Future NASCAR Drivers - The Right Steps

"Most of our races are 250 laps, [so] I know when to use the car and when not to. They say you shouldn't go three-wide, but that's not always possible. You have to know whether it's go or no-go on making it three-wide. I mean, if you have to do it, make sure you do it at the right time."

Given that the fields in NASCAR races are being filled with kids in their teens and early twenties, does Huffman think that at the age of 32 the deck is stacked against him?

"Hey!" he answers with a laugh, "my car owner, Junior, is the same age that I am. Does that mean that he's too old to be winning races? Somebody better tell him about that. Seriously, I'm the best race car driver right now that I have ever been in my life."

Making Strides
Then there is the case of 26-year-old Willie Allen from Bon Aqua, Tennessee. While many have never heard of Allen, he is garnering a lot of attention inside the industry. Allen started racing go-karts at age 16, a little later than most of today's racing stars. He quickly moved into a Legends Car at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville, where he now is a regular in the Late Model Division.

Allen had a breakout season in 2004 at Nashville when he finished Third in the points chase while notching three wins and 12 Top-10 finishes in 20 races. As a result of his success, he earned the Rookie of the Year title on the 51/48-mile track.

The following season was not as fruitful for Allen at the Music City Motorplex, where he ran only seven times and won twice. But the time he spent on the road started attracting attention and earned Allen a place in a General Motors/Craftsman Truck Series test session at North Carolina's Caraway Speedway with 13 other drivers, most of whom already had developmental deals with top NASCAR teams.

Allen had the best laps of all the participants and nearly matched the lap times of the truck's regular driver. That earned Allen a ride in a Morgan Dollar Motorsports truck, with the Nashville Visitors and Convention Bureau as a sponsor at Martinsville last October. He started 21st in the 36-truck field and brought it home in Sixth Place.

"We started off a little slow, [because] we were so tight," he says. "But on our only pit stop, the guys made some good adjustments to our Silverado and I made some adjustments to my driving style, different from my Late Model. I got in line and stayed there, learning as much as I could.

"Martinsville is a tough place to pass, and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the run we were having. We had a few close calls with people wrecking in front of me, but my spotter helped me work around everything and we brought home a great finish. It was a terrific learning experience for me. I'm happy that we got such a great finish for everyone on the team. I am honored to have Nashville on my truck; it is a great city. I am very grateful to all of the people who have helped me get to this point."

The results of the Truck Series race and Allen's professional demeanor earned spots on a list of top 10 prospects on NASCAR.com, and on NASCAR Scene's list of 10 drivers on the verge of breaking through.

Allen didn't rest on those honors. He raced Bob Schacht's No. 75 Ford in the ARCA, PFG Lester 150 at the Nashville Superspeedway in April of this year, starting 11th and finishing Fifth.

There is a good chance we will see Willie Allen in another Craftsman Truck Series race with a top team early in 2007. Currently, Allen leads the Dollar General Operation Big Chance standings at the Music City Motorplex. The winner of that title will have an opportunity to run a Kevin Harvick truck at Martinsville next year.

So what does Willie need to do to make that next step up? "You have to have perseverance," he says. "You have to be aggressive on the racetrack when needed, in order to gain attention. And you have to be willing to do anything to promote your image. That's one of the reasons I took radio and broadcasting classes while I was in college. All of that knowledge is going to help me along the way."

Allen doesn't think that his age will factor into whether he gets a ride in one of NASCAR's elite divisions, but he does admit that "time is ticking away, for sure."

Both of these drivers have been doing all of the right things to gain the attention of the NASCAR team owners, but haven't been able to make that big step yet. Both of them have upcoming opportunities that will start them on that journey.

Will they be the next big things in NASCAR? Only time will tell.