A fourth grader at Lincoln Elementary school is on the fast track to winning a national championship in go-kart racing this April.
Pierce Joy will be representing the state of Illinois in the 2023 K1 Speed Junior National Championship hosted in Ontario, California.
Pierce fell head over … wheels … for racing, following his grandfather’s passion for the sport. Whether NASCAR or Formula One, Pierce said he often would watch the races with his grandfather. Combined that with his love for cars, which he likes to collect, racing seemed to come almost naturally.
But then he received a virtual wheel simulator that he connects to a video game that simulates racing. And everything took off from there.
The transition from a virtual wheel to sitting behind an actual wheel was smooth, Pierce said.
“It was easy for me, in my opinion,” Pierce said. “I also [raced] in different go-karts before and I would always beat everybody that I was racing against. I would say ‘this is too slow. I want to go fast.”
In October 2022, Pierce joined K1 Speed Challenge Junior GP league and participated in races held every month in Addison, Illinois. Because the racing season follows the calendar year, Pierce officially began the new season in 2023 and, ultimately, became the K1 Speed Junior League City Champion in December 2023, with 111 total points.
Following that win, the top three from Addison and Buffalo Grove competed for the K1 Speed Junior League State Championship, which Pierce won Jan. 28.
“It was very satisfying and when I crossed the finish line I was like ‘I won, yes I won!’” he said.
Seeing Pierce win first place and a state championship was also a thrilling experience for his parents, Branden and Kerri Joy.
“It was exciting,” said Branden Joy, a special education teacher at Brooks Middle School. “I tell my guy friends that it is every grown man’s dream.”
“He really does put in the work and the time by practicing in the virtual stuff we have at home,” Kerri Joy said.
Watching her son compete in a sport that is not mainstream brings Kerri a lot of pride. She said she loves watching him explain his sport to others who might not be as familiar with it.
Branden Joy also recalled his son telling him that he was going to “come in and win the whole thing.”
“When he first started back in October, he said that a couple of times throughout the year,” Branden said.
However, Kerri also pointed out how mentally strong Pierce has been to get himself to this position.
After placing second to last in the first qualifying round, Pierce had to start the race second to last the grid board, which displays the starting position for each class and race. Each class has two qualifying heat races and one feature race per event.
“He went on to then qualify first, which allowed him to start the final race in first and he kept [that] position and finished in first,” Kerri said. “I was impressed by his ability to, as we call it, [be] ‘cool, calm and collected,’ it was very impressive.”
Grandpa is also excited, said Kerri, his daughter.
“It is not something that he is pushing Pierce towards, Pierce genuinely has his own interest in and so it is such a great thing for them to have that shared interest,” Kerri said.
As the family prepares to make it out to California, his mom remained undaunted, saying all of the drives to Addison were worth it, and this trip would be, too. Pierce, the oldest of their three children, will continue to be rewarded with his determination and dedication to the sport, she said.
That dedication is illustrated with how Pierce prepares for each race. With the help of his dad, who prints out a layout of the track, Pierce studies it to ensure he has the best times possible.
“If you take the racing line on the inside or the outside, it will affect differently how fast you go through the whole track,” Pierce said. “So, I usually tend to take the lines more near the inside so we can get it tighter and have a shorter time and not go all wide so it takes you more time to go through a turn.”
While he waits for April to come around, Pierce has already begun competing in the 2024 K1 Junior league season, which started in January.
For other kids who want to get behind the wheel of a go-kart, or try something new in general, Pierce has one message: “Keep shooting for the stars and try your best.”