This article first appeared in the March, 2016 edition of SportsCar Magazine. SCCA members can read the current and past editions of SportCar digitally here after logging into their account; To become an SCCA member and get SportsCar mailed to your home address monthly in addition to the digital editions, click here.

Nicole Hecker
Central Florida Region
SCCA Member Since 2014

“Racing goes back a long way in my family. It all began with my grandfather, Dick Hecker, who started racing in 1949. His brother, Red, was a flagman, and back then there weren’t any flag stations – you stood on the racetrack! Dick would eventually meet his future wife at the track and, in 1953, they got married at Blanket Hill Speedway. Red was run over in the early 1960s, which retired him from racing; Dick continued to race until the mid 1970s. My father, Randy Hecker, started racing in 1980. He would eventually move to Florida and that’s where I was born in 1996.

My dad got both him and myself karts, and we raced those until 2011 when he broke his neck. He heard about the SCCA from a coworker and we started going to events. The next thing I knew, I was going through Driver’s School at the end of 2014.

We started the 2015 season running an E Production 1986 Mazda RX-7. Since it was my first year, we didn’t expect to be chasing a points championship. However, with the aid of Goldin Brothers Racing and the dedication of my dad, I quickly began winning races and found myself at the top of the Central Florida Region points and the South Atlantic Road Racing Championship points. By the end of my rookie year I had won eight races, graduated high school with 29 college credits, was the Central Florida Region EP points champ, and finished second in SARRC points.

I’ve gained a racing family from the SCCA and, while I’m currently looking for a sponsor to help ease the financial burden of racing, I’m excited to start another year of competition. I’ve had a fantastic first year and met a lot of great people, and look forward to many more years with the SCCA.”

Photo by Lyn Watts