Growing up, you're often told you can't have it all, nor can you have it both ways.

Making choices and sacrifices are unavoidable, but 18-year-old Paul Harraka is determined to have it all and have it his way.

This summer, the New Jersey native intends to chase a promising NASCAR career and a college education, both on separate coasts and both equally important to him and his family.

Harraka

An admitted double-booker and intense competitor, Harraka's journey to becoming NASCAR's brightest star begins Saturday in Roseville, Calif., at All-American Speedway. Here he will start his season competing in NASCAR's Whelen All-American Series for Bill McAnally Racing.

And while he's racing Late Model cars in California on the weekends, Harraka will hit the books at Duke University during the week; come August, he'll regain his rookie stripe as a campus freshman.

His bi-coastal lifestyle at times might be enough to make Harraka bi-polar.

That said, the routine isn't entirely foreign to him. Last season, Harraka maintained the same pace, more than 18 coast-to-coast trips, California to Carolinas, and finished second in the NASCAR Track Championship Points race and was honored as rookie and driver of the year for his participation with the NASCAR-supported Drive for Diversity program.

"I've been doing this for so long that it just seems normal to me," said Harraka, who started racing go-karts when he was 9. "I can't remember the last time I was in school on a Friday, and I usually missed Thursdays as well."

But that was high school, and college has its unique set of demands.

"With me being in North Carolina and my crew being in California, it makes things harder, but Bill McAnally has a great race team and they go out of their way to help make things run smoothly," Harraka said. "Many times after the race I am being debriefed by my crew chief while I'm changing out of my driving suit in the rental car."

On the positive side, his intense travel schedule may afford him a trip around the world from what he can gain in frequent-flyer miles.

"I guess the funniest thing is watching the looks on the TSA workers' faces when they inspect my bags and find Penske Shocks, Aim Data Acquisition Systems and Holley carbs in my carry-on bags," he said. "But by now most of them know me by name."

Harraka, with the support of his father who built engines in the '70s and '80s, won nearly every title possible in regional and national go-kart competitions -- 152 go-kart races, 13 national championships and six worlds.

His affinity for kart racing came one Christmas when his father put in front of him his first go-kart in 1996 when he was 7. Together, the father-and-son team traveled the country pulling down victories along the way.

"My dad and I would leave on Wednesday after school and drive all night to Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, Illinois, Alabama and Canada, etc. so I could compete in the national races," he said.

Harraka's karting days led him to Lowe's Motor Speedway where the 15-year-old was befriended by track president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler. Wheeler encouraged the teen to jump into a Legends car and compete in the Summer Shootout.

Turns out, he won the shootout, which put him on the minds of NASCAR decision-makers heading up the Drive for Diversity program. Harraka is Syrian but speaks better Spanish than Arabic.

His drive switched gears to stock cars, so much so that he wanted to leave New Jersey for North Carolina in order to pursue internships with prestigious Sprint Cup teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Gillett Evernham Motorsports.

He did and finished his senior year in Mooresville, N.C., NASCAR's largest racing hub, with a 4.4 grade-point average.

Internships with the respective teams helped Harraka to realize his love for the business and mechanics of NASCAR, which rivaled his affection for being behind the wheel.

"I'm being offered the best of both worlds, with NASCAR racing and academically, and I'm going to get the most out of both. I know that I will have my work cut out for me and that it will be difficult, but I'm dedicated and determined to being successful at both," Harraka said.

Looking to the horizon, Harraka said he does not want to rush through the rungs of NASCAR simply to make a splash and then fade out of America's most competitive form of auto racing. He will run a full season of Late Models and assess his accomplishments mid-to-late season.

Harraka is content with mastering his craft before meeting a new challenge and he has yet to garner NASCAR's All-American championship trophy.

"My dad always told me it's better to be over-prepared than under-prepared because you only have one shot to make a first impression," he said.

More or less, Harraka is what one might call a parent's and a sponsor's dream; he is active in his North Carolina church and even enjoys spending time with his younger sisters.

Team owner McAnally said he never gives up, that's all.

"In all my years in racing, I've never met a more dedicated, harder-working kid than Paulie," McAnally said. "He's a very talented driver and a very bright kid and is great at working with his crew. This kid is going to make it all the way to the top in NASCAR, and I'm thrilled to have him drive for BMR."