At age 18, Max Gresham is just a few months out of high school.

Gresham, however, isn't done graduating.

Crowned 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion at Dover International Speedway last month, Gresham is now nearing another graduation -- to one of NASCAR's three national series.

It all starts Saturday in the Smith's 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where the youngster will make his Camping World Truck Series debut, driving the No. 66 Chevrolet of Turn One Racing. The 1.5-mile track will serve as a proving ground of sorts for Gresham, who is seeking NASCAR approval to compete at all-sized venues in 2012 when he hopes to run the full truck schedule.

"The target this weekend is to bring the truck back home in one piece ... and hopefully finish in the top 20, top 15," said Gresham, who is guaranteed to start the race by virtue of the No. 66 team's position in owner points. "That's a realistic goal. I'd like to run inside the top 10 or top five if possible but if the truck's not right or it's just not going to be our day, the goal is to bring it home in one piece without any damage and just salvage what we can and learn from it."

While Gresham's youth and inexperience leave him with plenty to learn about the truck series, he is no newcomer to competitive auto racing. The Griffin, Ga., native has spent the past two years honing his skills in the K&N Series East (four wins) and the ARCA Racing Series (one win) where he's been a consistent force.

Gresham is looking forward to making the jump to the more competitive trucks.

"I'm not really nervous," he said. "I'm probably more anxious than anything; I'm ready to get it going. I've been waiting for this day for awhile now to venture into one of NASCAR's top three series. It's going to be a real cool experience for myself, my family when we show up Friday and Saturday to practice and race. I'm ready to go."

Gresham seems undaunted by the fact he'll be competing on a track where he's never raced before, and against former champions such as Ron Hornaday and Todd Bodine.

"It's just another race," Gresham said. "It's another track with four corners. You can't be nervous when you're inside the car. You just have to go out there and do what you know you're supposed to do, and that's what I'm going to do."

Plans call for Gresham to follow his Truck Series debut with two more starts -- at Martinsville on Oct. 29 and at Homestead on Nov. 18. Both outings will come with Turn One Racing, where he'll be tutored beginning at Las Vegas by team owner and former driver Stacy Compton, and veteran crew chief Trip Bruce.

"The biggest thing about this weekend is learning something and hoping the next time when I get to drive one of these trucks, I'll be even better," Gresham said.

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