STATESVILLE, N.C. — 14-year-old Ryan Millington’s stellar rookie season behind the wheel of a NASCAR-style late model stock car was honored during the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 race weekend at Martinsville Speedway, as NASCAR officials confirmed that Millington is the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series North Carolina State Rookie of the Year.
The Statesville, N.C. teenager will be honored for his accomplishments during his rookie season at the NASCAR Weekly & Touring Series Awards Banquet on Dec. 9 inside the Crowne Ballroom of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, located at the Charlotte Convention Center.
Millington picked up three wins at Hickory Motor Speedway, where he ran full-time for much of the season, to go along with 13 total top five finishes in 18 starts. He never finished outside the top 10 in any of his starts throughout the year, and ranked 16th among all drivers in the North Carolina state standings with 329 points.
“It’s a huge honor to be named the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series state rookie of the year for North Carolina,” Millington said. “This was one of our goals at the start of the season and I’m proud to say that we met it by the end of the year. Our season isn’t quite over, but this is a great way to celebrate what we’ve done so far.”
In regards to track points, Millington ended the year second in the Hickory late model stock car division points as well as second in the Paramount Kia Bonus Series points at the .363-mile oval.
Millington will turn his attention to the CARS Late Model Stock Tour this weekend, where he will compete in the series’ penultimate event for the year, the Cloer Construction 300 at Hickory.
The teenager is hoping for better luck than his previous two outings, after a blown motor at Martinsville derailed his efforts in his heat race despite qualifying 16th overall and a second blown motor ended his attempt at Hickory’s Fall Brawl 200 last Saturday before practice had concluded.
“We’ve had so many motor issues this season that we’re just asking for a clean race,” Millington expressed. “But with my experience at the track this season and knowing what I need out of the car, we’re hoping to go there strong and shoot for the win!”
Follow Millington on Facebook by searching Millington Motorsports, and for more information on driver and team, visit his website at www.RyanMillington.com.
About Ryan Millington
Ryan Millington is an accomplished 14-year-old racer from Statesville, North Carolina. Growing up in a family with a background and love for the sport, Ryan has already been a winner on both dirt and pavement, competing in several different types of cars.
Millington has won over 80 races in go-karts on dirt and has also won on INEX legends cars on pavement. In 2015, Ryan had legends car wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Anderson Motor Speedway, and scored a mini-outlaw win at Millbridge Speedway on the dirt.
The personable teenager has also had multiple poles and three victories to date in the Millington Motorsports No. 17 late model stock car. 2016 sees Ryan and the team concentrating on building their late model program out of their shop in Statesville, N.C.
Ryan’s promotion and coaching is handled by veteran Performance Coach Tom Baker of Team Full Throttle in Charlotte, N.C. His marketing partners include Scott Millington Motorsports and TAOTAO USA Inc.
CREDIT: Millington Motorsports
