Motorsports

Area teenager earns spot in diversity drive

Michael Cherry, 18, of Valrico is part of a NASCAR program.

By Brant James
Published January 22, 2008

Valrico's Michael Cherry, a former child actor and the first African-American and youngest driver to win a race at East Bay Raceway in Gibsonton, was named a member of the 2008 NASCAR "Driver for Diversity" program Monday.

Cherry, 18, was among 200 applicants and 24 finalists for eight spots. He earned his ride with Frank Deiny through a testing and evaluation combine last fall that assessed his ability to race and handle all the pressures of a big-time driver, such as sponsor and media obligations and communication skills.

He ran the combine last year at South Boston Va. Speedway, which he called a valuable learning experience. Team owners decided the winners.

Cherry's experience has been in Late Models series, where he won the 2007 Sportsman title at Hendry County Speedway. Now he'll contest the All-American Series (previously the Dodge Weekly Racing Series) outside Radford, Va. His Chevrolet will bear No.34, which the late Wendell Scott used when he became the only African-American to win at NASCAR's highest level on Dec.1, 1963, in Jacksonville.

A child model and a bit player in the shows Second Noah and Thunder in Paradise with Hulk Hogan, Cherry overcame dyslexia with the help of his mother and earned his GED after dropping out of Durant High. His parents, Marsha and Jimmy, are white. He has no relationship with his biological father, who is African-American.

Brant James can be reached at brant@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8804.

[Last modified January 22, 2008, 00:56:30]