Braun earns Truck rookie award, eyes bigger goals

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- Colin Braun knew he'd better win the Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year award in 2008, or he'd hear about it from team owner Jack Roush.

"Well, I think Jack told me something at the start of the year like, 'If you don't win it, I am going to kick your butt,'" Braun said. "Obviously, I am really happy to win it."

With eight top-10 finishes in 25 starts, including a season-best third at Kansas Speedway, Braun placed his name alongside Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Todd Kluever and Erik Darnell as drivers from Roush Fenway Racing who were named winners of the award sponsored by Raybestos.

A season of success

Johnny Benson capped a grinding halt to the Craftsman Truck Series season in the appropriate way: in the closing laps of the final race. The year was special for Benson, and a few others along the way.

• Benson knew he could win
• Key to the season: Survival
• Davis full circle as an owner
• Rookie Braun has big goals

Braun, who turned 20 in September, was introduced to racing at an early age in his home state of Texas. He started out in quarter-midgets at age 6, and was racing all over the world as a member of a factory karting team by the time he reached his teens. Switching to formula cars, Braun earned back-to-back championships in the Formula Renault 1600 and Formula TR 2000 Series. Two years later, he made history by driving in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona with two other 16-year-olds.

In 2006, he won the Brumos 250 at Daytona -- making him the youngest North American driver to win a race in a major series -- and finished fourth in that season's Rolex driver points. One year later, he became the youngest driver in the history of the 24 Hours of LeMans to stand on the podium after finishing second in a factory Ferrari-sponsored GT2 car.

But the biggest challenge of his career was to come when he decided to sign a long-term deal with Roush to go to the stock-car route. Certainly 2008 was a learning experience for the native of Ovalo, just south of Abilene.

"For me, personally, this season has been great to me," Braun said. "I've learned a lot. I've gotten a chance to race against veteran drivers. I've certainly made my fair share of mistakes racing against those guys, but they've been nice enough to not only forgive me but to help me out and teach me and improve my skills."

Braun was pleased with his overall season, but there were a few disappointments.

"Just being so close to having the chance to finish in the top five or the top 10 and then having something happen," Braun said. "Either a wreck because of my mistake or getting caught up in somebody else's wreck. Those are the moments that stand out the most for me, are the ones where we were so close and didn't close out the deal."

Looking back at 2008, Braun said one thing he wished he could do would be to travel back in time and get a second chance to correct the mistakes he made the first time around.

"There's quite a bit I learned along the way, and quite a few races I wish I could go back to and do this different or that different," Braun said. "I can't go back and re-do them, but I get a chance to do everything right the next year, that's how I look at it."

Braun, who finished 14th in the season's final race at Homestead, said he will return to the No. 6 Ford for 2009, which should provide some level of comfort.

"Certainly the first few races of the season will be easier [next year]," Braun said. "I won't be thinking, 'Well, I wonder what qualifying's going to be like' or that I've never done this or never done that. There's a lot of unexpecteds that are gone. Having a little bit of experience under my belt makes it nice, as well.

"Sometimes I felt like I didn't get the easy stuff right. And I feel bad for that, but that's what I'm concentrating on for next year."

So what did Roush think of Braun's rookie year?

"I think he's been happy, obviously," Braun said. "We set out to win the rookie of the year championship and we've done that. At the same time, he told me "be patient, be smart and be mature" and those are the things that sound easy but are so much harder when you get the helmet on and get racing.

"A lot of that's just me being young and dumb, I guess. And that's what I'm really 100 percent focused on for next year, is being patient, being smart, being mature and trying to make the right decisions."

And now that he's accomplished his primary goal for 2008, what's on the checklist for 2009?

"For sure, winning a race," Braun said. "That's a goal for us next year. We're going to try and see if we can compete for the title. Obviously, everybody wants that. I feel like we have a really good truck, a great team, a great crew chief. Certainly if I do my part, I think we'll be in contention for it."