HICKORY, N.C. - (May 16, 2017) Ryan Millington recovered from a late-race accident that necessitated a pit stop for repairs and charged from the back of the field to win his sixth NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model feature of the season at America's most famous short track, the Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina.
Millington, 15, of Statesville, North Carolina qualified fastest and led the first 30 laps of the event before giving up the spot to chief rival Charlie Watson. Wanting to save as much of his car and tires as he could for the last 20 laps of the 100-lap feature, the young racer was content to run second at that point.
The pair made it exciting for the fans as they stayed tight together through the 75-lap mark. Shortly after that, a caution flag set up a restart that put Millington on the inside of the front row while Watson, as the leader, chose the outside lane.
When the green flag waved, Watson drove away as Millington spun his tires just a bit, causing the car to jump to the right into the outside lane.
Andrew Garcia was committed to that lane and the pair came into contact, causing Garcia's car to climb the right side of Millington's My Computer Career/POW-MIA Freedom Car.
A yellow flag ensued and both drivers headed to the pits with damage. Millington was able to continue with the help of a new tire to replace the flat right rear and some body repairs by his crew.
"That was my fault," Millington said after the event. "I spun the tires a bit on the restart and my car turned right. I really feel bad for Andrew because he had nowhere to go. It tore both our cars up, but fortunately I was able to come back out. At first I thought I got hit from behind until I saw the video after. That's what it felt like inside the car."
The young racer returned to the track and restarted at the tail of the competitive field, which included Stefan Parsons (son of former NASCAR racer Phil Parsons) and Ty Gibbs (grandson of former Super Bowl winning Coach turned NASCAR team owner Joe Gibbs).
As Watson and Parsons diced for the lead in a thrilling battle, Millington charged all the way back to the pair, driving by them both with just a couple of laps left to earn an improbable comeback victory. Watson, Parsons, Florida racer Matt Thomas and young Gibbs rounded out the top five.
"I was expecting we might come back and get a top five or maybe a top three," the tired but excited driver said after the race. "To win is something else. I can't thank My Computer Career, POW-MIA and everyone on our team and in the grandstand who supports us. It was a really solid day for us overall."
Ryan and the team will be hard at work making the No. 76 "Freedom Car" like new again this week, enjoying a weekend off before rolling back into Hickory next Saturday, May 27th for their next event.
To follow Team Johnson Motorsports and their drivers visit them at
www.FreedomCar.org.