Balancing school and NASCAR dreams, Athens Academy's Jake Garcia making name in truck series

There was hardly time for Jake Garcia to catch his breath as he prepared for his first road course race last weekend at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Garcia flew out to Phoenix early in the week for a couple days of practice on an Arizona road course before flying back home to Monroe for a day. He was then off to Austin for NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice on Friday before qualifying and a race on Saturday, where he finished 19th.

By Sunday he was back home for the hardest part of his week: homework.

"I stay pretty busy, for sure," Garcia said.

Garcia is a senior at Athens Academy, preparing to graduate in May while pursuing a dream of reaching NASCAR's Cup Series.

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At 18, he's secured a full-time gig in NASCAR's third-tier series, which is a nice advantage for a young driver looking to impress those in stock car's top series'.

"I’m doing full time in the truck series about as early as you can," said Garcia, who, due to NASCAR age limits, wasn't allowed to compete full-time until turning 18 on March 3. He also couldn't compete on a track longer than a mile until that same day, when he finished 10th at Las Vegas, a mile-and-a-half track.

"To be as young as I am and in the spot that I’m in, it will give me a little more time than others to grow and get better as my career progresses."