Meet Jayden Litman, the 19-year old WV driver & mechanic taking truck-pulling to a new audience

By Jeffrey Kanode, RealWV

NEW MARTINSVILLE, WV — In an Ohio River town just south of West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, a thirteen-year-old girl spotted something that instantly intrigued her.

“My dad and I were out in the shop, the old one downtown, and when I asked about what I spotted, he was like, ‘That’s one of my old pulling trucks.”

That dad, Robert “Boo” Litman, had been driving pull trucks recreationally for years, mostly non-competitively, in exhibitions at county fairs throughout northern West Virginia and Ohio.

That girl, now nineteen-year-old young lady Jayden Litman, continued the origin story of her driving career. “The truck was just sitting there, and I was like, ‘Well, why don’t we get it back out, and I’ll learn to drive.’ That’s where it all started.”

A half-dozen years later, Jayden has become a recognized, respected, and very popular driver on the truck-pulling circuit across the United States. She ran for a points championship for two years, and she finished runner-up in the standings both years. Today she runs in various sanctioning bodies, under the umbrella of several organizations so she can compete more often and run in the events she chooses.

Somethin’ to Prove

But back to her origin story—the details of Jayden’s first competition: “It was July 2, 2021, in Caldwell, Ohio,” Jayden said, after some quick researching, scrolling through the photos on her smartphone. “I was in the Open Street Diesel class then. I finished fourth out of six people running in the class.”

From her very first truck pull, Jayden Litman competed at a high level, defeating others many years older than her, with many more years driving that she had even been alive.

Competitive truck pulling has been a motorsport for decades. In 2026, the discipline has seen new growth and new interest, as larger national sanctioning bodies like the IHRA (International Hot Rod Association) plan a new truck pulling series, with a championship points structure.

Jayden’s mom Kristen has observed firsthand how her daughter has helped broaden the appeal of truck pulling, and how for specific demographics, Jayden Litman has become the face of the sport.

“I just love to watch the little girls come up to Jayden’s truck. They love the colors—the pink catches their eyes, and the purple. I will ask, ‘Would you like to meet the driver? She’s right here.’ Jayden will come out in her fire suit and the little girls’ eyes will get really big. It’s like a movie star situation. She is so good with them, too. She’ll talk to them. She’ll get her
picture taken with them. She’ll even let them sit up in her truck,” Kristen said.

Jayden said it really touched her when she found out one little girl had a birthday party themed on Jayden and her truck, that purple and pink beauty named “Somethin’ To Prove.’”

“They made her birthday cake look like my truck,” Jayden said with a laugh and a twinkle in her eyes.

Many of the little girls who make their way to gaze upon “Somethin’ To Prove” and its young driver end up giving that driver little gifts demonstrating their admiration and love for her.

‘Youngest female driver’

“My office is full of the children’s little gifts,” Jayden said with a wide smile. “As a mother, it makes my heart so proud to see how the children, especially the young girls, gravitate to Jayden. I get a little teary-eyed seeing how good she is to them and with them, too,” Kristen admitted.

While Jayden cherishes her connection to young children, especially young girls, she also values connecting to younger generations, in general. “I’m the youngest female driver, and one of the very few in the sport, and I think being young can attract young people, not just kids and not just girls,” she stated.

Google defines truck pulling as a motorsport based on “torque and traction.” Each truck pulls a 40,000 pound sled with the objective of seeing which truck can pull the sled the longest distance. It’s all about the driver, too.

“These trucks are all built the same. The driver and the driver’s style makes all the difference,” Kristen observed. “Jayden’s a natural. She’s got so much natural talent. She had a driving coach who said she’s got a gift for driving. He said, ‘Jayden,
this is what you need to do.’ He said she’s a natural. She listens, She does exactly what she’s told she needs to do. She can modify her driving just by them saying to her, ‘Jayden, This is what you need to do.’ She just has a natural knack with it.’”

The name of Jayden’s trucks—she actually has two—“Somethin’ To Prove”—reflects the heart and desire of the young driver. “She has something to prove. It’s not only something to prove to other drivers. Okay, she’s a young girl. She can drive. But it’s something to prove to herself. She’s able to do this,” Kristen said.

“We wanted something catchy, something short. I think ‘Proven It’ was the original idea.” Jayden paused. “Yes. ‘Proving It.’ But then we came up with ‘Somethin’ To Prove,’ and it stuck.” The two trucks are actually wrapped, like NASCAR Cup cars, not painted. There are slight variations of both “Somethin’ To Prove” trucks.

Both “Somethin’ To Prove” trucks look just as Jayden envisioned. “I’m happy with how they turned out, especially this one.” She motioned toward the purple and pink truck looming over her. “I like the sparkles. It has a lot of sparkles, doesn’t it?” Jayden added with a giggle.

‘Isn’t just a pretty face…she knows how to work on them’

As integral as Jayden’s driving talent is to her success as a competitor, she doesn’t just drive. Jayden learned how to work on her trucks by apprenticing with her dad and with family and friends who help in the shop. Further deepening her mechanical knowledge, Jayden got certified after two years of diesel mechanic classes at the Mid-Ohio Technical Institute (MOVTI) in St.
Mary’s, WV.

“She isn’t just a pretty face who comes walking out in her fire suit when it’s time to climb into the truck and drive. She knows how to work on them, and she does. People see it. I think that’s something else that draws people to Jayden,” Kristen said.
Jayden has traveled to Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio and New York to compete in truck-pulling events. Her biggest journey to date comes in June.

Right now, one of the “Somethin’ To Prove trucks—the Dodge with the Cummins motor rather than the GMC with the Duramax engine sitting in the New Martinsville shop—is crossing the Atlantic in a shipping container, bound ultimately for the Netherlands. European truck pulling promoters have invited Jayden to compete in the first ever Superstock Diesel pull in
Europe, called the “Megapull Stroe,” June 12 and 13.

“It’s a ten hour flight for us, but it takes my truck a month to get there!” Jayden exclaimed. “I am excited. I am anxious to see how different the culture is over there.”

Speaking of culture, both Jayden and her mom expressed deep appreciation for the close-knit community the young driver experiences among her fellow drivers. “They look out for this young lady competing with them, and they appreciate what she does,” Kristen acknowledged.

“They are only too happy to help out if anything ever goes wrong with the truck.” Jayden explained that she has experienced competitors stopping work on their truck to help her—or any other competitor—out. “It isn’t anything to see a guy just drop what’s he doing on his own truck and go help someone else out. They will work on your truck before they’ll work on their own. It’s pretty incredible. Also, if another team grills out, you know, has food, they invite everyone over to eat. You compete with a lot of the same folks all over, so you get to know each other. It’s a close knit community.”

A star in the classroom too

Though racing drives her deepest passion, Jayden also values her education. After graduating from Magnolia High School, Jayden got accepted to Louisiana State University. She takes online classes, and she will graduate from LSU with a degree in construction management.

She already works for her parents’ company, Litman Excavating. While she pursues her degree and lifts up those career goals, Jayden continues to aspire to achieve great heights in the motorsports world of truck-pulling. She hopes to be invited to
compete next year in that new IHRA-sanctioned truck pulling series, and she plans to continue creating her own schedule, competing in around twenty events a year. Those events include the truck pull in Bowling Green, Ohio, considered “the Super Bowl of Truck Pulling,” in August.

She also likes to take part in as many local fairs as she can, but many of them do not feature her class, so those events for her are exhibitions, not competitions.

As she stands beside the purple and pink GMC/Duramax “Somethin’ To Prove,” the mighty truck towers over its driver. But this petite young West Virginia lady stands tall and mighty in heart, in dreams, in skill, in talent, and in originality. Jayden Litman’s heart beats and her mind works to prove something, something grand in the world of motorsports. No doubt she
will continue achieving. She has proven so much already.