Austin was born on November 18th, 1991 in Selma, California to his parents Ron and Diane Mero. He is the youngest of their children with two older sisters (Crystal and Breanne). Austin resides with his parents in Kingsburg, CA. 

He received his nickname “Kingsburg Kowboy” this past summer while running 410 sprint cars back East with the Cory Kruseman race team. Cory Kruseman thought it was fitting nickname since Austin was coming from California.

One of Austin’s proudest moments was winning the USAC Junior Ford Focus Championship in 2007. The 2008 racing season will see the Kingsburg Kowboy progress in the Cory Kruseman Driver Development program by competing full-time in sprint cars. Mero got a taste of running the sprint cars in August during Kruseman Motorsports' tour through the Midwest, competing in five events.

In January of 2008, Mero débuted at the 22nd Annual Chili Bowl Nationals taking place at the Tulsa Expo Raceway. Cory Kruseman had this to say about his driver, "Austin has shown that he has a pretty good feel for the car and excellent throttle control, he still has a lot to learn but he is ready to transition to the sprint cars."