While he’s far, far from the finish line, Devin George has high hopes of following in the tire tracks of Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.

There are similarities with both.

Like Hamlin (NASCAR Cup megastar), George is a graduate of Manchester High and lives near Southside Speedway, where Hamlin sewed his racing seeds.

“I’ve never met him (Hamlin), but I sure would like to,” said the son of Allen and Debra George of Midlothian. George was on hand to cheer Hamlin to victory Easter night in the Toyota 400 at Richmond Raceway.

Like Wallace (the circuit’s most prominent Black driver), the 19-year-old George is finding his way in a sport that is now, and always has been, overwhelmingly white.

“I’ve never met him (Wallace), either, but he’s one of my favorites,” George said.

The Manchester Class of 2023 alumnus currently is the lone Black driver at Dominion Raceway in Spotsylvania County, 49 miles from home.

He competes at the four-tenths of a mile oval in the Legends division. Legends is one level downfrom the featured Late Model Sportsman class.

George is easy to spot in a crowd.

“There was one other (Black driver), but I haven’t seen him in a couple of years," George said with a smile.

Aided by his father (aka “Crew Chief”), George is in his third season of competition. He finished sixth overall in 2022 and seventh a year ago in his white, blue and red No. 17 racer.

There have been numerous Top 5 finishes, but George is quick to add “we expect some wins this season.” The season began this month and will run into October with about two events per month.

It helps that there is added sponsorship.

George has received significant sponsorship from Rick Ecker of Vets on Track/Armed Forces Motorsports.

Ecker and George came together by pure chance.

“We met at church (Southside Nazarene) on Grad Sunday,” George said. “Mr. Ecker found out about my racing and said, ‘Maybe I can make your dreams come true.’ ”

He also has sponsorship from Titan Construction and America’s Choice Mortgage and, of course, from the family coffers.

George is no one-trick pony. He has played drums for the church’s Sunday congregation for years and was the lead trumpet in Manchester’s marching band.

While he dabbled in numerous sports growing up, George became a “gear head” about the time he began watching the Disney comedy series “Cars.”

“I watched it all the time. ... Still like it,” he said.

A loving uncle, Dr. Melvin Douglas Law Jr. (orthopedic spine-surgery specialist), also played a major role in shaping the young man’s love for fast cars.

“He gave me a NASCAR documentary that I loved, and he also bought me my first car,” George said. And that’s not all.

For each of his nieces and nephews, Dr. Law offered a vacation trip to anywhere in the world.

In Devin’s case, there was an option to a trip — the cash value of the journey (tentatively to Germany).

“It was an easy choice,” said George, who pumped much of the revenue into racing.

If all goes well this season, George is contemplating a move up to Late Model class in 2025.

George is no Hamlin or Wallace yet, but there’s no speed limit on dreams.