We all know racing families like Unser, Andretti, and Foyt. What happens when you don’t come from one of those families or have the means to get a “ride” in the million dollar sport of auto racing? Kristian Aleixo shares with us the struggles of being an up and coming professional race car driver.
His drive and inspiration is impressive. Kristian suffered through the loss of his mother at an early age, was haphazardly raised by an absentee father and even spent 75% of his high school years homeless. Following high school he enlisted in the United States Army. This Iraq War Veteran and 2 time U.S. Army Commendation Medal recipient had hopes of becoming an AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot. That dream was shattered with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, the same illness that took his mom.
Kristian would not take this set back lying down. He took the skills that made him a top pilot candidate and focused them on his life long dream of racing. With no money and no training Kristian got resourceful and called around to race tracks looking for someone to teach him.
A man in California offered to help in exchange for working at his track. With the proper accreditation he is now building his resume with the ultimate payoff being a ride in the Indianapolis 500! He also works for Sharp Entertainment as a television personality and is the author of “My Life in Story: The Outside Groove”.
Trust me Kristians enthusiasm is catchy!
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