I had the same dream when I was a kid, but ended up getting side tracked. BUT I did get an engineering degree, and now I have a day job that will support a sprint car, even in this crappy economy. Also, if you have to work outside of racing, engineering can be done with broken bones, as long as you can get to your desk. I hurt my back last year crashing the sprint car. If I had to do 'real' work, I would have missed a lot of paychecks. But I could still plan and supervise projects, so I was able to keep the money coming in. Just something to think about, and one of the reasons that I got a degree. I also did not like school, and ended up in the Navy for 6 years before I finally went back and got my degree. If you do decide to push on without the education, Good Luck (I mean it, no sarcasm intended), and keep believing in yourself, it can be hard at times.