Raleigh-area kindergarten teacher Nikki Chisek will have a pretty neat story to tell her class this week.

Chisek has been learning to drive a race car, with the help of her husband, Kevin.

On Saturday, Chisek took to the track for the first time, driving a leg for the No. 72 car in the inaugural 14 Hours of Rockingham, a Chump Car Series event at Rockingham Speedway.

Chisek spent just 20 minutes behind the wheel, following a course that combined the fabled one-mile oval at The Rock and the road course.

But the brief run was enough to show Chisek that she wants to keep racing.

Just don’t expect to see her trading paint with Danica Patrick any time soon.

“It’s nothing like what I thought I would be,” Chisek said, catching her breath after exiting the car and removing her helmet. “It’s invigorating and scary all at the same time.”

Before taking a half-day off on Friday to come to Rockingham and get ready for the race, Chisek got a few pieces of driving advice from her students.

“They said things like, ‘Make sure you drive faster than the other cars’ and ‘Don’t run into the other cars,’” Chisek said with a smile.

That was advice most of the drivers followed on Saturday, as the fledgling racing series visited the historic local track for the first time.

And series organizers plan to be back soon.

“We had a great time here,” said Cathy McCause, marketing director for ChumpCar. “We’ll definitely be back.”

The series makes community service a part of its approach, working with a local charity as part of each event. In Rockingham, the group partnered with the Our Daily Bread food pantry.

McCause said the series will be making a $1,500 cash donation to the local group. In addition, a truckload of food was collected.

It’s all part of trying to build relationships and a following with motorsports fans across the country, McCause said.

The ChumpCar Series markets itself as grass-roots racing. Cars can’t be valued at more than $500, so that makes racing affordable for those just starting out in what can be an expensive sport.

And this is truly a brand of racing for those who race for the love of the sport.

Ned Gallagher of Asheville has his own racing team, “Gallagher Restorations,” a weekend sideline from his usual work restoring classic vehicles.

His team has two vehicles: a 1985 Mercedes-Benz, and a 1987 Mercedes-