As is the case with his Super Late Model career, Stephen Nasse has something to prove and wants to try his hand at NASCAR.

The recently crowned Southern Super Series champion has been working to put together a Camping World Truck Series appearance for one of the remaining events this season or early in 2018. The 22-year-old doesn’t plan to compete full time in NASCAR but rather, attempt some big tracks just to add to his resume.

"There are some things we're looking at with a team," Nasse said without specifying which one. "We haven't made any deals yet. It's something my dad wants to do at some point, and obviously, as a driver I want to prove that I can do it, too. So we're going to test the waters. We're going to get on a bigger track. That's what I'm looking forward to … the speed and stuff because we’ve about topped out in a Late Model.

"I don't want to say too much yet because we haven't wrapped anything up. You might see us at Phoenix. I just don't know yet."

It’s becoming more possible for a short-track devotee like Nasse to explore the Camping World Truck Series thanks to a new Ilmor spec engine that NASCAR is close to making official for next season.

"I think with the motor program next year, we can go to a smaller team and run better than we might have this year with KBM and Toyota taking over," Nasse said. "We're looking to go in there with a more level playing field, and I think I can out-drive a bunch of those kids. So we're going to see what happens."

And again, Nasse doesn’t expect to leave full-time Late Model racing but simply wants to try something different when opportunities present themselves.

"I would just pick and choose the big, fast tracks," Nasse said. "My dad is a racer. He's behind the scenes on deals like this and he loves racing just as much as I do.

"He's behind a lot of this and itching to do it. He's talked about buying his own truck or doing all sorts of crazy things."

Nasse is one of the most recognizable names in asphalt short-track racing. He was a top prospect in the old USAR Pro Cup Series before a bout of pneumonia hospitalized him, nearly killed him and cost him a year of his racing career.

Since returning to the seat, Nasse has been a noticeably more aggressive driver. He also has a candid and straight-to-the-point personality. He made headlines last December during the Snowball Derby for intentionally crashing NASCAR star William Byron under caution in retaliation for an on-track incident. Later that night, he criticized the NASCAR pay-to-play model in an infamous Twitter rant that targeted younger drivers who, he believes, have no respect for the industry.

Nasse thinks NASCAR could stand to have a few more drivers who are unapologetically themselves, citing Kyle Busch as the chief example.

"I think NASCAR is coming along well with some of their recent decisions," Nasse said. "You see it with Monster coming in and the attitude drivers are starting to have. I think a lot of it is show and I think traditional NASCAR fans are looking for someone more authentic.

"I think they want that kind of guy, and some folks say I'm it. I think I can drive better than a lot of those guys and I've done it in SLMs. I obviously don't have the big-track experience yet but when we went to Rockingham in Pro Cup or Richmond in K&N, I picked up on the speed and drafting pretty quick. I’m looking forward to it."

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io