History is just the start: Paityn Mary Jane becomes the first female champion at Hickory Motor Speedway

CONOVER, N.C. -- Paityn Mary Jane can identify the exact moment she decided she wanted to become a race-car driver. The date was Feb. 17, 2019. The location was Daytona International Speedway, where she was attending the Daytona 500 for the first time. By the time the day was over, Mary Jane’s life and future had been changed. “My dad always loved NASCAR. He grew up watching it,” she explained. “We went to the Daytona 500 in Florida in 2019, and I fell in love with it. I loved it … There were cars crashing (and) on fire, the adrenaline rush I got from watching the race, I was all about it. “I came to my parents and I was like, ‘I want to be a NASCAR driver.’” Fast-forward to 2026, and the 17-year-old from Johnstown, Colorado is well on her way to achieving her goal. After spending several seasons racing karts and later Legend cars, Mary Jane made the jump to late models this season with MKM Racing Development. Competing at Hickory Motor Speedway in the limited late model class, she made history by becoming the first female competitor to win a track championship at the historic 0.363-mile asphalt oval. “Honestly, it felt super surreal and a little bit unreal when I won it,” Mary Jane said. “It felt amazing, I feel like is the best way to put it. It’s such a big thing, and I still think I’m learning how to understand how big of a thing it is. “It just shows anything is possible when you put the work into it and it shows that females can do it, too. It’s an honor to be the first female to win the championship at Hickory.” Mary Jane didn’t stop there. She also captured the championship in Hickory’s Paramount Kia Big 10 Limited Late Model Series, a 10-race miniseries featuring the 50-lap limited late model events on the track’s schedule. Mary Jane also collected two additional accolades from NASCAR by earning the NASCAR Local Racing Series Powered by O’Reilly Auto Parts Southeast Division I Rookie of the Year Award as well as the North Carolina State Rookie of the Year Award. [caption id="attachment_527907" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Paityn Mary Jane (88) competed primarily at Hickory Motor Speedway this year, and she won the track's limited late model championship. (Photo: Garnder Street Photography/Hickory Motor Speedway)[/caption] She did all that while also competing in the Toyota GR Cup Series, where she gained experience on road courses. “When I first started karting, I never would have thought this would be my reality. I’m so blessed and so grateful that it can be my reality and that it is,” said Mary Jane, who drove a late model for the first time a few weeks before the Hickory Motor Speedway season opener in March. “It’s definitely a shock, every change, even getting into late models. Once we finished the Hickory (season), every single time it’s a shock of where I’m at and that this is my reality. I’m so grateful to be able to pursue what I love and actually chase after those dreams and make them my reality.” The success Mary Jane enjoyed in her first full season of late model racing reflects the detail of her craft. She’s made racing her life, so much so that, with the support of her family, she moved to North Carolina from Colorado by herself at 16. “I moved across the country to chase these dreams,” Mary Jane said. “It was a hard change to move (away) from my family and my friends and what I would say was my regular and kind of starting over somewhere new.” A major key to her success this season is MKM Racing Development and team owner Michael Klein, who has more than 20 years of experience at the top levels of NASCAR. A former jackman in the NASCAR Cup Series who was part of Martin Truex Jr.’s NASCAR Cup Series championship team in 2017, Klein has put extra emphasis on making sure Mary Jane has all the tools she needs to be successful long term. “I was under a driver development program, and they put me with all the teams," Mary Jane said. "They connected me with Michael, and I’m so grateful for that. Working with Michael is great. He’s very patient, and he takes a really good approach to everything. “He’ll teach me lessons on track and outside of the track. He teaches me how I should represent myself and everything like that. They are very hands on, too. I like to learn about the car, so they’ll spend the time in the shop with me working on how I can learn about the car. They’ll talk me through the changes and everything. “They take the time to not just make sure I have a fast race car and teach me how to be faster on track. They’ll teach me about the race car, which I really appreciate.” Klein’s goal isn’t to rush Mary Jane into the ARCA Menards Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Instead, the goal is for a slow, methodical approach that will allow her to gain ample seat time and teach her the fundamentals she’ll need when the right time for the next step arrives. “The development plan for her is to be able to understand cars and have all the experience to have been there and seen it, so when she gets to those top levels, she can immediately perform so she’s not out there spending multiple years just trying to get her feet under her,” Klein said. “If she keeps with the same work ethic the way she is doing and keeps learning and gaining experience and putting the time in, she’s going to be just fine.” [caption id="attachment_527908" align="aligncenter" width="1300"] Michael Klein (left) has been a driving force in Paityn Mary Jane's development this season. (Photo: Gardner Street Photography/Hickory Motor Speedway)[/caption] When Mary Jane joined MKM Racing Development this year, the team laid out a four-year plan. With Year 1 now effectively behind them, Klein said Year 2 will look similar ... but also very different. The tentative plan in 2027 is for Mary Jane to compete in at least 50 late model stock and limited late model races across the Southeast at a variety of tracks, where she’ll be forced to adapt and adjust her driving style. Such a skill is pivotal. “We still need to learn a lot of race craft and get some of that race-craft experience,” Klein said. “When I say race craft, I’m talking about seeing multiple different tracks, getting in a lot of different super tight positions. Primarily the car count at Hickory is 12 to 15 cars usually in a race, so we’re going to get her to some of the bigger tracks with some of the bigger events and stiffen up some of the competition, as well. “I think the eyesight of seeing a lot of different things and running not only limited late models, but late model stocks, and we’re going to get some CARS Tour races in there, but being able to do that with multiple different vehicles racing around a lot of different talented people at different tracks is going to gain her a lot of experience to be able to learn that race craft.” Mary Jane and Klein consider the 2026 season a success, but also just one step. Next season, Mary Jane wants to continue learning and proving she belongs. “We don’t want to get her ready to be in an ARCA car to go out and run 10th,” Klein said. “We want to do all the development and the training down here and have been there, seen it and know it. “We want her to be able to know exactly what each adjustment is going to feel like to where she can start asking for adjustments, as well. What that is going to translate to, when she goes to ARCA or Trucks, is she’ll be able to contend for podiums right out of the gate in her first couple races.” For now, Mary Jane will soak in the fact that, in her first season racing late models, she made history at one of NASCAR’s oldest sanctioned tracks. She’ll enjoy knowing her name will forever be linked to legendary drivers like fellow Hickory Motor Speedway champions Ned Jarrett, Ralph Earnhardt, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant and Jack Ingram. She earned her place in history, but she’s far from finished. “I think everybody has a different path, and we all have the same end goal,” Mary Jane said. “It gives me so much confidence that I really can do this, and I can make it. It just makes me so driven to make that my reality.”