FARMINGTON – He’s a little too young for a driver’s license, but Gunnar Josselyn is beating men with more experience than he has years on the track.

Josselyn, 15, of Farmington has become something of a mini cup phenom in the past two years – winning the championship his first year, coming in second in a higher division the next.

With a talented mechanic father who spent years racing at Oxford Plains Speedway and friends and relatives pitching in on his side, Josselyn has had help along the way.

But he’s also got a feel for the sport, fellow racer Eddie Tyler said Friday. “He’s a fast learner – he picked it up pretty good,” he said. “A natural, I guess you would say.”

Josselyn is slow to brag about his wins. “I’ve had a lot of help from my dad and my uncle,” he said Friday, nearly every time he described a win.

The day Josselyn raced for the first time (he came in third) was also his first time driving a mini cup car, he said. He didn’t love it right away.

“I didn’t do very well,” he said. “I didn’t really know what was going to happen.”

What happened, his mom Linda Lisherness said, was that Josselyn got hooked.

He and his dad, Glenn Josselyn, worked out the kinks in the car and worked on his driving. “By the fourth race, they couldn’t catch us,” the younger Josselyn said. “I like going fast, I guess. It’s pretty fun.”

Being a good driver takes persistence and passion for the sport, the ability to drive smoothly and to keep learning and adapting. It also takes a good car.

Last winter, before he entered the modified division, Glenn Josselyn built his son a new car. Friends who come by to see it leave spouting odes to the machine, Lisherness said. It’s tight, gleaming and perfect – as good as you can get, Gunnar said.

But cars like that don’t come cheap. They cost around $10,000 to build, Glenn Josselyn said, and prize money ($100 here, $50 there) doesn’t even begin to make it up.

Thankfully, Gunnar’s got community support. Gerard Poulin and Sons logging operation, Beal’s General Store, Farmington Mainway, Pete Tyler Excavation and Karkos Signs and Graphics all offered their support this season, the father said.

“And my dad. He’s been a big help,” Gunnar said.

When this year’s race season started, Josselyn had a new car, a radio-equipped helmet (and an uncle, Scott Lisherness, talking in his ear), and a huge group of family friends to cheer him from the sidelines.

His first few races – two blown engines – didn’t go that well. He won all of his last three, and placed second four of the 10 times he raced this year, and came in second overall.

Next year, he may move to a full-sized car and race at tracks around the state, dad Glenn said. A man of few words, Josselyn’s eyes lit up when he looked at his son. Seeing Gunnar succeed like this makes him feel “great,” he said.

Lisherness glowed, too. Her 15-year-old son has his learner’s permit now. She lets him drive her around. On the way home from races, he still thinks he’s on the track, she said. Not speeding. He drives smoothly, confidently. Not like a nervous learner. Like a pro.