Teenager Leighton Leevard: 'Racing with experienced drivers helps me learn.' Photo / Supplied
Teenager Leighton Leevard: 'Racing with experienced drivers helps me learn.' Photo / Supplied
When he’s driving in stock cars or drag cars, teenager Leighton Leevard races as The Heartstopper Kid – a name which references the rare heart condition he’s lived with his whole life.
Leevard has coronary arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a condition which occurs in 0.002% of the general populationand is usually discovered when older.
The condition is a blood vessel abnormality in which blood can flow straight from an artery to a vein without passing through the tiny capillaries in between. The condition can occur anywhere in the body, but is most commonly found in the brain or spine.
As a baby, Leevard was regularly in and out of hospital with his hands, feet and lips blue. Doctors would assume it was because of choking or blocked airways.
It wasn’t until a nurse and cardiac specialist heard something untoward in his chest when Leevard was 14 months old that they discovered AVM.
Eight months later, he underwent a heart operation and had a 6mm coil lodged in an artery connected to his heart.
It was a challenging time for his mum Roberta, who says it was tough as a single parent watching her son struggle.
Long term, it’s uncertain what the future holds but Leevard knows the coil saved his life and he’s determined to enjoy being a kid, although his journey is far from normal.
Leevard has delved into acting and become an ambassador for Heart Kids NZ, but nothing compares to his favourite passion, motorsport.
“Doing filming and racing opens up lots of opportunities,” said Leevard. “Career-wise, I’d like to keep racing, move into adult classes or three-quarter midgets.
“Or maybe be the next Paul Walker.”
Leevard was first exposed to cars as a kid through his mum and used to spend time around street cars and drag bikes. He would sleep in the trailer in a cot and believes that’s where his bug for racing came from.
He first got behind the wheel, aged 7, starting in a junior dragster and went on to win multiple awards.
Last year, he decided to try his hand at speedway after getting the chance to drive a ministock car.
Leighton Leevard has secured 15 wins in 104 ministock races as a rookie. Photo / Supplied
Despite having never driven a manual car, or raced on dirt, he made the feature race and his efforts saw him get his own car.
“Once you pick up a hobby, it gets easier,” said Leevard. “There were a few bunny hops and stalls at first, but now it’s natural and I can jump into a manual car and just drive.
“Ministocks is a good learner class. Some kids have been racing two or three years longer than me but many families have given great advice and helped us.
“Racing with experienced drivers helps me learn – how they drive, their set-ups, and tips I can use.”
On the track or dirt, he has always gone with the moniker of The Heartstopper Kid and his race number is 612, which commemorates the date of his operation in June 2012.
As he gets older a new name might be needed, but Leevard still wants to raise awareness and support for Heart Kids NZ.
When he’s not burning rubber or tearing up dirt, Leevard is busy off the track in his ambassador role and he’s had some acting roles, featuring in adverts for New World and Briscoes.
He also worked as a body double for Deric McCabe in the film A Wrinkle in Time, which had parts filmed in the South Island, and he got the chance to meet Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon.
Leighton Leevard, known as The Heartstopper Kid, also competes in dragsters. Photo /Supplied
He also had the chance to work with Jack Black recently during the filming of Minecraft.
“I’m just really grateful for the support from sponsors, friends and family,” said Leevard. “Coming from a single-parent family, not everyone gets these opportunities.
“I work hard to make it all come together.”
Over the most recent season, Leevard competed in 47 events, 10 dragster and 37 ministock.
At the NZ Drag Racing Association Nationals in Tokoroa, he finished second, while in 104 ministock races as a rookie he had 15 wins, 31 podiums and just one DNF.
Leevard says his best achievement of the season was taking out Rookie Champion at Future of Speedway held at Huntly Speedway, but the most memorable was grabbing his first Speedway New Zealand win in the last race of the weekend at an event in Rotorua.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
