Ickler doing it on his own, and the results are striking

When driver Brian Ickler packed all of his belongings on the West Coast and settled into NASCAR's Southeast, he figured there'd be risks. Offered a ride with California team Bill McAnally Racing, the 22-year-old turned down the job security to go it alone.

Looking for greater exposure in NASCAR's hub, Mooresville, N.C., Ickler started from scratch with only five employees and fists full of hope. In December, he opened the doors to Ickler Motorsports.

Chuck Spicer

Brian Ickler

Camping World East

2008 Standings

Pos.	Driver	Points	W	T5	T10
1.	Austin Dillon	647	1	2	3
2.	Brian Ickler	592	2	2	2
3.	Steve Park	590	0	1	4
4.	Matt Kobyluck	584	1	2	3
5.	Jeffrey Earnhardt	570	0	2	3
6.	Trevor Bayne	556	0	2	3
7.	Marc Davis	552	0	1	2
8.	Jesus Hernandez	545	0	2	2
9.	Rogelio Lopez	520	0	0	2
10.	Eddie MacDonald	505	0	2	2

• Complete Standings click here

And the risks: They've turned to rewards as the driver has won back-to-back races this season in NASCAR's Camping World East Series and sits second in the point standings, 55 points away from leader Austin Dillon.

The payoff for the San Diego native came in May when he drove his family-owned No. 15 Chevrolet to Victory Lane in the US Cellular 200 at Iowa Speedway and then again in the Strutmasters.com 150 at South Boston Speedway.

"It's awesome because in December we started with nothing. The wins have given everyone a boost and we are ready to push harder," Ickler said.

Pushing hard is what has carried Ickler throughout his young career, a career that started in the desert. On weekends, him and his father road dirt bikes, but too many broken bones forced Ickler to reconsider his path.

The path took him to off-road racing with McMillin Racing. At 14, Ickler was too young to race so he raced under his father's name, Kurt Ickler.

"I was 16 for three years," Ickler laughed. "Everyone knew but the reporters still asked."

After four years of off-road racing in the SCORE Off-Road Racing Series, Ickler was ready for pavement and his father bought him a Super Late Model car. He then went on to race for McAnally Racing in the Camping World West Series for two seasons and won three races.

This season in the Camping World East Series, he hopes to duplicate his efforts and attract the attention of Sprint Cup team owners.

"I don't think the future is in my hands, but we are going to keep winning races and hopefully someone will give me a shot," Ickler said. "The Camping World Series is a great stepping stone, because the cars we run are ultimately Nationwide cars especially since they added the restrictor plate rule we now have similar horse power."

And back at the Ickler Motorsports shop, it's all about horsepower and will power. Five employees and Ickler work round the clock building cars to compete against other Cup-funded teams with hundreds of employees.

"It's about quality, not quantity. It's a group of family and friends," he said. "Money from families who sacrificed things so this team could go forward. I've always done it myself and we know how it works."

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How it works is that Ickler doesn't tear up his equipment. The pressure to keep his nose clean on the track is greater considering he'll be the one fixing it back at the shop on Monday.

The team has five cars built now after several weeks of 12-hour days and time is needed to perfect the engine and setups, not repairing wrecked cars.

"It doesn't affect my aggressiveness on the track because I know my guys can build cars fast but it does teach you what you need to do in order to stay clean and how fragile those front fenders are," he said.

Later this month, Ickler will travel to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his next event. Meanwhile, he is still acclimating to life in Mooresville, N.C., away from the comforts of home and an ocean to surf in.

Now he wake boards on Lake Norman and is learning to do his own laundry.

"Laundry is tough, the worst chore in the whole world. I have shrunk most of my stuff since I've been in North Carolina," Ickler laughed. "I'm trying to talk my mom into coming more often."

And cooking?

"I eat out lot," he said. "Or talk my crew guys' girlfriends into cooking something for me."