Career Advice?

[foolsama]

So, at 26 i've decided I want to get into the design, building of, tuning, and custimzation of performance autos! Broad enough? lol. As an example, i'm thinking about working at things like Le Mans cars, NASCAR, etc - but on my own rules. Like eventually i'd probably set up my own races. I'm just wondering where to start - like, what's a career path for this? Right now i'm almost done with a correspondance course in Automotive Technology (maintenance/repair), and I have a job delivering parts for a local GM dealer in the hopes of getting a tech position. What's my next step? Should i take a real 2-year course for Technician? Body repair? Or should i try for a degree in autmotive engineering? I live in an area that's not really big for tuning, but there are a few shops in the area - should I just try for an apprenticeship? At 26 I really need to start, I feel I'm already playing catch-up... I also realize that this an extremely tough industry to get in to... So what's my next step?