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AIB student Jamie Ball on fast track to success

DES MOINES — Three years ago, Jamie Ball chose AIB College of Business to get on the fast track to a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Now AIB has chosen to back Ball in his quest to be the fastest racer on the track at Knoxville Raceway. AIB has become an associate sponsor of the White Lightning Motorsports racing team that features Ball, the 360 Sprint Car Rookie of the Year for 2010 at Knoxville.

“Jamie operates in a world where speed matters,” said Mark Thompson, AIB director of admissions and marketing. “With our Degree in 3 program, we make sure that driven students like him get to where they want to be as soon as possible. At AIB, our pledge is a faster forward from college to career.”

“I was looking to get right out of high school and get my bachelor’s degree as quick as I could so that I could move on and try to pursue my racing dreams,” Ball said. “I came to AIB and just fell in love with how it’s business focused. I could take courses in what I was wanting to do right off the bat.”

What Ball wants to do is race and help run the family businesses, which are really one and the same. His father, veteran sprint car driver Larry Ball Jr., owns the White Lightning team as well as L&J Enterprise and L&J Automotive in Knoxville with partner Jody Hegwood. Jamie Ball uses his sales and marketing education from AIB to promote the businesses and drive Internet sales. He works mornings and does his AIB coursework in the afternoons and evenings.

As a second generation driver, racing is in Ball’s blood.

“I’ve spent every weekend at a race track since I was born,” Ball said. “It’s a way of life for me.”

Ball started racing go-carts when he was 15. Now he drives sprint cars with 305- or 360-cubic-inch engines that can zip him around dirt tracks at speeds up to 130 mph. His father has come out of racing retirement to join him as a driver on the White Lightning team.

Ball’s close relationship with his father made his Rookie of the Year title for 2010 even more special.

“It felt great,” Ball said. “My dad raced sprint cars from ‘98 to 2006 and in his first year in 360s, he got Rookie of the Year as well. So it felt pretty cool twelve years later getting the same exact recognition that my dad got.”

In addition to his father, Ball has been inspired by racer Billy Alley.

“When I was younger, when I went to see him or get an autograph, he knew who I was. He would talk to me and know my name and have something else to say other than, ‘How are you?’ The way he always took the time to get to know kids made me want to do that and want to pay back to the other kids to give them someone to look up to.”

Ball has taken that example to heart, volunteering his time to visit the Knoxville elementary schools as part of the Race Against Hunger.

“The little kids look up to me like I’m some superstar or something,” Ball said. “They all want an autograph and picture, and they think it’s cool. That’s something that really hits home and makes it feel like I’m doing a good job. I want them to look up and have a positive role model, someone like me who’s been focused and driven to do what I want to do and dreamed big and never let anything hold me back.”

Ball is dreaming big.

“My goal is to win the 305 championship at Knoxville Raceway, where I finished seventh last year running a limited schedule, which was pretty good. I came on really strong at the end there. In 360 I’m just looking to get even more competitive than last year and looking to be the one to beat or the top five anyway. I want to be competitive and be a known force to be reckoned with.”

Ball’s racing career is taking off as his time at AIB is wrapping up. Ball kicks off his racing season April 16th in Burlington and April 30th in Knoxville. He plans to compete in 50 races this year, driving both 305 and 360 sprint cars. Follow him at www.jamieball.com. An AIB student since 2008, Ball earned an associate’s degree in business administration (sales and marketing) in 2010. He will complete his bachelor’s in business administration and graduate this June.

“AIB’s unique in its way that you can get through quick,” Ball said. “You can be focused on what you want, and it also is flexible for your schedule. You don’t have to drop what you’re doing and go focus on school full-time and have no income. You can do it all if you have the drive and determination.”

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