3-25-2008 - NASCAR.com article on Colin - front page

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By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM

If you're not familiar with the name yet, you will be soon.

More important, you need to know how to pronounce it correctly.

The name is Colin Braun; last name pronounced Brown, contrary to public announcement systems or broadcasters.

"People try to argue with me about it, but I'm pretty sure how to say it ... it's a German name," said Braun, a 19-year-old Texan making a soft yet lauded launch into NASCAR by way of the Craftsman Truck Series and most recently the Nationwide Series.

At last weekend's Pepsi 300 in Nashville, where Nationwide Series regulars and rookies have a unique chance to shine in the absence of Sprint Cup moonlighters, Braun, in just his second career series start and first of 2008, brought home a 15th-place finish.

His first time racing on concrete, the Roush Fenway Racing rookie was pleased but admitted he left something on the table.

"I thought it went really well," said Braun, driving to his new home in Cornelius, N.C., after the race. "The whole [No. 16 Ford] CitiFinancial team worked really hard. Going into the race we wanted to be tight just to be safe and make all the laps; you can't get seat time if you're in the garage with a wrecked racecar. We stayed on the tight side and it cost us a little performance but we met our goal of making all the laps."

Sure, making laps is a priority for any rookie but Braun, in other racing circles, is anything but a rookie. The articulate, home-schooled racer has been competing all over the world since he was 5 years old starting with quarter midgets in his home state.

At the age of 8, Braun moved to karts driving for factory teams not only in the U.S., but in Italy, Monaco and Japan, as well. He won multiple karting championships before moving into formula cars at age 14.

In the Grand Am division, at age 16, Braun raced in the 24 Hours of Daytona for Team 16 Porsche GT, finishing seventh in his class. That same year, Braun went down in the history books as the youngest Rolex Daytona Prototype driver.

In 2006, Braun capped off his season by finishing fourth in the Rolex driver points despite missing three races because of a tobacco sponsorship conflict that sidelined him for being too young; a companion event with the Indy Racing League with Penske sponsored by Marlboro prevented the then-17-year-old from competing.

But that same hindrance would prove to be the helpful catalyst for Braun's aspiring NASCAR career.

With Boris Said filling in for the three races Braun missed, his replacement forged a relationship between Braun and team owner Jack Roush.

"I was disappointed I couldn't race but it was a big intro," Braun said. "I've raced sports cars because the opportunities where there. At that time, I just didn't have the contacts in NASCAR, but I also figured if I won enough races I would get the attention of a Cup team owner."

And he did. In 2007, Braun found himself running three races in the ARCA/ReMax Series with Roush Fenway, all resulting in top-10 finishes. He also made one start each in the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series.

Now full time in the Truck Series driving the No. 6 Ford -- he was one top-10 in three starts -- Braun is working to reach his goals and ultimately land a shot in the Sprint Cup Series.

Looking back on his already established career, Braun realized racing is all he knows.

He never thought to look at other fields of study and he never contemplated a "fall-back" plan if racing didn't pan out.

Braun's father was a racer and an engineer for professional race teams, his brother was a journalist for a national racing magazine and his mother supported Braun's racing aspirations every step of the way, including moving the family overseas for his factory ride opportunities in kart.

"My family never pressured me to race, but we knew at around [age] 12 or 13 I could do it professionally if we worked hard. From then on, I've never thought about doing something else," he said. "I just think about how lucky I am to be in this position and it drives me to work harder."

Working hard is what Braun is doing by going to the Roush race shop daily, studying crew chief's notes and watching previously recorded races.

He continually calls on Roush Fenway drivers Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle for advice and looks to his past experiences racing sports cars for that close, side-by-side racing knowledge he needs to feel comfortable in stock cars.

"For me, I don't know a lot about these stock cars so I have to learn as much as I can in a short amount of time," Braun said.

And in that time, Braun hopes he becomes a more well-known name in the sport and, of course, one that everyone correctly pronounces.

Pictures from www.colinbraun.com and www.Motorsport.com