Georgia teen Roderick on fast track with Elliott's help (cont'd)

Roderick, among the most successful drivers to compete on Atlanta Motor Speedway's Thunder Ring, where drivers such as Joey Logano, David Ragan and Reed Sorenson began their careers, said the chance to drive for Elliott is a dream.

Starting with his first Thursday Thunder Series Bandolero Bandits championship in 2003, Roderick has won six Legends titles at AMS. He also sits second in all-time career feature wins at AMS with 23 victories, ahead of both Sorenson (22) and Logano (20).

“

I'm ready to do whatever it takes to further my career. I'll do whatever I need to do to get on the track.

”

CASEY RODERICK

But what sets Roderick apart from the other drivers his age is his gregarious personality and willingness to help fellow competitors on and off the track. Since 2005, Roderick has maintained the honors of most popular driver for the Thursday Thunder Series

Roderick is also the youngest Pro Series driver (13) in INEX history to win the Summer Shootout Series championship at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2006, a record previously held by Sorenson. He followed that up with another Summer Shootout Series Pro championship in 2007.

Roderick's career began one night sitting in the grandstands of Lamar County Raceway in Barnesville, Ga., with his father who raced mini stocks.

He was 5 years old and after the race his father asked the track owner if his son could race a go-kart.

"From that moment on, we raced there every Saturday night for six years. That was my home track," Roderick said. "That's kind of how it all started."

And today his family may soon be leaving their quaint town of Lawrenceville for Dawsonville so they can be close to the Bill Elliott Racing shop -- a place Roderick hopes will take him to NASCAR.

"I'm ready to do whatever it takes to further my career. I'll do whatever I need to do to get on the track," he said. "I'll do anything to race."