MILFORD-The Wolfe brothers returned home for Christmas with one's life in the pits and the other spinning his wheels, and their family couldn't be happier.

Older brother Paul is a driver in the BUSCH North Series circuit, while younger brother Steve has worked on the Winston Cup pit crew for such well known NASCAR racers as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brett Bodine.

Paul, a 1995 graduate of Milford High School, left for North Carolina shortly after graduation with nothing but a part-time welding job lined up, but dreams of working for a race team building cars. That dream began when his father began taking him to the track when he was barely old enough to walk.

Shortly after arriving in North Carolina, he hooked up with J.D. and Coy Gibbs, building late model cars. When Steve graduated in 1997, Paul came to the graduation on a Friday night, and on the following Monday the brothers left to work together for Joe Gibbs racing.

"It was a lot of hard work at that point," Steve said Friday at his parent's home, the walls of which are lined with photos of the brothers. "We would get to work at 7:30 in the morning and sometimes not leave until 10:30 or 11 at night. Sometimes we would look at each other and wonder if it was all worth it, but I guess that's what you have to do to make it."

Paul's first big break came in 2000, when as an incentive for his hard work, the Gibbs' let him drive one of the late-model cars in a BUSCH race. Wolfe had raced go-carts for 10 years, but had never driven one of the cars he had been working on for the past four years.

The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

"I did so well that they had me keep driving," he said. "Usually, you have to make some sort of transition and build up to races, but I just jumped right in and learned as I went. The thing that helped me was I knew the cars, I had learned everything that went into building them, and so I knew how they ran."

Paul eventually got his own team, where he helped build his own cars and drive them. His second big break happened earlier this year when he hooked up with Tommy Baldwin Racing, who had seen his race and approached him about being part of their team.

"They are building their whole program around myself and Damon Lusk," he said. "I still want to be part of working on the cars because I enjoy working on the cars as much as I do driving. My ultimate goal is to get on the Winston Cup circuit, but a lot can happen in racing. We've come close to winning some races, and we'd like to get that first one and try to win the points championship this year."

Competing in his third partial BNS season in 2002, Paul finished in the top-ten six times, and led over 150 laps in eight events. "

"We weren't able to get our first win, which was our goal for this year, but we were competitive every weekend, and we learned a lot for next year," Paul said.

The Late Model division is like a minor league for the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, where big names such as Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. compete.

Steve Wolfe spent about three years as the rear wheel changer for Earnhardt, Jr. on Sundays, while also working for Coy Gibbs on the BUSCH program during the week.

"Those were crazy times with a lot of travel," Steve Wolfe said. "At first, being on the pit crew was intimidating and a lot of pressure, but now it's more routine. I really don't think about it all that much while I'm doing it."

Steve's relationship with Earnhardt, Jr. soured and he resigned from the crew earlier this year, but hooked up with Chip Ganasi Racing and said he has found the right fit family and career-wise. Steve said he would eventually like to be a crew chief, but is very happy with his current position.

"They (Ganassi Racing) are just incredibly organized and this was just the best move for me," Steve said. "I feel incredibly fortunate to be in the position I'm in in such a short amount of time."

As for Paul, he said his new relationship with Baldwin racing could put him on the fast track to the Winston Cup circuit, as Tommy Baldwin wants to own a Winston Cup team and he wants to race there. But he knows only continued success will earn him his dream.

"It's not that far out a possibility," Paul said. "I used to watch guys like Jeff Gordon on television and never imagine myself doing what they do. But they're just people. As long as I keep working hard and have success in the races, it's all there for me."

Who knows, with the way things are going maybe someday Steve and Paul will end up on the same Winston Cup racing team someday.

"If the right opportunity came along, I know they'd love that," said the boys' father, Charles. "It's a possibility, but everything would have to fall into place."

So far, they seem to be doing just that.