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An old pro at 20, Braun is the latest Roush protégé
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star

When Colin Braun missed 72 days of kindergarten because he was traveling all over the country driving go-karts, it was a sign that his life would be different from most youngsters in Ovalo, Texas.

Braun saw the world from behind the wheels of quarter midgets, go-karts, sports cars and Formula cars. He raced in Italy, France, Monaco and Japan before he was old enough to get a Texas driver’s license.

His dad was a race engineer, and he was home-schooled by his mom, allowing Braun to become the youngest driver in North America to win a major motor race when he won the Brumos 250 at Daytona International Speedway at 17 1/2 .

Now Braun, at the ripe old age of 20, is home and the latest protégé in the Jack Roush stable. He was selected NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year last season, and he’ll be back at Kansas Speedway for today’s O’Reilly 250 for Roush-Fenway Ford, knowing full well the team has won three of the last six races at Kansas Speedway.

Jon Wood won in 2003, Carl Edwards in 2004 and Erik Darnell in 2007. No pressure, is there?

“We know we have good trucks — fast trucks — and everywhere we go there is a little bit of pressure to perform,” said Braun, who finished third at Kansas last season — his best finish of 2008 despite making some rookie mistakes.

“Being a rookie, getting in a truck that is fast and can win the race — you felt you needed to show what it can do. Sometimes your foot gets a little ahead of your brain, and you drive a little bit over your head. I’m going to try and not do that this time.”

Braun began this season by winning the pole at Daytona and finishing ninth, but he has struggled the last three weeks, including a disappointing 35th in the last race at Martinsville, Va.

“We’ve had a few tough races in a row and need to get our momentum back,” he said. “Historically, Kansas has been a great track for Roush Fenway drivers, and I would really like to add my name to that list of winners.”

Braun caught Roush’s eye in 2007 when he was driving in the Rolex Daytona sports car series using Roush-Yates engines. He became the youngest driver in the history of the Le Mans 24 Hours to set foot on the podium when he finished second in the 2007 race and finished fifth in the series.

He was selected Racer magazine Rookie of the Year by Speed TV fans and Racer magazine readers, beating out Marco Andretti (IndyCar), Denny Hamlin (NASCAR’s Sprint Cup), Robert Kubica (Formula One), Dan Clark (Champ Car) and drivers from drag racing and USAC midgets.

“I’ve always wanted to be in NASCAR,” said Braun, who also made five Nationwide starts last season, including one top-five finish and two poles. “It’s something I’ve always really enjoyed and liked. The older I got, the more I was able to watch a Formula One race or an IndyCar race or NASCAR race and really understood what was going on.

“I liked NASCAR racing because it was such close racing. You look at some of the other series, and to drive those cars and the skills those drivers have is amazing, but they don’t always race wheel to wheel. For me, I love racing wheel to wheel with somebody.”

During his time abroad, Braun’s parents gave him the option of returning home for a more conventional childhood.

“It wasn’t even a question with him,” said Diane Braun. “He missed out on dances, proms, that kind of stuff. But the racing filled in for that.”

Looking back, Braun has no regrets about missing those dances, proms and Friday-night football games:

“When you’re 11, 12, 14, 15 and traveling around the world to places like France and Monaco and Japan, seeing all those places and getting all those experiences. … When you’re that age, you take that for granted and you look back at it now when you’re older, you say, ‘That was pretty cool to get to those countries and do those things, especially at such a young age.