Each week, thousands of young men and women buckle into their racing vehicle in search of their motorsports dream. Many of them are hoping to begin a career that will take them to the ultimate in motorsports – one of the top three divisions of NASCAR. Some are content to compete at a local level and enjoy every minute of their experience, knowing that their dream of a career in the sport is just that, a dream. Then, there are others who continue to do everything possible to achieve their goal of a successful career in motorsports.

Such is the story of a 20-year old rookie in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dexter Stacey grew up around the race track. His Dad, Wallace, raced a dirt modified and Stacey traveled to the track with him as much as possible. It was obvious to everyone in the family that Dexter Stacey had racing in his blood and would pursue a career in the sport.

Born on November 9, 1992, Dexter began his racing career in a traditional sense with Soap Box Derby competition, although racing is somewhat of a misnomer in that series. At age twelve, Dexter began racing go-karts and competed locally and regionally for three seasons. Then, his racing career took a serious turn when he began competing in both a dirt modified and in the Quebec Ice Racing Series. Yes, I said “Ice Racing”.

Dexter Stacey didn’t grow up racing at one of the hundreds of short tracks throughout the Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, or West Coast. Stacey raced in Canada.

Stacey is a Native American and member of the Mohawk Indian tribe. He lives on the reservation in Kahnawake, Quebec Canada. He has his Certificate of Indian Status card complete with his Indian name “Tehothoratie”.

Racing in the Quebec Ice Racing Series for three seasons, Stacey finished second, third, and second in the overall points from 2009 through 2011. During that same period, he began competing in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series (NCATS). When he started in NCATS, he was the youngest driver in the history of the sport at 16 years, 195 days.

In 2009, Stacey made 12 starts in the NCATS, finished 14^th in points, and was second in the Rookie of the Year competition. In 2010, he was named Most Improved Driver and won the Achievement Award for the Series. In 2011, Stacey cracked the top ten in overall points making 12 starts in the NCATS. His best career NCATS finish came in 2012 with a fifth at Barre Speedway in Ontario.

Stacey made his NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series in 2012 competing in seven races – two for Robert Richardson Sr. and five for Archie St. Hilaire. After the 2012 season, the family made a huge decision in the racing career for Dexter Stacey.

With Mom, Kristin Hamelin, as the Team Owner, the decision was made to start their own Nationwide Series team, KH Motorsports. They bought several Ford racecars from Roush in late 2012 and began to put plans together to compete in the Nationwide Series in 2013. Dexter, His father, and older brother Wallace moved to Mooresville, North Carolina on January 10, 2013. They had several cars, but no shop, no crew, no equipment, no transporter – literally starting from scratch. But, they planned to have everything ready to race at Daytona on February 23^rd.

“Not many people gave us a chance at racing in Daytona, given the really late start we got putting our team together,” Stacey stated. “Plus, I wasn’t even approved to race Nationwide at Daytona at the time. So, lots of things had to happen in a short period of time.”

The team rented an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) car and competed in the ARCA Daytona race on Daytona 16^th. After his performance, Stacey was approved to attempt to qualify for the season-opening Nationwide race at Daytona. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for the race.

Instead of throwing up their hands in frustration, the KH Motorsports Team headed west to Phoenix and Las Vegas with their first-year, independent team. Knowing that he had to qualify on speed for both races, Dexter did just that, completed both events, and finished 24^th and 23^rd. Bristol and Fontana followed with 26^th finishes in each, with a 23^rd at Texas matching his best finish of the season. After six races, Dexter Stacey had moved into the top 30 in Owners Points and locked his team into a guaranteed starting position going into Richmond on April 26^th.

An early-race tire issue sent Stacey crashing hard into the first turn safer barrier at the .75-mile Richmond track. Stacey suffered a concussion and was unable to compete at Talladega the next week. He returned at Darlington, and three races later, scored his best finish of the season, 21^st, at Iowa Speedway.

Stacey’s first-ever visit to Michigan Speedway proved to be another setback for the 20-year old rookie. A cut right front tire sent Stacey hard into the outside retaining wall, resulting in a fracture of his lower sternum from the impact. However, with relief driving assistance from Tim Andrews, the KH Motorsports Team rebounded with a 25^th-place finish at Road America.

“For a team that started so far behind, I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot in our first full season in Nationwide,” Stacey added. “I couldn’t have done any of it without the hard work of David (Ingram, Crew Chief) and Morris (Van Vleet, Car Chief). Their experience and knowledge of the sport, the cars, and these tracks has been a valuable asset for me. We only have a few guys who work with us fulltime in the shop, but they’ve worked very hard and long hours to help build our team.”

“Of course, the support of Mom and the folks back home in Quebec have been an inspiration to me,” Stacey concluded. “Maddie’s Place, a restaurant and entertainment complex, has supported me and our team throughout, and their efforts are certainly appreciated. My Dad has been my greatest influence and my brother, Wallace, has provided guidance and support for me as well as our team.”

The story of Dexter Stacey and his road to the NASCAR Nationwide Series is a very interesting one. As the only Native American competing in the three major divisions of NASCAR, Stacey is carrying the banner of both the Mohawk tribe and his Canadian friends and supporters. Almost every track he goes to is his first trip ever to that facility, so the early-season accomplishments of Dexter Stacey are even more amazing. If passion and talent are two attributes of a successful racer, Dexter Stacey has a bright future.

Dexter Stacey is our next guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR Talk, Monday, July 15th at 9:00pm ET. Fans can interact with Dexter Stacey by calling 347-996-5176 during our LIVE broadcast.