SUWANEE, Ga. -- Like most racers, Tyler Williams has grown up watching his favorite sport on television, just hoping that one day he would be able to be just like them. But unlike a lot of today's aspiring NASCAR stars, Williams didn't get started in go-karts or Legends cars at an early age. In fact, Tyler didn't start his racing career until the age of 17. And that racing experience was highly unlike anything that any of his other peers were competing in. Instead of driving circles around the short tracks of America, he was a mud drag racer.

Now, at age 21, Williams is ready to make the jump from mud to asphalt on a full-time basis. To do so, he'll compete weekly at Lanier National Speedway in Brasleton, GA, in the Pro Late Model class, in hopes of capturing both the Track Championship and Rookie of the Year title. When not at Lanier, Williams also hopes to run with the Georgia Asphalt Series, a touring Pro Late Model series around the Peach State.

"I'm really looking forward to trying to run the whole season at Lanier National Speedway this year," said Williams. "It will be my first time running the whole season, so I'm looking forward to it, but I know it will be a big learning experience for me. We've been running part-time during the last two years, so this will be a new experience in racing for points.

"I think we can be the Rookie of the Year and I think we can be competitive in the point's race. We are looking for a top-10 in the points, possibly even a top-five, depending on how well we can adapt to these cars. We've really been working hard on the chassis and we have about a 40-50 horsepower increase on our engines from last year, so my hopes are really high. Plus we've got the help of Jimmy Garmon."

Garmon is a well-known Georgia hotshot in the Pro Late Models, a regular at several tracks and with the traveling GAS Series. Garmon will house Williams' car during the 2005 season and will offer as much help as he can, considering the car Williams will pilot is an old car driven by Garmon himself.

"I was just racing mud dragsters for fun for several years and I always knew I really wanted to race on asphalt," said Williams, talking of how he met up with Garmon for the first time. "I started making some phone calls and trying to get in touch with the right people. Somehow, I came across Jimmy's number. So I called him and he told me that he had a car for sale. I bought his car and from there, he's taken me under his wing.

"Everything I've done so far, I wouldn't have been able to do without him, as far as setup info and weekly maintenance stuff. He's been at the track with us and helped me work on my line in the car. I had no asphalt experience before coming into this. I didn't start off in a Legends car or Sportsman car or anything. So it is a big adjustment from a mud dragster."

With several years of making five- and six-second passes in a high-powered mud dragster, Williams knows that switching over to asphalt racing will mean a big adjustment in everything he's known.

"You just get used to a couple seconds worth of passes and you are done. Here, you are running 50-and 100-lap races. Your concentration level is completely different. You have to be on top of it every single minute. You've got a lot more people around you, but this is what I've really wanted to do, so I'm looking forward to it."

Williams has made a handful of starts at Lanier and Peach State Speedway in the past, but 2005 will be a totally new ballgame for him. He will open his Rookie of the Year hopes this weekend at Lanier, competing in the track's premier division.

"It will be a good weekend to give us an idea of what the year will hold for us. We'll be able to size up some of the competition. I know Jimmy would be pretty upset if we didn't win Rookie of the Year. With the experience Jimmy has and my driving ability, I think we can do it."

Adding to the pressures of opening weekend, Williams' primary sponsor, Suwanee Dental Care, is also the presenting sponsor at the track on Saturday.

"I just want to have a good showing for Suwanee Dental Care. They have stepped up their sponsorship this year to where we can run the full year, so this is a big weekend. It just happens to be opening weekend as well."

If you would like more information on Tyler Williams, contact Jeremy Troiano at (704) 726-6849 and stayed tuned for the launch of TylerWilliamsRacing.com.