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Every now and then, I get an opportunity to break away from the norm. It's always great to interview those drivers we all love, or love to hate, for each has a special quality we find endearing, or annoying as the case may be. I'm never disappointed, honestly. There's always a surprise in every package!

But, once in a while, it's fun to get away from the heavy topics of the sport...away from the rumors, the politics, the secrets and such. Sometimes, it's just enjoyable to look in another direction.

The past holds intrigue, respect and the education of this sport's roots. The present provides excitement, entertainment and, of course, occasional frustration. But what about the future and the competitors who will rise to stardom? We've already seen some competition that exposes that great promise for the immediate future. But, what about 5 or 6 years down the straight away?

I spoke with just such a young rising star, along with his parents, recently. England born Sam Watts, may be only 13 years old, but the passion and determination packed within this child's body is, remarkably, the very same essence of his NASCAR upper series counterparts.

Let's back up just a bit and start with the beginning of his "career". When Sam was just 20 months old, he sat atop a 4 wheel motorcycle. He seemed to have a knack for handling that machine. Said Sam, "My Dad asked me if I wanted to race it. Then I started racing it. And then my Dad bought me a dirt bike, so I started racing dirt bikes. I was winning. I got third place in the championship season. I was living in England, in a town called Brighton."

When Sam was seven, the family moved to the United States and settled in Florida. "When I moved over here," continued Sam, "I started racing dirt bikes. Then we went up to Mid Florida Quarter Midget Track and watched the quarter midgets. My Dad bought a quarter midget a couple of weeks later. I raced that and then I did a big race there and I got second in it."

Sam won the first nine races in the quarter midget novice division, incidentally.

From quarter midgets, Sam moved on to Bandeleros. He was able to enter that series with 5 months left of competition, running a partial season. That was last year. In 2003, he entered that series again, ran only 5 races of approximate 30, won all of those 5 events and still managed to finish 6th in the points. The rest of the year Sam ran in the Legends division.

He received that car as a very secret Christmas present in 2002.

This kid is certainly no novice when it comes to the "thrills and spills" of racing. Sam spoke of one particular accident. "I was running the Legends at Desoto Speedway, and I had my Isaac Device on (The Kids Isaac), I rolled the car 3 times and hit the wall upside down." There have been others, but Sam is unfazed. That's just a part of racing to him.

I asked Sam what scares him when he is racing. He said nothing scares him when he's racing. And does Sam calculate each move he makes, or does he just see an opportunity and take it. Actually, he said, it is a combination of both.

Sam told of meeting a NASCAR Cup star. "They were practicing, testing at Indy for the Brickyard 400 for the race some time ago. We had a quarter midget race there. When we were putting all the trailers in the spots, and I saw Dale, Jr. I asked him to sign my hat and he said sure! He asked me what my career is. I told him I drive quarter midgets now, but, I want to proceed in to NASCAR and be the first English NASCAR driver. He said good luck!"

But why racing? What makes this child love and crave what these NASCAR super stars love? "Well," said Sam, "I've always been a speed freak my whole life. I did dirt biking and I liked it, for a little bit. And then I got into car racing and I've just liked it ever since I started. It's really, really fun!"

So how much are these kids truly like their NASCAR star counterparts? Do they actually put a fender to other children they're racing, a bump and run, to literally move them out of the way like the "big guys" do? Is this a practice that is learned this early? "Every so often I do it," explained Sam. "But, if they're like blocking me, if they want to be mean with stuff like that and if they don't want to move out of the way when I'm coming up to them, then I just give them a tap and run like Jeff Gordon does."

"One time I got up behind this kid and he would not move. I think he was like 15. He would not move so I gave him a tap and he scooted up the race track. Obviously, he was mad. I got past him, finally, after 3 or 4 laps of him holding me up. That was going into third place. I was trying to catch the leaders and at the end of the race he came up beside me and stuck his middle finger up. Then, he came off the track and said, yeah Sam, that was just great racing."

"Whoever races me clean, I'll race them clean. I try to treat them the same way they treat me." Interesting isn't it? Sounds like something Terry Labonte, and others said this past season when referring to the Busch/Spencer incident. It's one of the unwritten racing laws, that apparently even child racers learn to compete by.

Now, these kids aren't traveling 35 or even 45 mph. Paul Watts, Sam's father, said, on occasion at Orlando Speedworld, Sam has actually reached 95 mph. And at the Cordell track in Georgia, Paul said the speeds have reached 105. Can you imagine that?

Sally, Sam's mother said of Sam's racing, "It is extremely scary, especially because he is the youngest driver here, at the moment. It's hair raising, but, he's good. That's the only consolation I get. He seems to be thinking very mature for a 13 year old. He's a very mature child for his age. He gets in his car and he focuses exactly like the NASCAR drivers when they're ready to start the race ahead of them."

"He's done an outstanding job. All the credit he gets from other people he has earned himself. He's got followers all over the place."

Her support of Sam is total and complete. Sally offers this bit of encouragement for the mothers of other young racers. "If your child is that determined that this is what he wants to do, you just have to give them as much backing as you can. You have to be there and give them as much boost as you can. If it's in his heart, this is what he's going to do. You can't take it away. You have to give them all the support you can. You can't think for him. And he has 100% of my backing, totally.

Incidentally, in the Legends events, there are no spotters or radios. Imagine being the parent of a young racer who has just rolled his car three times and having no radio communication capabilities. This is an impressive family, most certainly.

Paul, Sam's father, raced stock cars in his mid teens back in England, so Sam comes by his love of racing in an obvious way. "It's sort of stayed in my blood, really" he believes. "I've always wanted to be a famous driver myself, but, obviously I could never be. So, now, I just want to help my son and hopefully, one day, he will be one.

Paul has stressed this is a full family effort. By doing so, Sam has learned many very important "team" values. "I've watched Sam, I've brought him up on motorized vehicles since he was 20 months old, " he began. "We've progressed a lot through the years. We've taken steps forward and taken steps back. Since he's gotten into cars, he's progressed a lot more quicker than we ever thought he would."

"He's gotten more mature to go along with that, as well. It's been a lot of hard work on all sides of the family because it is a family affair. But, I'm very proud of him. I hold my head up high when I'm walking around. I talk to everyone about him, because really, he's a kid in a man's world when he's out on the race track."

Paul remains a strong influence for his son. He believes, "In this world you have to give and take. No one is perfect. Some you're going to win and some you're going to lose. If you have a bad race, the bad race always sticks in your mind. You've just got to get over it. The next race we go to is a completely different race. We just forget about the bad ones and concentrate on the good ones. I've told Sam you can never ever be a bad loser. We just concentrate on what's happening at that race. We stay focused on what race we're in."

"Last season has been a big learning curve for us...a young kid out on the track. All they want to do is see how you run on the track. It took us a year, but, we've earned our respect. It's been really hard work. We've had our fair share of wrecks this year,but, towards the end of the season we had our fair share of running in the top three. Hopefully, we can get on and win a few more races this (coming) year."

As an additional example of true "team" work, this amazing young man has learned, Sam assists other drivers when needed. He was helped as he was coming up through the various series and feels it is important to give something back to the sport. That truly shows a great deal about the all important "team" work aspect of racing, his up bringing and Sam, himself.

It is a family affair, indeed. Jessica, Sam's 11 year old sister, is the scorer and timer. And even Cadbury plays a role. By the way, Cadbury, a genuine member of the pit crew, is a toy chocolate poodle who attends every race.

Next season, Sam will run his first full season in the Legends at both Orlando Speedworld and Desoto Super Speedway. Other 2004 INEX track options and events also exist. He will again get to compete against Matt Martin, Cup driver Mark Martin's son. Sam and Matt have raced against each other in some Bandeleros events and one Legends race, thus far. Said Sam, "Yeah, he's cool to run with."

Young Sam encourages other kids to follow their dreams, whatever those dreams are. With hard work and determination he wishes them, "Good luck and do whatever they want. It's all what they want to do...it's all up to them."

I asked Sam, when the time comes, if he could speak to Childress, Roush, Hendrick, DEI, Yates or another Cup owner about a possible future with them, what would he say to them to cause them to allow him to audition for a ride? "Well," said Sam, "first of all I would tell them what I've been racing in my career. And I would tell them where I was born and where I'm from. And I would tell them to look at my career and what I want to do." I asked him if he would brag on himself. "No," he said. He prefers to have his abilities speak for themselves.

Sam's future plans include running the Legends series until the age of 16. At that point, he has hopes of tackling a super late model division, which he feels will help him head to Hooter's Pro Cup. That, he hopes will lead the way to the ultimate goal of the NASCAR upper series of Busch and Cup. In Sam's mind, there is no doubt where he is heading. His father said that Sam has said he doesn't want to make it, he says he WILL make it and be the first England born NASCAR Nextel Cup driver in NASCAR's history. You know what? I believe him!

Look out NASCAR, Sam Watts is on the move. The latest trends in racing are the "young guns". The examples include, but are certainly not limited to, Brian Vickers, Kasey Kahne and the Bush brothers. Looking a few years ahead may not be a bad idea, at all, for the Cup teams of tomorrow. If talent, dedication, and determination will lead to opportunity, Sam Watts is racing on that course now.

Good luck, Sam. I'll be keeping track of your progress.

Note: While other teams in the Legends series that Sam competes in have local sponsorship for their racing endeavors, the Watts have yet to lock those valuable dollars down. Any serious Orlando area businesses who would like a chance to back a local young star in the making can contact Paul Watts at C & H Auto Service at 407-647-4461. Or to email Paul.