Tyler Walker Goes From Skid Row Back To Sprint Cars During PA Speedweek

– Controversial Driver Makes His Return To Racing After Eight Year Absence –

Tyler Walker Goes From Skid Row Back To Sprint Cars During PA Speedweek

By PETE MacDONALD
After hitting the lowest of the lows in life over the past few years, Tyler Walker says he is cleaning up his act and is back racing a Sprint Car in Central Pennsylvania during PA Speedweek.
Walker is behind the wheel of the Ron Rutherford owned No. 19R 410 Sprint Car for the time being and maybe more looking for a return to glory.
“My buddy Frank from Drop of Ink Tattoo got me in touch with Ron Rutherford. So we started talking a couple of weeks ago and Ron asked me if I wanted to come back and race and I told him ‘hell, yeah’. We started putting some feelers out about some sponsorship, he got me a flight out here and here we are,” said Walker following the postponement at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday.
Walker flew out last Wednesday, got fitted in the car and was ready to race on Friday.
Throughout Walker’s career, he has been a World of Outlaws  Gumout Series champion, has won 62 Sprint Car races, one of which was the King’s Royal in 2011 at Eldora Speedway, was a USAC Silver Crown winner and even dabbled in NASCAR.
For those who haven’t been following along, Walker has fought addiction in recent years, living on the streets of Los Angeles, CA until he said a recent car accident along with help from some friends changed his life.
“I broke my back 83 days ago  in a car accident. I broke eight ribs and five vertebrae. I fell asleep on my way to Las Vegas  and woke up in the air in my van. When I came back down, I had a generator in the back and it flew forward and it smashed me into the steering wheel. That was my spiritual awakening because that day was my last hit of crack cocaine. I layed there in the hospital and said I’m done with this s**t,” Walker revealed.
“My mom came and got me from the hospital, I was in a back brace and in a wheelchair and lived with her for the next month and she nursed me back to health. I was dealing crack cocaine on Skid Row, I got shot in the arm, I got stabbed. I was literally fighting for my life every day.
“Thankfully Tony Stewart and Kevin Rudeen stepped in and was able to get me into a rehab facility. They put their money up and stuck up for me and got me on the right step towards the direction where I needed to go. I owe them everything.”
All that aside, Walker is back and focused on going fast again. He made his return to Sprint Car racing back on May 31st at Placerville (CA) Speedway driving for the Torgerson Family. They allowed Walker to drive their 360ci powered No. 02 against the field of 410 Sprint Cars that night. Walker’s last 410 start came back on July 29, 2017 at Port Royal Speedway aboard the Charlie Sorokach owned No. 35.
“It wasn’t what I wanted. They gave me an opportunity to get back in a car, it was a 360 against 410s which really wasn’t a fair race. The last race we were pretty competitive but the throttle was sticking. This deal (Rutherford) is my first real effort back into racing,” Walker explained.
There are a lot of people on Social Media who say that Walker shouldn’t be given another chance. That’s where Ron Rutherford stepped in.
“I’m a firm believer in second chances, third chances, fourth chances. Whatever it takes. This didn’t happen overnight, I gave him a date and he’s been doing really well,” said Rutherford.
“For someone to go cold turkey like that, that’s pretty impressive. I almost cried when he rolled out there, he was one of my childhood heroes, my kids grew up playing the video game with him on it.”
After raining out on Friday night at Williams Grove Speedway, Walker’s first laps in Rutherford’s equipment came during hot laps at Lincoln Speedway on Saturday prior to the rains coming in.
Out of the 42 cars on hand, Walker was 18th quick in hot laps.
“I felt really comfortable out there, I felt really good. I know we were a half a second off but I could feel what the car needed to pick up that half second. It all came back to me. I needed to tie down the left front shock a little, move the front wing forward, add a wickerbill and a little more gear and we would have been right there with them guys,” he added.
“I miss everything about this (racing), I’ve literally gone from hell to heaven in the last 83 days. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror, I didn’t know who I was. Now I can see that I’m getting healthy.
“There were times that I couldn’t even remember being a race car driver. I didn’t remember winning races, I didn’t have a trophy, I didn’t have a picture, a helmet – nothing.”
Walker thinks that he could have a real future with Rutherford when it comes to racing.
“We’re building a team that they won’t be able to mess with. I can promise you that. There is a lot of people behind this and they are good people,” he relayed.
“I don’t have any expectations  other than the ones we all have and that’s to keep progressing and getting better. We will end up in victory lane and we want to become one of the dominant forces around here. Ron and I have the same focus which is to win and have fun.”
Once PA Speedweek is over, Walker plans to continue racing with Rutherford while putting together other opportunities.
“I want to keep racing. I’m a loyal person and I want to build something here with Ron. He’s a people person and a family man and that’s something that I need in my life right now. I miss that connection and he’s got such a wonderful family and I just fell in love with them. They took me in like family,” summarized Walker.
“I’ll be driving a Midget for Tanner Thorson at the Chili Bowl, he has some bad ass equipment, I’m getting goosebumps just talking about it cause it’s so exciting,” he continued
“I want to race wherever God puts me. I want to try some Super Late Model stuff just for a new challenge. I like driving different kinds of race cars. I ran Midgets, Silver Crown, Sprint Cars, NASCAR, you name it.”
Another thing that is in the works is a documentary on Walker’s rise and fall over the years and his fight to get back to the sport.
“Netflix is doing a documentary about my comeback and I’ll get to tell my story about what I went through going from Hell to Heaven,” he revealed.
Away from the race track, Walker and his mother, Carla have started a company called Evoke Meds which is a weight loss shot along the lines of Ozempic.
“I have this company with my mom so we are going to help people get healthy and happier while I’m out here racing. Things are good.”
Even while dodging raindrops on Saturday at Lincoln Speedway, Walker was still able to muster up a smile as things could be a lot worse.
“In the last 83 days I’ve come from a broken back, high as you can get, had no direction to having a purpose, loving people around me, I have fans that I adore and I’m back racing.”