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.

Q: What has surprised you about your journey into NASCAR?

Austin: Nothing really blind-sided me but you slowly notice how hard stuff starts to get. After the Hendrick [Motorsports] deal went south [he was signed in 2005 to its driver development program], that's when things got tougher, trying to find another ride and trying to support myself in racing and just trying to keep my head above water -- it got a little harder. Then we had a couple false deals that didn't work out like we planned that made it even harder. Then getting let go from Rusty Wallace [Racing] was something to add on to the pile [he was signed in 2007 to run in the East Series, then Nationwide in 2008] -- it just kind of built up. It's nothing that really blind-sides you, just things can turn south really quick and it's kind of surprising.

“

I have no crazy fan stories yet. Hopefully I get some of those soon but none at the time. I haven't had to put any restraining orders on anybody yet.

”

-- CHASE AUSTIN

Q: What drivers do you look up to?

Austin: None right now. The ones I did I'm either racing against or I just no longer idolize. Growing up it was Jeff Gordon; then it was Tony Stewart for a while and then Kyle Busch. That's about it I guess. I stopped being such a fan [when my career started] and really don't focus on any driver now.

Q: When you need advice, who do you turn to in the garage?

Austin: Chad McCumbee has helped me. Butch Miller is a big influence on me. When I raced late models, Butch helped me out a lot -- he's a big influence on me. Johnny Benson a little bit. Random people that I've talked to just in passing that I've had questions for.

Q: Do the other drivers in the garage respect you as a driver?

Austin: A lot of people I race against I've raced against already or have heard of me and know that I've kind of paid my dues. In the truck, I still have my rookie stripe so I still have to earn respect in that series and in that car even if they have heard of me or raced against me in something else. At Daytona, it's still hard to get someone to draft with you when you're a rookie. It doesn't matter how many other races you've ran, if you've never ran a truck with these guys at Daytona, they're not just gonna go with you when you pull out of line. You still have to gain respect in that aspect.

Q: What advice would you give to kids looking to get involved in motorsports?

Austin: It's kind of cliché, but never give up really works. That's one of the biggest things, no matter how bad it gets, if you think you were meant to do it then just keep going with it. No matter how bad the fight seems there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

Q: With this career comes fame -- any crazy fan stories?

Austin: I have no crazy fan stories, yet. Hopefully I get some of those soon but none at the time. Nothing shocking where I was like, 'Whoa get away.' I haven't had to put any restraining orders on anybody, yet.

Q: What about the ladies, it's got be difficult for you to date?

Austin: It always has been but I really never put that much into it. I've been concentrating on racing for so long. I've had girls come and go but the whole traveling thing really sucked so it didn't work out.

Q: Finally, Trail Motorsport is doing things differently with its team -- tell me about that.

Austin: They have a really cool program called Fan Forward. We know the fans are the most important thing so our team really focuses on that. Fans get their name on the car, they get to be involved in some things that no other team offers, so I think that is really cool.