Tristan Lesik’s racing season ended in a manner he could have only dreamed of entering the campaign.

Lesik kicked off a sizzling second-half stretch run by winning two Bandolero Outlaws class races during the prestigious Bojangles’ Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He then closed his season with the biggest honor of his young career — the Outlaws class track championship at North Carolina’s Concord Speedway.

The 14-year-old young gun from Lancaster, S.C., began his career much like his mentor, Daniel Wilk, racing go-karts at Victory Lane Karting in Charlotte. That fed his need for speed and produced 13 wins during a three-year stretch, including five out of eight in the facility’s premier class by the end of 2014.

Last year brought his jump into the Bandoleros with a seventh-place finish at the division’s national championship race and the South Carolina state championship among the highlights of his rookie season.

Now, as year two draws to a close, Lesik says not only has he learned a lot as a racer, he’s experienced more success than he imagined.

“Man, when we started the year I wanted to have a good year. I didn’t think we’d have quite this good of a year, though that’s always what you hope for, right?” Lesik said. “From the time I started racing Bandoleros, I dreamed of winning at the Summer Shootout and I dreamed of winning at Concord  because that’s what everyone knows in this part of the country.

“This is where so much of the racing for these cars happens. This season we accomplished those goals and that’s really special for me.”

While Lesik’s season finale didn’t quite go according to plan — he finished second after starting on the pole — the effort was more than enough to clinch the track title.

It just wasn’t enough in the driver’s eyes.

“I wanted to win that last race really badly,” Lesik said. “It was all driver (error), though. I knew Isaak (Love) was behind me, and I pushed a little too hard in turns three and four one time … and it just shot me up the race track and let him get inside of me.

“A second-place finish … you hear us say it all the time; it’s a great points night, but it’s never what we want. But I’m happy with how we ran this season and the speed we’ve shown. I’m proud for myself and for the team that’s helped me. My dad, Casey Kirwan, Jordan Stilwell … there are a lot of people that have gotten me to this point.”

Lesik ended his season third in the national points with nine wins, 25 top-five finishes and 29 top-10 results in 32 starts. He fell just 36 points shy of Bandolero Outlaws national champion D.J. Canipe.

However, a podium in the championship may be just the beginning for the South Carolina teenager, who has aspirations of transitioning to Legend Cars next season.

“We’ve got some work to do, but I’m excited about what’s in store for us for 2017,” Lesik said. “I know Legend Cars are a big step, but if we can get things going and pull everything together I’m really confident in what we can do. It will be a learning process, for sure, but if we can make that step I’ll be ready for it.”

For now, Lesik is content to smile and look back on what was truly a dream season in his eyes.

“They say when you have a dream season that it’s something you always remember,” he said. “I want to keep making memories, though. I don’t want to stop here. Hopefully, 2017 — whatever we end up racing — will be even bigger and better than this year was for us.”