WARNER – Jesse Young is paving his own path in the sport of auto racing.

The Warner driver is the first member of his family to get behind the wheel.

While many racers follow in the footsteps of family members, Young branched out on his own.

“It definitely comes with its challenges, because you don’t really have anybody in your family to lean on,” Young said. “When you’re looking for help, you don’t have the connections to lean on and help you get started. So, you kind of have to learn everything on the fly and make connections and learn who to talk to. You kind of have to start from square one.”

Young was able to connect with a Watertown family known for racing and that dropped the green flag on his racing career.

“I originally started while I was at Lake Area Tech,” Young said. “I was just hanging out down there and I knew I wanted to (race). And I just sent a message to Trevor Anderson at Dirt Track Supply, and he only lived a few houses down from the school where I lived, so we just kind of started talking and I ended up buying his modified at the time and we became good friends. And he’s been one of my main mentors since the beginning, him and Ron Anderson.”

Young, who has raced for a dozen years, has learned a lot during his time at the track and continues to adjust to the numerous challenges involved in the sport.

“It’s been crazy. The technology’s always evolving and then you’re just always learning different things on how to get faster and how to drive better,” Young said. “It’s been a crazy learning curve. It’s just insane to know how fast things change, and everybody’s always getting better and you’re racing against guys that have done it for 30 years, and you have a lot of respect for the older guys, but you just want to be the same as them if you can be.”

Young is trying his best to emulate them. He continues to learn more about his car and the ever-changing conditions of the track.

“My biggest improvement is just the knowledge of the car and knowledge of the setups,” Young said. “And just being able to read the racetrack and how it changes from the start of the race to the end of the race. That’s the biggest improvement I would say.”

Young, who got the itch to compete while watching the races from the stands when he was little, is holding his own, despite limited racing opportunities.

Young is just outside the top five in points in the Modified division, sitting in sixth place. While he would like to move into that top group, he is not consumed by it.

“I don’t really have many goals when I start the year, especially when it comes to points,” Young said. “I don’t really points race. It’s nice to get the top five if I can because you get recognized, but I’m not a full-time racer. I don’t make every night, so being high in points is really tough for me. The main goal is to get a win or two; that’s kind of where I’m at. If I get one or two wins, I’d be happy. I really just like to compete and go out there and have fun.”

Young has definitely met that objective. He said his favorite memories are being with his friends following a night of racing.

“Hanging out with my friends and coming off the racetrack and just being able to joke around and talk about the race and laugh,” Young said. “Those are probably my favorite memories that will always stick with me.”