Colin Braun figures there couldn't be a better time for his first victory in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series than in Saturday's race at Michigan International Speedway.
The 20-year-old Braun, in his second full season driving trucks for Roush Fenway Racing, would love to be the driver to give team co-owner Jack Roush his 50th truck series victory.
"Not only is Michigan Jack's backyard, it's Ford's and our sponsor Con-way Freight's backyards, as well," said Braun, last year's top truck rookie. "Just to get a win for them at Michigan, not to mention it being the 50th, would be pretty awesome."
Roush Fenway Racing has four truck wins and 11 Sprint Cup victories at Michigan, more than any other venue in either series. And Roush was able to celebrate last June at the Brooklyn, Mich., track after Erik Darnell -- now racing in the Nationwide Series -- gave the team its most recent truck win.
That's a long victory drought for Roush and his team, but Braun could be on the verge of changing that. He is coming off a third-place finish at Texas, matching his career best last season at Kansas. Now, heading into his 35th truck start, Braun would love to get to Victory Lane.
"Fifty wins in the truck series would really be keeping in concert with what our goal is: to set a lot of standards, to set a lot of high marks for ourselves, and to enjoy the celebration of those milestones with Ford Motor Company," Roush said.
Roush, whose team won the 2000 truck series championship with Greg Biffle -- as well as two Sprint Cup and two Nationwide Series titles -- is the only high-profile Cup owner still fielding entries in the truck series. Names such as Gibbs, Hendrick and Childress have pulled out.
"Having a name like Jack Roush in the Truck Series is pretty significant," said Patrick DiMarco, Ford's NASCAR brand manager. "... When I started in NASCAR, I was working in the truck series and you had Hendrick, Childress, DEI and Roush and they went at it -- all the big names -- and Jack stuck around, and that is important to us that he's still there and going for his 50th win."
Braun, who finished sixth at Michigan last June, said a big part of Roush's success is that his team is a big family.
"Everyone wants to see everyone else do well," he explained. "Everyone has the same goals and there is no question that goes unanswered.
"I feel like Jack Roush has made it clear to the older drivers that they need to help out the young rookies, and I think that's a big part of it."
Roush views the truck series as a teaching tool for younger drivers and the lessons imparted extend beyond maneuvering the truck around a speedway.
"It's the first stop for a rookie driver coming into NASCAR, coming into stock car racing," Roush said. "Historically, since the onset of the truck series more than 10 years ago, we've enjoyed taking our rookies there first and getting them started and improving their race craft -- improving judgments on the racetrack, establishing their code, which is the thing that keeps them out of harm's way.
"It establishes expectations among the competitors of what (young drivers) will and won't do on the racetrack. It's important that a driver have a good code, a defensible and admirable code, so he can really have the racing room he needs when it comes time and he's able to close the deal to win his races and compete for championships."
Braun agrees with his boss, and he just wants to keep learning and moving up the racing ladder.
"I don't really feel any pressure to get that win," Braun said. "I think that's one of the coolest things about driving for Jack and this team. They just put good trucks under me and we always have fast vehicles and good pit stops.
"We've got to keep putting ourselves in the position to win a race here. I know it will happen."
