Youngest member of athletic-based family rising through ranks
Concord – Volleyball. Basketball. Track. Racing.
One of these things is not like the other, but Tylen Trammell has found a way to stand out from the crowd in a family chock-full of perennial athletes.
The youngest member of the siblings that became household names for Robbinsville athletics – Tacey, Faith and Desta – Tylen wasted little time finding his niche. While most 14-year-old athletes are still focused on nailing down which sport will be their speciality, Tylen is already six years into his career.
Why call it a career? Because racing is more than a hobby for Tylen: the suburban-Charlotte resident already has next-level plans.
“My goal right now is to make the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Cars Series, but I would be open to racing on asphalt if I get a shot,” Tylen said.
While sitting at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Coca-Cola 600 several years ago, Tylen realized he was hooked and the wheels for his passion were quickly in motion.
“I saw all the cars going around the racetrack and I thought, ‘Dang, I want to do this,’” Tylen recalled. “I asked my dad and I went out and tested at Millbridge Speedway. The rest is history.”
In a world where children are getting outdoors less and less, Tylen’s life ensures he is not only outside more often than not – but that he gets dirty like children should. Competition now takes place on a dirt oval, inside a Factor 1,600cc Micro Sprint car. The 2023 season is his second full run at the Outlaw-Micro level, as the division requires drivers to be ages 12 or older.
Tylen first broke in to the sport racing box-stock cars. His first career victory came where he underwent his first test drive: Millbridge Speedway in Salisbury, as Tylen scooped up first place on Aug. 17, 2019.
Along the way, Tylen has visited Winner’s Circle on plenty of occasions (including three straight wins in the Blue Grey Series in 2020) – but perhaps his biggest thrill has been the opportunity to race against some of the top drivers in the country: of note, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch.
Tylen first met the latter when he was just six – and later finished fourth to Busch’s 10th in a race. Plenty of thrills and victories are still to come for Tylen, but life still has a way of maintaining humility.
“One night, I was racing at the end of a two-day show at Millbridge Speedway; the next day, I had an EOG (End-of-Grade Test),” Tyler said. “Luckily, I passed.”