CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 15-year-old Ryan Millington was honored for winning the North Carolina State Rookie of the Year Award in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series during the series’ Night of Champions awards banquet on Dec. 9.
Millington officially received his plaque during the Champions’ Day breakfast at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, before walking across the Crown Ballroom stage at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and being recognized alongside other state Rookies of the Year later that night.
“The ceremony was really cool, to be recognized for our season like that in front of so many people from NASCAR and our competitors from around the country,” Millington said. “That was a really special way to end our season and we really appreciate what NASCAR does to give teams like ours a chance to celebrate their accomplishments.”
Millington ends his first year in a full-sized late model with three wins at Hickory Motor Speedway and a second place finish in the track’s late model division point standings, in addition to his state rookie award.
He scored 13 total top five finishes in 20 starts between Hickory and various late model touring series and ranked 16th among all drivers in the North Carolina state standings with 329 points.
“We learned a lot this year … it certainly wasn’t easy at times, but we just kept pushing forward and doing the best we could to overcome the challenges we were faced with. As a racer, you always want to win more races, but I feel like the things that this season taught me as a driver — both on and off the race track — were equally as important.”
“For this year being my first year in a late model stock car, I don’t know how we could have asked for any more out of my season. I’m super proud of the entire team for the work they’ve put in and I’m looking forward to even greater things in 2017. Thanks to my dad, TAOTAO USA and all of our other partners for their support this year!”
Millington and the entire crew at Millington Motorsports would like to wish all their supporters, partners and fans a Merry Christmas and safe holiday season as they look forward to the new year.
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 15-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
