagements concerned, like, you know, like I mentioned before, I've done I've done speaking engagements that consist of uh, you know, organ organizations, companies, and um, you know, even schools. Like, particularly when it comes to schools, I know like I've done some speaking engagements, particularly in elementary school, because there's like you know, a lot of big support to try and like help kids who are diagnosed with autism to try and give like a support system for them so that they can kind of help get through like the starting point you know of school and all that. So, you know, there were, I would say there were like probably I spoke at elementary school in Troy, Michigan. And then I do remember recently, like earlier this year in January, I got a chance to go to California and speak at um a couple of schools. One was uh called the Hillcrest Elementary School that was in San Francisco, um, California, and all that, where I spoke to fourth and fifth graders and kind of like the same thing. I just kind of shared my story about you know racing and autism. And they even had kids who are also on the autism spectrum. So they wanted to kind of bring them along in the classroom just so they can hear me speak. And uh I'll tell you what, like those those kids were absolutely excited and ecstatic. And you know, they they've never even seen me, they've never even met me before, but yet like they were like into it. So I think just having the opportunity to speak to kids to try and help like uplift them to some degree, you know, are always a great part. Um and then I will say, like, as far as some other organizations, I know I spoke at I think uh a GM building, because apparently they had this uh GM GM Maple program. And I got a chance to speak with a lot of the employees at GM who probably have like a child who also has autism or have some connection to the person who has autism. And they invited me to come speak with them, you know, and same thing, kind of share my story about autism. And then um, interestingly enough, um also like earlier this year in January, along with like, you know, visiting a school, and then I forgot to mention there was even another school called the Burkhard Um School, which was kind of like for kids that were where I spoke with that were like you know, seven to eighth graders, something like that. And these were you know students with disabilities, you know, uh including one kid. So I got to speak with like the seven or eighth graders there. So around that same trip, I got an opportunity to meet uh Condoleez-Rex um for like a one-on-one conversation. She was uh, if you guys remember, she used to be the former US uh secretary of state working under the George W. administration. And so, you know, it's not very often you meet to meet figures like her. And so that was kind of an excellent opportunity. And I would say, as far as celebrities are concerned, that's one of the few I've been able to talk to and meet. Um, and then let's see. I know I went to go speak at a lunch event down in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, because there was this foundation called the ABC of North Carolina, who are also an autism organization, and they got uh amazing facility to where, like, you know, they've created like these room of spaces to where they help like kids with autism kind of like learn how to do certain tasks of things that you would see in everyday life, like a grocery store or dentist's office, or you know, that's important. So they kind of help you, they kind of help teach the kids like know how to go through these certain things in order to help them be able to like know that like they're able to do things independently on their own and stuff. And so, you know, they wanted me to come speak at one of their lunch events that weekend, and there might have been like over a hundred people there that I was speaking to, and that's probably been the biggest crowd I've spoken to.

SPEAKER_04 56:21

So I was just gonna say, is that your biggest crowd? Wow.

SPEAKER_00 56:25

So um, you know, and everything, and so like all these speaking engagement I've done, there's not necessarily a lot of differences there, you know. I think these are more so like every people from all around America, they're just wanting to get to know me better, know more about my story, know about my journey with autism, because that's kind of been the main focus, you know, because there's a lot of people that want to help support people with autism, you know, and they're trying to look for people that have been able to overcome and you know, be able to rise up to the challenges that come with autism, and you know, knowing and they want to know, like, you know, how they're able to get through it on their own, you know. So it's the autism piece, but also about the racing part because they think that's cool and all that. And so um, you know, that that's kind of what I mostly do with these speaking engagements.

SPEAKER_04 57:18

Nice. Wow, you've done a lot. That's incredible. And do you feel like you uh what brings you most joy is talking to the kiddos?

SPEAKER_00 57:30

Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, because I mean, I can kind of like see through them because I kind of experience through the same thing, you know, with being autistic and just kind of find my own way of life. And and thankfully, like the schools, you know, they're recognizing how prevalent autism is and they're willing to help support, you know, the kids who are, you know, that are impacted by autism to try and help better support them, you know, as they go through education and stuff. So I mean, I think just speaking to the kids and just you know, helping to give them some positive, excuse me, some uh positivity of hope is um real really what I enjoy most about him. You know, because I mean, you know, a lot of these kids, you know, they're they're looking for role models that they can look up.

SPEAKER_04 58:16

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 58:17

So um enjoy this type of environment.

SPEAKER_04 58:21

So well, thank you, because you are leading, you know, you're leading the way for the next generation to not only just, you know, and it's not just about racing, it's about you achieving your your goals and your dreams and you know, over like you said, overcoming some challenges, extra challenges that you may face being on the spectrum. And you know, it's incredible. Um what what does it mean to you to be able to connect with so many people, young, younger kids and adults, uh, through your platform?

SPEAKER_00 58:56

Um I mean, I would say like it's definitely like um it's definitely very surreal, you know, just seeing how many people have been impacted by it and like how much they look to me for advice or just, you know, they're just trying to, you know, find find find their own way of life and you know, find, you know, what they want to be as a person. You know, I think what kind of what kind of makes me feel like that I'm making an impact to, you know, people with autism is that like, you know, when they hear about my story, like through anything I put out there on like social media, whether it be racing or things I'm doing in the community, and just saying, like, you know, hey, how much we, how much I needed this for like my child with autism, or like how much you inspire me and things of that nature. Like when I hear all that, I I know I'm doing my part, you know, and helping to get back to the autism community, you know, and kind of be that, you know, like positive light at the end of the tunnel for them.

SPEAKER_02 59:59

Have you always felt comfortable on camera? I still get used to it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:06

Yeah, well, actually, I I know like when I was a very, very young kid though, like I would say I didn't like looking at the camera as much. Like, I would try to do anything to kind of like hide my eyes from the camera, whether it be like having sunglasses on or like you know, kind of like closing my eyes while I'm smiling and stuff like that. So in the beginning, I did not like the camera whatsoever. But over the years I've kind of gotten used to it, and now I'm I'm not as spotted by it anymore.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:34

Right. You know, and it's hard, you know, uh for individuals on the spectrum for the eye contact, that's always a thing that's struck, you know, is a struggle. I sometimes have a hard time with it. Uh is that something you feel like it took practice getting used to? Or is it probably easier on camera, though, more so than in person, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:54

Yeah, and I think like, you know, eventually I got comfortable with comfortable with it eventually, you know, just learning like, you know, the basics of eye contact, you know, like knowing when to look at a certain thing. And I think, you know, even when I was um doing a speech class, that kind of helped me learn more how to like, you know, work with the camera, making sure, like, you know, when I'm about to talk, like make sure I know exactly what where I'm supposed to be talking to and stuff. So like I think it kind of gradually kind of helped me the more I did these speaking engagements.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:28

Yeah, I bet that speech class was so helpful for so many fundamentals for your future, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:35

Yeah, absolutely. You know, and for anybody, you know, who thinks they're gonna be doing public speaking in the future, you know, like that that's one way to you know learn how to do it, you know. And don't be afraid of like, you know, taking it head on, you know, because there's so many things you can learn. And I promise you, you know, things will be a lot more easier for you than that. And like, look, even to this day, like sometimes I'll get nervous a little bit before I go to speak in front of an audience. I mean, who doesn't, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:01

But yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:03

But the entire process and the transition will be, you know, at least easier than harder, you know, if you take a speech class and stuff.

unknown 1:02:13

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:14

I think I took one in ninth grade. I didn't like it.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:18

I don't think anybody did, but you know, I hey, you know, just you guys.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:22

Right there, but I think I might have actually liked it.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:28

To each their own, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:34

All right. Um, one more question for you. Um, through all of your experiences as of like speaking engagements, traveling, and doing all kinds of um different events where you got to use your platform. Do you have one that comes to mind that was just the most meaningful and heartwarming um that you like treasure and will never forget?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:59

Uh yeah, that I would say like the one thing that was heartwarming for me that I could treasure. Um, one of the parents uh contacted me through social media and stuff. And she talked about the fact that she had planned this uh big birthday party for you know her little boy who was also autistic, and how you know they were desperately trying to invite you know kids his age to come to his birthday party. And you know, the sad thing about it is that you know nobody came to show up for his birthday party. And so she suggested that why don't I do like a video call with him and just kind of like talk with him, you know, and just you know have a conversation with them. So I ended up doing it, and you know, he's an amazing young man, you know, like definitely, you know, a very, you know, very, very kind kid, you know, who really is just trying to, you know, enjoy life of his own with everything that he's dealing with, you know. And so um that made him feel better, it made you know her parents uh feel a lot better, made her entire family feel better, you know, that you know, at least somebody was uh there for them to, you know, try and you know wish him a happy birthday and just you know develop a relationship with the kid. So that was the most heartwarming thing for me was uh being able to do that for the kid and the parent and you know his family. So uh it's something I'll remember for wow, that's so special.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:30

Yeah, for sure. Wow. It's so hard for our kiddos, you know, uh birthday parties, things like that, that's it's so hard. So yeah, definitely follow nature's day. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

And if you could give encouragement to others on the spectrum, what would you want them to hear?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:51

I would just uh let them know is that don't let autism bring you down for what you want to achieve in life, for what you have a love and passion about uh doing in life and contributing that in this world that we all share. That whatever it is that you have a love and passion for, if that is a dream of something that you want to grow up to be, or a dream of something that you want to do, go for it. You know, and like I mentioned before, as long as you continue to believe in yourself and you stay encouraged no matter what, because like as you go through the journey of trying to make your dream come true, you know you're gonna always have your ups and downs. But it's a matter of how you respond to adversity. And as long as you continue to work hard at whatever, what whatever you need to do necessary to help achieve your dream, that as long as you do all those things, as long as you have a great support system around you, of people who believe in wanting to make your dream come true, who believe in wanting to do everything possible to help you achieve what you want to achieve, then all things are possible with autism. So, you know, don't let Anybody tell you like, you know, you know, like people with autism, like don't let anybody tell tell you that like, you know, the possibilities are not endless for autism. There are. So it's just gotta be able to find out like what exactly you want to do. And you know, great scat dreams can come true. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:21

So true. Well said. Yeah. And speaking of supporters, uh let's tell us a little bit about your biggest supporters behind you. Family, friends, feel free to share. Um, you know, give them shout-outs and tell us a little bit about how some important people in your life has helped you.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:43

Yeah, I would say it would mainly be my family, particularly my mom and dad. Uh what's up, mom and dad? Um, they're the ones who have kind of known me from birth. They've always understood that everything I was going through. And so I knew I could always uh like go to them whenever I needed help or I had trouble with anything, that they were willing to, you know, have my back and help me out every way they can. You know, they've kind of been the biggest support system in my life, you know, no matter what I was going to do in life, you know, they were always gonna be there for me and helping me in every way they can to, you know, make sure life was easier for me, you know, and um that's just what you need to have in life. It's just uh supportive people, and especially you know, from your parents and family, because like, you know, they're the most important ones in your life who really know you the best more than anybody. And so, you know, like I just can't thank them enough for everything they've done. And uh, you know, I you know, just uh I'll always like carry that love and connection for them, you know, and like just to try and like make it last for as long as possible.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:52

Yeah, I bet they are so proud of you. I get tear, I'm like getting tear. I think as a mom, just like I can't imagine how proud they are of you to you know not only achieve your green dreams of racing, but to be so well spoken and be such a great motivator for you know others. For sure. Yes, yes. Oh all right. Um, let's see. And with your family um and friends, what are some things that like you like to do for fun with them when you're not racing?

SPEAKER_00 1:08:31

Yeah, so I think like one of the things I love to do with my family, like I think obviously like we like to go on family vacations, kind of go out somewhere for fun, you know, like in warm weather, maybe at a pool or a beach and just do some fun excursion um activities. Um my mom, I like to, you know, go to the movie theaters and watch uh movies with her, you know, even have uh little siblings that like sometimes we'll get a we'll have a little family get together and like play a board game or something like that. And so we do together.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:07

Yeah. Do you do you guys live close to um Lake Erie or like Michigan at all?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:14

No, no, not that far. No, we're kind of like we're kind of right around like Lake Superior and stuff.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:20

Lake Superior, okay. Okay. What board games do you like to play?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:25

Um, I like to play games like um I think sorry would be one of them. Um, I know that's a fun one. I think I remember we used to play like uh Monopoly a lot for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:39

Yes. I always love playing sorry with my brother. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:45

Yeah, that in trouble.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:47

But you're not sorry.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:52

Oh, that sounds wonderful. Sounds like you got a good, fun family, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:57

Yeah, definitely. Like family is like very, very important to me, you know, and I try to spend time with them as much as possible.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:04

Are you an only child?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:07

Well, at least in my early childhood, like I used to be up until I was 11 when I started having um you know two brothers and a sister.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:17

So wow, usually you're an only child for a while.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:24

At least a decade, you know.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:26

Yeah. Are any of your other siblings on the spectrum too, or just you know, no, just me.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:32

None of my other siblings are on the spectrum, they're pretty normal. But like, you know, kind of like my parents, like, you know, the more we got to, you know, know each other as siblings, you know, like the better we understood each other. And so, like, everybody in our family knows what we're all going through and stuff. And so that's that's the most important thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:50

So that's right. With everyone, you know, whether you're on the spectrum or not, it's we're all a little, we're all different.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:57

Absolutely. Yeah, everybody's different in their own unique way.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:01

Exactly. Exactly. All right. Well, we're we're just gonna ask a few more questions before we wrap up. We're almost done.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:13

All right.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:14

All right, okay, go right ahead.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:16

What are some changes you would like to see happen in the autism community?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:21

Yeah, that's a good question. I've kind of thought about it uh a lot as the years go by. I think like right now, I mean, although I I do like seeing that there's certain resources and support system going around with like schools where you have IEPs, there's uh disability support uh services, you know, to help better accommodate people all disabilities, but particularly with autism, to where they have a chance to succeed in completing their education. Um I will say though, like I wish there was that same sort of resource and support system, particularly in the workplace, especially when like people with autism, you know, they're going out trying to get like, you know, real life jobs to make a living for themselves. Sometimes I wish like we could find ways to, you know, help better support people with autism, you know, because I mean, in every workplace, you're gonna deal with people who have like different personalities, different skill sets, but the personality uh for say, you know, knowing how to deal with like people with autism and like what can you provide to them so that they can better succeed in the workplace so that they can do their jobs the best of their ability. And so sometimes I wish like there was more work in the workplaces to kind of help better support people with autism and make sure they're uh they're employed so that they can make a living for themselves.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:39

So exactly it's a con yeah, I'll say that's a common thing we've been hearing. We've kind of asked every uh we've been asking every guest this month these same questions because you know, uh, we're having all individuals on the spectrum this month, and it's you know, we want to hear from you guys what uh what you are seeing and what you're feeling, and that's a common one is the workforce. And you know, it's come a long way, but it's still got a lot, long ways to go, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:07

Yeah, absolutely. Like there's always more work to be done.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:12

Speaking of, okay, so I just had another NASCAR uh question. So being in that world, um, how do you feel? Like, do you feel like there uh there's been a lot of acceptance and welcoming and understanding? Or like uh do you feel like you've taught them so much about uh being aware about um individuals on the spectrum? Tell me a little bit about that experience.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:39

Yeah, so I think like in the world I I'm in with NASCAR, they've uh they've made a conscious effort in making their sport as inclusive as possible, whether it's with the fan base or whether that's people that work in the NASCAR industry, whether it be business people, you know, crew members, you know, and then especially even drivers, you know, like we've seen like uh some some of that inclusion kind of increase over the years. And so like I think it wasn't really much of a problem for me though. I mean, I think for you know, NASCAR, I mean, they've done some certain things to try to recognize, you know, autism awareness and autism. I know like when they were run at Dover Delaware, they used to have this race called the Autism Speaks 400, you know. And it was just more so just to try and recognize that, like, you know, hey, you know, it's autism awareness month, so you know, let's celebrate, you know, people who've been impacted by autism. So I'm I'm sure they already knew that, but I think even more recently they're trying to, you know, include everybody in the NASCAR industry as possible, you know, whatever you know, role you have in NASCAR. And so that's kind of made it a lot more easier for me to try and get into sport, not only as an African-American, but even someone with autism and allow me the opportunity to be able to approve what I can do behind the wheel as a race car driver, you know, and see, like, you know, hey, you know, you're making ways and leading, you know, it's in all kinds of different aspects. Right. You always want to make aware of it.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:13

With that, have you met Bubba Wallace?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:16

No, I've never met Bubba Wallace before, but hopefully I do something, you know, when I get to the Netflix Cup series one day for sure.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:24

Yeah. Well, you'll get there, right? I have good faith. Um, with that, yeah. So, what are some goals and dreams that you have for your future?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:38

Yeah, so I think my uh goal really is to um, you know, I think hopefully one day be a full-time race car driver somewhere in the near future. And I think the ultimate goal would be to try and get up to the NASCAR Cup Series. I've already gone as far as the NASCAR Riley Auto Parts series. So the ultimate goal is to try and get to the NASCAR Cup Series and try to stay, you know, stay in NASCAR as a driver for as long as possible, make a career out of it, because that's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. But I mean, as far as what I want to do in the future, I want to be able to try and be do more of my advocacy work for autism, you know, and just continue to doing uh more and more speaking engagements, more and more outreach, uh, you know, as it relates to autism.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:26

Yeah, that's great. Yeah, I can just see you now, you know, continuing just to do more and uh touch the lives of so many other people. And you know, if we hear of anything that people are looking for guest speakers, you know, whether it's virtually in person, we'll keep you in mind.

unknown 1:16:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:46

All right, sounds good.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:48

Well, I know that just made me think of something. I wonder. So uh out here in Arizona, we have Phoenix Children's Hospital, and my son was a patient there with his cancer. And last year I spoke at their autism summit, it was their second one. They're gonna have another one this year. And last year they had a uh lady on there who was completely nonverbal, amazing. She was a guest speaker, so they're always looking for guest speakers. So, you know, maybe if the cars align right, maybe, but if they're looking for somebody, I'll have them connect with you guys for sure.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:27

Yeah, and I won't mind it, and we'll figure out and make it work.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:30

Yeah, yeah, we'll we'll keep you in mind for anything because you're definitely uh an individual that I feel like others would, you know, love to listen to, and you'll just keep changing the lives of those you talk to. Um let's see here. Oh, MJ, I think you already asked that last question. Do you have any other questions? You do you have any other questions you want to ask them?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:59

Um I know we covered quite a lot.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:02

I know. All right, one last thing. If you could um for any little uh individual, you know, any boys, girls that are interested in um not just racing or NASCAR, but like a big dream like that, what is one little motivational thing you would like to give them?

SPEAKER_00 1:18:27

I think like uh what I would just uh try to motivate them is just like, you know, always be confident in yourself, you know, always believe in what you know you are strong and you know, your strength, what what how strong your strengths are, you know, and don't ever focus on like the negativity and all that. And like, you know, always know that like, hey, you know, no matter what you do, that you can do this, you know, and just you just gotta believe in it, you know. And as long as you find the right support around you of people that are willing to help you make whatever dream that you want possible true, you know, you'll definitely make it. So like always be confident in yourself.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:11

So true. Well said. Well, I think that's it. Do you have anything else you want to share with uh your fan base, our audience? Anything we didn't talk about?

SPEAKER_00 1:19:25

Yeah, definitely. So I mean, for anybody who's uh, you know, if you want to like uh see what my journey is like, both on and off the track, I got multiple social media platforms, uh, whether it be with uh Facebook, you can look up me at Armani Williams, um, Twitter at Armani Williams underscore Instagram, uh Armani Williams Racing, and and then um even uh TikTok. I even got TikTok as well. You can look at me there, which is Armani Williams44. And I even have my own website at www.teamarmaniracing.com, you know, where you can we will make sure that we tag all your social media platforms and link your website so people can uh connect with you and watch your journey. Yeah, you know, and like on my website, you get to learn more about my story, you know, and like for people who want to, you know, have the opportunity to have me come speak at some of their events or they want to have like a partnership or they have a general inquiry, you can do it right on my website. And for the fun stuff, I even have my own uh merchandise shop on my website too, to where you can get like all full merchandises of whatever you've always wanted with uh t-shirts, stickers, uh hats, and you name it.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:45

And um do you have any like cars, like decal cars?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:50

Uh not any of those yet. I think like we do got uh one on there that you can get on the website as well, which is basically like a truck that you can get. Um, and then along with that, too, you know, like uh I got a cool thing going on with like, you know, working on a coloring and activity book, you know, which um, you know, we're hoping to uh put out soon.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:15

That'll be so cool. Well, I know I'll be getting some stuff for my kiddo on your website. I'll get be getting him some merch. And myself as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:28

Uh so much for sharing your story with us today. It was truly amazing.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:35

Yeah, yeah. This is awesome.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:38

We are so grateful um that you were able to come on and give us a glimpse of your journey. And like I said, we can't wait to watch the next chapter of your life and the future that holds for you. And um, if you're ever racing out at Phoenix Raceway, give us a holler. I'm probably gonna be there anyways. Um I typically go for Sunday, but you know, if you're racing, I will be there.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:07

I'm gonna bring my son. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:10

Oh, I forgot to tell you, Armani. So when we went, when you're talking about NASCAR being inclusive, when we took my son, we have to take him in a wagon because he's an elopement risk, and you know, because he'll just run and all that. So whenever we take them places, we take him in the wagon, and they were just so accommodating with like because we would do the infield experience and taking him in that, and um Phoenix Raceway has this whole kids VIP thing, and they were just like, What do you need? Like, or we were thinking about doing this, like the driver introduction meeting thing, and they're like, No, that might not be ideal for him. They were just, I was blown away with how wonderful they were and how understanding they were of his needs and what would you know make him most comfortable. So you're right, they're really they really are, and it's so happy to see as a mom, especially for you know, a kid who loves racing so much that it was a great experience for him. So nice. Maybe what maybe one day we'll see you there.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:18

Absolutely, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:20

All right, well, thank you so much, Armani. It was a pleasure, and um you have a good rest of your day, and you let us know the next time you're racing, and I'll watch you on TV. Yes, for sure. We'll have a viewing party.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:38

That'd be great.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:40

All right, bud. Nice to meet you. Thank you. Bye, everyone. We would like to give a shout out to our graphic design sponsor, MySpot Design. Do you need a standout graphic design or seamless website solutions for your brand? MySpot specializes in custom logos, promo materials, plus professional website design and ongoing maintenance. Elevate your online presence today. Reach out at contact at myspot.design or go to myspot.design for more info. Thank you so much, owner Lindsay, for helping us out. We appreciate you.