ORLANDO, Fla.— Ayrton Ori is just like your average 17-year-old.

He comes home from school, puts his backpack down, and gets started on his homework.

“I don’t really think of myself as someone special or someone that is different from the rest. I am just another guy following his dream,” said Ayrton Ori, a Junior at Lake Highland Prep and a professional race car driver.

That dream set him apart from other teenagers. By day Ayrton is your typical High School Junior at Lake Highland Prep but come the weekend he is a professional race car driver who most recently competed in the Rolex 24 for the second year in a row.

“I guess if I stepped back and looked at it. It would be a little daunting looking at it but it’s just always been apart of my life,” said Ori.

Ori started racing go-karts when he was five years old thanks to his dad’s passion for the sport. 

“Racing is life. It is something that is addictive. It’s the most addictive thing in the world,” said Ori.

Fast forward 12 years and he now spends at least two hours a night practicing on I-racing. 

“It gives me what I need and it gives me a layout for what the track feels,” said Ori.

It’s not just the nightly practice that has helped Ori fulfill his dream.

“I had to complete a whole semester of school in 4 weeks. I have had to sacrifice a lot. I have had to miss a lot of things but in the end it was all worth it because i got to race in the Rolex. It is just a lot of hard work, blood, sweat and tears.,” said Ori.

He wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I just don’t even know where my life would be without racing. It has done so much for me it really has and I mean it has giving me so much confidence to be who I am and its given me so many opportunities to meet so many amazing people,” said Ori.

Take a look at Ori and it’s easy to think he has it all but his confidence wasn’t always there. 

“When I was younger in grade school I had growth hormone deficiency and I was bullied a lot for my size and I was mistreated by a bunch of kids and it was all because I was half the size of them. Racing kind of helped me have an identity and it made me very happy in times where I wasn’t really happy,” said Ori.

Now as Ori continues to make a name for himself, he gives others a solid path to follow. 

“Be humble. Race your heart out and work your hardest and you’ll make it,” said Ori.