"Dancing with the Stars" professional dancer Emma Slater saw her mirrorball trophy chase end short last season when her partner, "Star Wars" actor Billy Dee Williams, had to leave the show early due to back pain. This season, the dancer is determined to finish her journey with her Season 19 partner, NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip.

Although Slater and Williams were not able to win the mirrorball trophy, Slater says her time with Williams was still valuable as the experience is helping her with Waltrip.

"What I learned with Billy, I learned early on that there were certain moves that I wasn't able to give him because of his limitations," Slater told Starpulse.com."It was really challenging for him, so I had to really tailor-make those dances specifically for him."

Waltrip, 51, is a bit more flexible than Williams, 77, was, Slater said.

"I'm finding that I'm doing something similar with Michael, but a broader spectrum," the 25-year-old dancer explained. "Michael's actually quite agile, and I think that has a lot to do with his occupation as a NASCAR driver."

Upon meeting Waltrip, Slater was impressed by the racecar driver's "massive wall of energy and flamboyance," and now she says he's the "light" of her life.

Being Waltrip's partner, however, comes with a bit of extra work, as Waltrip is doing a lot of travel these days for the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"Michael has an obligation every single NASCAR race or event," Slater explained. "He turns up and I follow him in his shadow. ... The people are so friendly and so loyal and really relatable."

The dancer also insists that, despite Waltrip's fun-loving disposition, he takes "Dancing with the Stars" seriously.

"Michael's excited to learn more things, and also, he's just trying so hard," Slater said. "I think sometimes people see him having fun and think that he's not taking it seriously, and that's absolutely not the case. He's the most fierce competitor I've ever had on the show.

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Follow Scharon Harding on Twitter: @ScharHar.

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