The 2020 champ sprint champion of Sapulpa, Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway, Mickey Walker, 23, unexpectedly passed away in his sleep on Tuesday. Brett Wilson, will remember his late friend through the graphics on the midget he intends to campaign at the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I’m heartbroken,” Brett Wilson, of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, said. “I took all the graphics off my car. I wanted to make my car a tribute to Mickey.”
Wilson races wingless sprints with his father, J.C., who was also a friend of Walker’s. J.C. helped design the number on Brett’s midget that will race at the Chili Bowl. The graphic features the likeness of Walker within it. J.C. and Walker worked at American Airlines as overall support mechanics. The company also employs Walker’s father, Kenneth, as an airline mechanic.
“Mickey was very polite, courteous, and respectful of others — both at work and at the racetrack,” said J.C.
Walker was the same age as Brett. They grew up in the pits, playing with toy cars in the dirt as their parents raced.
“Mickey had a bright future in racing,” J.C. said. “He was a consistent front-runner at Creek County Speedway, which draws 25 to 30 cars in his class every week.”
Walker and his father were close.
“Losing Mickey is just tough, especially for his family,” said J.C. “[Walker’s father] Kenneth woke up and his whole world was ripped out from underneath him. He and Mickey were getting their sprint cars ready for the upcoming season.”
Mickey Walker also leaves behind a fiancée, Kylee Crockett.
“Mickey was so happy,” said J.C. “He had everything going for him. The least we can do is honor him in a way he would just love — at the biggest indoor racing event in the world.”
Outside Groove Note of Transparency: Corrected the text to reflect Brett Wilson as the son and J.C. as his father (2021-01-07).
The Outside Groove Director of Photography has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
