No one can stop talking about Sergio Pena.

            The 16-year-old Revolution Racing driver wowed the racing world last weekend with his runner-up finish to Joey Logano in the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. Before last week, no one had even heard of him.

            Let me bring you up to date on the newest superstar of the K&N Pro Series East. He raced Late Models last season at Shenandoah Speedway in Virginia, but most of his experience is in karting and the open wheel ranks. He's a junior in high school, he's ambitious, and he's polite. More importantly, from a marketing standpoint, he's a decent looking kid. There you have it: talent, looks, and ability to communicate - he's got it all. I predict this kid will be signed to a Cup Series development deal by the end of the year. Sergio Pena will put the Drive for Diversity program on the map.

            The Drive for Diversity program began in 2004 to help minority and female drivers and crew members get involved in NASCAR racing. The success of the program, until now, has been paltry. Last year, the 909 Group, a sports marketing agency run by Max Siegel, who spent two seasons running Dale Earnhardt Inc., took over the programs operations.

            Under his guidance, Paul Harraka became the first Drive for Diversity driver to win a NASCAR touring division race during his campaign in what was then called the Camping World Series (West). A total of four drivers competed in the Camping World Series in 2009 and eight drivers competed in the Whelen All-American Series. Drivers were scattered at different race teams across the country to compete.

            This year, the 909 Group continued to evolve the program and developed an academy style agenda. Under this initiative, all Drive for Diversity participants will work under a single team ownership structure - Revolution Racing. Andy Santerre, a four-time Champion and successful car owner in NASCAR's touring divisions, was tapped by the group to oversee Revolution Racing's K&N Pro Series initiative.

            Thirty candidates participated in a combine this year to get on the D4D program. Of those 30, ten were accepted including: Pena, Mackena Bell, Michael Cherry, Katie Hagar, Juan Pitta, Jessica Brunelli, Ryan Gifford, Rebecca Kasten, and Darrell Wallace, Jr.

            Still, only one of these drivers would be able to compete in the Showdown. To earn a spot, Revolution Racing held a race the Thursday prior to the Showdown in which Pena, Gifford, Wallace, and Bell competed for their chance to attempt the prestigious All-Star race. Gifford was strong in the event, but Pena won the race. Pena then went out and qualified on the pole, and led 54 laps of the 225-lap feature race. It was impressive.

            Pena has no oval track experience. When he was 15, which probably seems like a lifetime ago to him, he tested at Irwindale Speedway in an ASA Speed Truck. According to a release, he made 50 laps on the track. That is the extent of his experience at Irwindale. He's not used to the heavy K&N Pro Series cars, but he drove it like a veteran.

            His attention from his performance at Irwindale could very well be the last piece of the K&N Pro Series puzzle for NASCAR. People want to know more about him, they want to watch him race, they are going to want to see this kid develop, and they are going to go to their local tracks to do that. In this economy, that's something special. It's also going to be a big boost for the Drive for Diversity program, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be the first driver from the initiative to make it to NASCAR's national level.