Armani Williams (born April 14, 2000) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver who competes part-time in the

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of thr ...

, driving the No. 46

Toyota Tundra The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100), but the ...

for G2G Racing. He has also competed in the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

as well as what are now the

ARCA Menards Series East The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly Busch East Series, Busch North Series, Camping World East Series, and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and ...

and

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Raci ...

in the past. Williams is the first NASCAR driver openly diagnosed on the

autism spectrum The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

. Over the course of his NASCAR career, Williams' cars have often sported blue paint schemes with the blue autism puzzle pieces to symbolize his diagnosis on the spectrum and to raise awareness. He is also one of five African-American drivers currently competing in NASCAR, along with Cup Series driver

Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity ...

Jesse Iwuji Jesse Ekene Iwuji ( ; born August 12, 1987) is an American professional stock car racing driver and officer in the United States Navy Reserve. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 34 Chevrolet Camaro for Jesse Iwuji ...

Rajah Caruth Rajah Kirby Caruth (born June 11, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. Caruth is one of the five African-A ...

, and Blake Lothian.

Racing career

Williams great-grandfather owned an auto-body repair shop creating the foundation for automobiles in the family. Williams in particular loved to play with

Hot Wheels Hot Wheels is an American brand of scale model cars introduced by American toymaker Mattel in 1968. It was the primary competitor of Matchbox until 1997, when Mattel bought Tyco Toys, then owner of Matchbox. Many automobile manufacturers have ...

toy cars as a child, and later discovered NASCAR on TV and immediately began watching races. He soon decided it was what he wanted to do as a career, so he began racing go-karts at age 8, and eventually bandoleros after that. Specifically, he attended a competitive go-karting school and then participated in go-kart races. Williams originally competed in the ARCA Truck Series, which was shut down during his time racing in that series, so he moved to the

NASCAR Pinty's Series The NASCAR Pinty's Series (french: Série NASCAR Pinty's), commonly abbreviated as NPS, is a national NASCAR racing series in Canada, and is a continuation of the old CASCAR Super Series which was founded in 1981. History In September 2006 NASCA ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. Driving for his mentor, D. J. Kennington, Williams drove his No. 28

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

in five races (plus withdrawing from a sixth), with a best finish of eleventh in his debut race at

Delaware Speedway Delaware Speedway is a half-mile paved race track that is one of the oldest continuously operating tracks in Canada. It is located a few minutes west of London, Ontario northeast of Delaware, Ontario. It hosts stock car racing every Friday night ...

. He made one start in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

for Peter Simone's No. 97

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, where he earned his first top-10 finish in the series with a ninth-place. He raced once in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West in 2018 for Calabrese Motorsports and Patriot Motorsports Group, respectively. He returned to the Patriot team, renamed Kart Idaho Racing, in 2019 (after a change in ownership), after not qualifying for the race at

Irwindale Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702, w ...

driving the No. 35 for Vizion Motorsports. After Williams' DNQ, John Wood stepped out of his No. 38 for Williams to drive it, where he finished twelfth. In the East Series, Williams competed with Kart Idaho at New Hampshire, finishing eleventh in that race. Williams in 2020 would make his debut in the ARCA Menards Series at

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, where he drove

Fast Track Racing Notes Fast Track Racing (also known as Fast Track High Performance Racing or Fast Track Racing Enterprises) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series E ...

's No. 01 car to a 17th-place finish. He would then run team's No. 12 car at Michigan, where he scored a top-ten finish. In 2021, he made his

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...

debut at Gateway in the No. 33

Reaume Brothers Racing Reaume Brothers Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The team is owned by Josh Reaume, and it currently fiel ...

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

, finishing 21st. In 2022, he will attempt two more races (originally 3 until

Josh Reaume Joshua Robert Reaume (born October 11, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the Nos. 33 and 43 Toyota Tundras for his t ...

's Darlington throwback was released).

Personal life

Diagnosed at age two, Williams is on the

and spoke his first word at three years old. He did have some social interaction and sensory issues growing up, as other people on the spectrum do, but quickly learned to improve and overcome them with the help of his parents. He and his father attended the 2010 Brickyard 400 when he was ten which sparked his interest in racing along with playing with toy cars at home and watching NASCAR races on TV. He attends

Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...

studying mechanical engineering. His favorite driver growing up was

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

. He is from

Grosse Pointe, Michigan Grosse Pointe is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,421. Grosse Pointe is an eastern suburb of Metro Detroit along Lake ...

and had a 3.0 GPA at his high school while balancing school and racing.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series

Season still in progress
Ineligible for series points

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

Pinty's Series

ARCA Menards Series

(

) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Season still in progress

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Armani NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers Living people 2000 births Racing drivers from Detroit People from Grosse Pointe, Michigan Sportspeople from Wayne County, Michigan Sportspeople with autism African-American racing drivers 21st-century African-American sportspeople