Axton’s story continues

Will Axton was 7 years old and already a two-year veteran in the sport of kart racing, when he was profiled in the Daily Pilot for the first time.

The article, published nearly 10 years ago, focused on Axton’s second-place finish in his class at the California State Championships.

The story closed with the line: “The story of Willy Axton continues …”

Indeed, it has.

Axton, now 17 and a junior at Newport Harbor High School, has more trophies, victory cups and plaques than can fit on the top of furniture and on his bedroom walls.

“We’ve got boxes full of them,” said Jeff Axton, Will’s dad. “We just don’t have room for them.”

That’s because the Costa Mesa resident has accomplished pretty much all there is to accomplish in kart racing.

Axton has competed in 160 races and skyrocketed from the Kid Kart class, where karts zip along at 35 miles per hour, to the Cadet class. He bypassed the Junior class and leaped to the Open/KZ 125 Shifter Class, the sport’s highest level, where karts can hit 110 mph and where Axton is the youngest competitor by nine years.

Axton has captured nine championships in 11 years of racing and is consistently ranked among the top 20 drivers in the U.S.

In 2008, Axton garnered Driver of the Year honors, and in 2013, won the sport’s coveted Duffy trophy – named for kart racing pioneer Duffy Livingston – for winning the International Karting Federation Grand Nationals.

Did we mention that Axton also plays volleyball for his high school team and the Balboa Bay Club Volleyball team and has competed in Junior National Championships the past three years.

Being so involved in two sports and at such high levels, you’d think his academics might be lacking.

You’d be wrong.

Axton has a grade-point average over 4.0, his father said.

“It’s just time management,” said Will, when asked how he balances two sports and academics and performs at such a high level in all three. “I try to get stuff done ahead of time. I never wait. The racing is once a month so it is never that much of a conflict. School is just proactive and getting stuff done.”

Let’s go back to the beginning, when Will and his dad were at the Sand Sports Super Show at the O.C. Fair & Event Center and the senior Axton picked up a flyer about a kart racing event.

Will was already a fan of racing, having watched NASCAR and Formula One races on T.V

“It just looked fun to me,” he said.

So Will, an only child, gets into the cockpit of his first 50cc K1 Kart, at the Adams Motor Sports Park in Riverside.

“It was a super fun experience,” Will said.

Soon, Will, at age 5, had his own 50cc Kid Kart, attended karting school and competed in five sanctioned races.

In his first full season in 2006, Will finished first in six of 10 races and was season champion in his class.

Right from the start, Will was drawn to the comraderie and family friendly vibe that was present at every race.

“It’s so friendly,” he said. “If someone wrecks, people make sure they are OK and help them get their car back to together.”

But make no mistake, when the flag drops to start the race, the closest friends become the fiercest rivals.

“You are best friends but helmets go on and it’s a different world,” Will said. “Time slows … You have to focus and be serious at all times and know what you are doing if you want to succeed.”

Dad, a real estate agent by day, serves as chief mechanic for the $14,000, 250-pound kart, with its two-stroke engine.

Pam, Will’s mother, a stylist by trade, handles nutrition.

“We get so busy at the track, we don’t eat,” dad said. “We probably wouldn’t drink water if somebody wasn’t handing it to us.”

The seasons pass, every February through October, and Will keeps winning, picking up hardware and sponsorships.

From 2008 to 2013, Will won six championships, finished first in 38 of 98 races and qualified for the pole position 57 times.

Will made the huge jump to the Open/KZ 125 Shifter Class in 2014, the highest level of sanctioned kart racing.

In November, he competed in the Super Nationals in Las Vegas, considered the World Series of kart racing, teaming up with Indianapolis 500 competitor Connor Daily.

Indy 500 champion Alexander Rossi was also among the high-end drivers.

“I’ve only missed two races in 12 years,” Pam said. “There is only one winner in every race, but the energy he puts in just to go in and do what he does … at the end of the day, I’m so proud of [him].”

The 2017 season starts in February and by the time it ends in October, Will will be a high school senior.

He’s hoping for a volleyball scholarship and is open to attending college anywhere in the country. He’ll major in engineering or business

Will’s future career will likely center around racing, whether he races at the next level – he recently drove his first stock car – or takes a supportive role.

“If I can’t drive it, I’m going to fix it,” he said.

He might even own his own racing team.

The story of Willy Axton continues …