Austin ready to turn his family sacrifice into success

He's only 19, but Chase Austin already has been through a ton in his racing career.

It all started at age 8, when he raced a go-kart for the first time and was "really bad." His parents thought it was a phase but Austin kept going, racing go-karts until he was 10. From there he's raced just about everything with four wheels -- Microsprints, dirt late models, World of Outlaw late models, ASA late models, Hooters Pro Cup, Sprint cars, Camping World East, ARCA, Nationwide Series -- and most of it without sponsorship or a team, paid for by his family.

Signed to a full Camping World Truck Series season with Trail Motorsport, Austin is ready to show the world what he can do behind the wheel -- and he's off to a good start with a 13th-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona followed by a 23rd at Fontana.

Currently 18th in points, Austin spent some time with NASCAR.COM and shared what it's like to spend his teenage years engrossed in a career and just how hard it is to succeed in this sport.

Q: How much of a struggle did your family go through to support your racing career?

Austin: They were pretty big and we are still in a lot of debt, still trying to pay all that off. They sacrificed a lot; my sisters also sacrificed a lot just by giving up the time with my parents that they spent on me. My sisters are really big in cheerleading and my mom got to go with them but my dad was mostly traveling with me everywhere doing the whole racing deal. It's been hard on us financially, especially last year when I was doing independent late model stuff. The price of gas is high, tires cost so much, so its been pretty hard. But they stuck through it, stuck with me and they said they were willing to help me until I wanted to stop doing it.

Q: Any regrets about missing the "teenage" experiences most kids go through?

Austin: Not at all. I lived with my parents until I moved to North Carolina when I was 16 so I got used to the freedom thing. I lived with family friends and my sister, so I was kind of on my own. I would go back home [to Kansas] about once or twice every two months and I got to hang out with my friends from high school. I still did a home-schooling program that was on the Internet through that school district, so when I went back I was able to go to the actual school and hang out, go to gym -- I still got go to high school and experience some of the stuff, just not everyday. (Continued)