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Ryan Millington Finishes A Career High Of Third In NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Standings

by Hunter Thomas December 9, 2020 0 comments

North Carolina’s Ryan Millington finished a career high of third in the 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division 1 standings after capturing the Late Model track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Millington and his team weren’t originally planning on chasing the national title heading into the season, but as they found success and exceeded their expectations, the drive to the top became a focus. Millington finished out the 2020 season with six wins at Hickory and 20 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes between Hickory and Myrtle Beach Speedway. Millington finished only 12 points behind Peyton Sellers in the national standings and 40 points behind champion, Josh Berry.

“2020 was an awesome year for us,” Millington said. “We were able to really step up our game this year and make a ton of progress all season long. We were able to grab multiple wins and top-three finishes and truly exceeded our expectations for the season.

“It feels absolutely amazing to finish third in the national points,” Millington said. “We really didn’t plan on chasing the national points until we realized we actually had a shot at running good. Up until this point, we have never run for a national championship and for our first try, I feel like third is extremely good.”

Millington has been racing since he was seven-years-old, but he has only been racing Late Models since 2016. Finishing inside the top-three in the national standings is quite a feat for Millington who turned 19-years-old in September of this year.

“I’ve been around racing since I was a kid,” Millington said. “My dad has been involved his whole life, and when I was seven, I got my first go-kart and have been full throttle ever since. It has really turned into a lifestyle at this point, and I have been racing late models since 2016.”

The Statesville native owes his season’s success to Bob Seville, who allowed him to run his equipment. Seville also assisted financially. Of course, Millington also thanks his father for all of his help in the race shop.

It’s too soon for Millington to know his plans for 2021, but he is searching for funding. Now that Myrtle Beach Speedway has shutdown, Millington hopes to run at Florence Motor Speedway in South Carolina if it becomes NASCAR sanctioned.

Photo Credit: Hunter Thomas/TheFourthTurn.com