Marks finding groove with Germain as Truck rookie

If Justin Marks made good grades in middle school, his father promised to take him to a race.

He had been to several dirt tracks around the Midwest with his grandparents but it wasn't until his father tossed two tickets to the Indianapolis 500 in front of him that he realized he wanted to be a racer.

Sitting in the grandstands at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Marks envisioned himself behind the wheel.

Justin Marks

2007 Truck Series

Race	Track	Start	Finish
22.	Atlanta	28	22
23.	Texas	28	23
24.	Phoenix	32	25
25.	Homestead	36	8

2008 Truck Series

Race	Track	Start	Finish
1.	Daytona	8	8
2.	California	7	33
3.	Atlanta	11	14

"I was 15 years old. I came home from that trip knowing. It was all the excitement and hype ... I attribute my passion for racing to that moment," said Marks, whose passion is now a reality as he is competing for rookie of the year in the Craftsman Truck Series for Germain Racing.

But the path he traveled to reach NASCAR was far from the open-wheel ranks and even farther from the local dirt tracks he had visited with his grandparents.

His first race, at 18 years old, was in the Sports Car Club of America and he then went on to the Speed World Challenge, racing for a Porsche team. In 2003, he received a factory ride with BMW in the Sports Car Series where he met veteran road racer turned stock-car driver Boris Said.

It was Said, a former teammate at BMW, who convinced Marks that NASCAR was the place to be.

In 2007, Marks got his first shot in an ARCA car and finished fifth in points.

"I always wanted to race stock cars but my opportunities kept opening up in sports cars," said Marks, who is contracted with Germain Racing until 2009.

But before Marks, now 26 years old, went wide open into his stock-car career he knew he had to finish his homework. And by homework he meant a marketing education from California State University.

Recognizing an emerging trend in NASCAR where sponsors, more often than not, can determine your time on the track, Marks learned how to sell himself and build relationships with deep pockets.

The experience proved beneficial in 2005 when the California native furthered a long-lasting partnership with Crocs Inc., makers of the colorful plastic clogs who now has a NASCAR license to make driver-specific footwear.

Since 2003, the footwear company supported Marks off and on but in 2006 both were ready to make their first foray into NASCAR.

Together with Construct Corp., Marks and his Crocs went ride shopping and landed in a truck with Germain Racing at the end of last season.

In his fourth race with Germain Racing, Marks earned an eighth-place finish at the season-ender at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The momentum carried him into the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway where he pulled off another eighth-place finish.

"We had a truck to win ...," Marks said.

But the rookie said he was disappointed by the performance from the veterans on the track who weeks prior preached patience and good decision making.

"I didn't see a lot of that but I feel like I got respect from other drivers by running a clean race," he said. "That's what ultimately will make a difference."

The following race in Fontana, Calif., Marks posted a poor performance and placed 33rd after admitting he drove the truck too hard. But the driver rebounded in Atlanta with a 14th-place finish

"I'm finishing races and learning how to pace the race and set up my truck," he said. "If you do that, the results will come."

Producing results after spending years behind the wheel of a sports car can be difficult, Marks said, but not impossible.

"You have to be willing to forget everything you learned and start over," he said. "No matter what you're racing, some of the principles remain the same -- work hard, manage your relationships along with expectations and learn risk assessment."

For six years of sports cars, Marks learned how to drive a car fast. Now he needs to learn how to race in side-by-side conditions in the competitive Craftsman Truck Series.

He's hoping to further demonstrate his progress when the trucks pull into Martinsville Speedway on March 29.