LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Bailey Shea Williams was kept busy signing autographs at the National Farm Machinery Show earlier this year. Williams, who hails from Chillicothe, Mo., is the Dixie Chopper-sponsored ATV quad racer.

With more than 22 races under her belt, and at age 20, this is her eighth year of racing and her fourth year with Dixie Chopper. Growing up around ATVs, her father, Troy Williams, talked about how his daughter got into this action-packed sport.

“She got racing fever when she was nine. She was a dancer and a gymnast before she was a racer,” he said.

“I rode around the house on a utility vehicle, driving crazy,” Bailey Williams said.  “Dad put me on a four-wheeler, where I’d be safe.”

Loving the ride so much, young Williams wanted to give racing a go. She said she rode the ATV trail the first two seasons without a sponsor: “Dad bought my ATVs and I rode them. He made them race-ready.”

“She did the half season until she was 14,” Troy said. “Then, following Nationals, she showed lots of determination and lots of skill. She was first in the Youth Nationals and eighth in the Nationals against a 42-male field. She was the only girl at the time.

“Bailey is the first female to win Nationals and the youngest to win a Production B, and the first female to win a Production A,” this proud dad added.

“I missed the first-place title by a point for several years,” Williams said. “I have won 18 championships altogether. I came back and won the Production A and Women’s Championship in 2011.”

This sport is not without risk. “After I broke my shoulder and knee, I thought it was in my head, I was in denial,” she said. Not totally cleared by the doctor, she still rode.

When asked if it was difficult as a parent to watch his daughter race, Troy said, “Her mom can’t go to the Nationals.”

“My goal is to be the first female pro rider and run professional. I run professional/amateur right now, they are all together. You have to place top 33 percent class that year to turn pro,” Williams explained.

ATV racing is a give-all type of sport, taking dedication and true family support. “I have been on the road since I was 15, every weekend. I managed to finish high school and two years of college to be a dental assistant. I am also a gymnastics coach.”

Williams is a popular girl; with her good looks, it may be easier to imagine her posing for the camera than gearing up for an ATV ride. “I have been in three calendars to promote female racers, and aired on the Speed Channel,” she said.

Along with major family support, this is also a sport that needs sponsors. “I am very proud of my sponsors: Hoosier, Elka, DuraBlue, Rath and, of course, Dixie Chopper. They did all they could do, they treated us so well.”

Art Evans, founder of Dixie Chopper, was also at the farm show. “Art is something else. It has been unbelievable; he does what it takes,” Williams said.

“She has no fear,” Evans said. “I can hardly stand to watch her – she is fearless, and she drives like a Sprint car driver!”

Dixie Chopper produces a brand of industrial zero-turning lawn mower manufactured by Magic Circle Corp., in Fillmore, Ind. (see related column on page 6B). It was founded by Evans in 1980 and is now run by President and CEO Simon Wilson.

Dixie Chopper claims to build the world’s fastest lawn mowers. The best-known version is a prototype that was built using the jet engine from a Chinook helicopter. This model was featured on an episode of the sitcom “Home Improvement.”