PORTLAND, OR :: 16-year-old Luke Selliken is hoping to take the asphalt Late Model world by storm and he hopes he makes his first big splash in Saturday night’s Chilly Willy 100 at Tucson Speedway in Tucson, Arizona – the former home of the NASCAR Winter Heat Series.
Selliken got his start in Go-Kart racing where he has had a lot of success, including a national championship and over 50 wins. Last year, he made the jump to Super Late Models, racing predominantly at Havasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu City where he has scored podium finishes in his last two races. This weekend’s race in Tucson will be Selliken’s fourth career Super Late Model appearance.
“I never ran anything,” Selliken commented. “We went straight from karting into stock cars and never driven on an oval before. We jumped right into Late Models so it’s been a big jump.”
Selliken said his expectations for the weekend were to bring the car home in one piece and hopefully score a top-five finish. He does have his sights set on winning races on the horizon when he travels up north to race at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington.
“My plans are to more competitive in the car and try to win some races up in Evergreen,” Selliken remarked.
If the 2015 regular season goes well on the west coast for Selliken, Late Model Stock Car fans could get a taste of the “No Fluke, Cool Hand” youngster.
“We’re looking at the Martinsville race,” Selliken said when asked what race on the East Coast he planned to compete in. “It would be a lot of validation. I’ve driven against a lot of those guys in karting. I’ve had success in karting. It just validates the progression that we’ve seen. Just a couple days in the car would showcase that I’ve got the ability.”
For now, Selliken’s hoping to bring home a solid run and earn respect.
The Chilly Willy 100 from Tucson Raceway Park will be shown live on FansChoice.TV with racing action beginning on Saturday night at 7:00pm EST/5:00pm MST).
