He began racing go-karts when he was 12 years old.

Just seven years later, Scarborough’s Ryan Moore is third in points in his first season on the Busch North tour. He is four places higher than his father, team owner and teammate, highly-successful Busch North regular Kelly Moore.

There have been three races so far with the next one being Saturday night in the Moore family’s backyard, Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough. The Beech Ridge 150 had been scheduled for last Saturday night but was rained out and rescheduled for this Saturday.

“A lot of people are making a big deal out of it but I’ve only raced there six times in my life,” said the 19-year-old Moore, who cut his late model-pro stock teeth at Oxford Plains Speedway and ran the American-Canadian Tour last season.

His six Beech Ridge races came four years ago in the super sportsman class.

Still, he can’t wait for Saturday night.

“I’m pretty pumped up about it. I think it’s the most excited I’ve ever been. I’m ready to go,” said Moore. “I think we’ll have a real good car.”

Moore has finished ninth, third and sixth in his first three races and he said he is “real happy” with his start.

“Third in points is pretty good for our first season. We’ve got to try to keep the ball rolling. We want to keep everyone on the same page and working hard,” said Moore.

Moore and his dad and their teams work together at the Moore Racing shop in Scarborough.

He drives the No. 74 Chevy Monte Carlo, the reverse of his dad’s No. 47.

“We’re all one big team,” said Moore. “Everybody is real good about helping each other out.”

The younger Moore’s crew chief is veteran Rollie Lachance, the former crew chief for Tracy Gordon and Dale Shaw.

“Rollie and I get along real well, which is big. We have seven or eight guys helping us and we all get along well. They’re all fun to be around. That makes it a lot easier for me,” said Moore.

“I wanted to assemble a team for him with some talented, experienced people,” said Kelly Moore, whose 23 career wins on the Busch North tour makes him the winningest driver of all time. “Fortunately, we found some excellent people to help him. Rollie is one of the better crew chiefs on the circuit. He’s knowledgeable and easy to get along with.”

Ryan Moore said the Busch North tour has required adjustments.

“The hardest thing is the cars require a lot of maintenance. All the body panels are hand-made. It’s not like you can go to the local parts guy and replace them,” said Moore. “And you need to keep your car looking nice. A lot of the races are on SpeedChannel (TV).”

Moore knows a lot of the drivers from following his dad around and working on his dad’s crew.

“Some of them have been pretty successful and have raced down south [Busch Grand National]. It’s neat to race with them and beat them every once in a while,” said Ryan.

He said he is learning “tons” and is having a blast.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in racing,” said Moore.

Kelly Moore said he is “real happy” with his son’s start but isn’t surprised he is making a successful transition.

“He has been around it long enough. He has picked up a lot of ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’,” said Kelly Moore. “This is something he has always wanted to do and he seems to be making the most of it.”

Ryan Moore would like to win his third Rookie of the Year trophy after earning previous ones at Oxford Plains (late model sportsman) and on the ACT series last season.

Kelly and Ryan enjoy working together and racing each other and Kelly said racing on the same tour has saved him and his family thousands of miles of driving.

Not any more.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.