By Bryan Hulbert
TULSA, Okla. (August 24, 2015) With nine nights remaining for the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Red River Region presented by Smiley’s Racing Products, the race for the 2015 championship is beginning to tighten up as the series prepares for a Lone Star sized double header at the Red River Speedway in Wichita Falls, Texas on Friday, August 28 and Abilene Speedway in Abilene, Texas on Saturday, August 29.
Leading the charge into the weekend is Coweta, Oklahoma’s Kade Morton.
A newcomer to the Sprint Car ranks, 20 year old Morton is already an accomplished Micro driver, having come through the ranks at Port City Raceway before jumping into Sprint Car competition in 2013.
Starting with OCRS Champ Sprints, Morton placed fourth in tour standings in his first season which included a win at Muskogee’s Thunderbird Speedway. Improving to third in the 2014 final standings, Morton also ran select events with the ASCS Sooner Region before making the move to full time ASCS competition in 2015.
Asked about leading the standings this late in the season, Morton said, “Right now if feels like a huge accomplishment for our team. It’s not something we really expected. We were just looking to run top-five this year. With it being our rookie year in an injected car, it feels go for the whole team, especially with how young we are.”
Asked about the progression through the sport, Morton replied, “It’s a whole different animal. It’s a whole learning curve of its own for me, but the biggest thing we shifted in the past year, actually two years, is our shock package with Super Shox. That’s really helped us a lot in going in the right direction, but in the end it’s the whole package.”
In the hunt to possibly be a Champion in his rookie season, the tracks on the 2015 lineup, especially outside Oklahoma, have been new for the driver of the Morton Excavating No. 8m.
One Texas oval that has seen Morton in competition is the Red River Speedway.
Asked about lessons learned from his 10th place finish on April 3, Morton replied, “The first lesson is to not try and win Hot Laps. I junked the car but we were able to get it back together, and made it through the B-Feature by the hair on our chin. It was a rough night, but we still learned a lot and we’ll try some different things this weekend.”
For the Abilene Speedway on Saturday night, it will be the first time Morton has laid eyes on the west Texas quarter-mile, but Morton looks to keep a cool head and simply turn laps.
“This whole season, we’ve just showed up ready to race and where we finish, is where we finish. We’re just trying to get seat time and progress and everything’s really just fallen in place right now,” commented Kade. “With all this though, I really need to thank my sponsors: Morton Excavating, Whitacre Glass Works, NAPA of Coweta, STK Racing Engines, and of course my parents because without them, none of this would be possible.”
Leading by 19 markers over Shawn Petersen, the top four all remain within championship hopes as Joe Wood, Jr. holds third, 45 points removed, with Mickey Walker trailing by 86.
Chance Morton currently holds fifth with Brandon Hanks, Andy Shouse, Alex Sewell, Harli White, and Charles McManus completing the top-ten.
Friday, August 28 at the Red River Speedway in Wichita Falls, Texas will open at 6:00 P.M. with racing getting underway at 8:00 P.M. (CT). The evening’s card will include Modifieds, Sport Mods, and Pro Stocks. More information on the Red River Speedway can be found at http://www.RRSpeedway.com or by calling (817) 975-0527.
The only appearance of the ASCS Red River Region at the Abilene Speedway on Saturday, August 29 and serves as the headlining class for the track’s 2015 season finale. The lineup of classes will include IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sportmods, Street Stocks, and Juniors. Gates open at 5:00 P.M. with racing getting underway at 8:00 P.M. (CT). More information on the Abilene Speedway can be found online at http://www.abilenespeedway.com or by calling (325) 692-8800.
For continued updates on the ASCS Red River Region, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Season To Date:
Winners: Johnny Herrera-2; Seth Bergman-2; Tony Bruce Jr-2; Sam Hafertepe Jr-2; Kevin Ramey-1; John Carney II-1; Alex Sewell-1; Blake Hahn-1; Wayne Johnson-1; Aaron Reutzel-1
2015 Schedule:
Date-Track-Location-Winner
3/13/2015-Flint Creek Speedway – West Siloam Springs, OK-Rain Out
3/14/2015-Flint Creek Speedway – West Siloam Springs, OK-Rain Out
3/20/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-Rain Out
3/21/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-Rain Out
4/3/2015-Red River Speedway – Wichita Falls, TX-Aaron Reutzel
4/4/2015-Black Hawk Casino Speedway – Meeker, OK-Canceled
4/10/2015-Creek County Speedway – Sapulpa, OK-Johnny Herrera
4/11/2015-Superbowl Speedway – Greenville, TX-Seth Bergman
5/15/2015-Lubbock Speedway – Lubbock, TX-Seth Bergman
5/16/2015-Lawton Speedway – Lawton, OK-Rain Out
5/22/2015-Timberline Speedway – Corley, TX-Johnny Herrera
5/23/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-Rain Out
6/6/2015-Salina Highbanks Speedway – Salina, OK-Blake Hahn
6/13/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-Wayne Johnson
6/17/2015-Lawton Speedway – Lawton, OK-Rain Out
6/18/2015-Creek County Speedway – Sapulpa, OK-Rain Out
6/27/2015-Dodge City Raceway Park – Dodge City, KS-Tony Bruce, Jr.
6/28/2015-81 Speedway – Park City, KS-Tony Bruce, Jr.
7/17/2015-Creek County Speedway – Sapulpa, OK-Alex Sewell
7/18/2015-Lawton Speedway – Lawton, OK-John Carney II
7/24/2015-Outlaw Motor Speedway – Wainwright, OK-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
7/25/2015-Longdale Speedway – Longdale, OK-Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
8/1/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-Kevin Ramey
8/28/2015-Red River Speedway – Wichita Falls, TX-
8/29/2015-Abilene Speedway – Abilene, TX-
9/4/2015-Flint Creek Speedway – West Siloam Springs, OK-
9/12/2015-Texas Motor Speedway – Fort Worth, TX-
10/3/2015-Timberline Speedway – Corley, TX-
10/9/2015-East Texas Speedway – Petty, TX-
10/10/2015-Lone Star Speedway – Kilgore, TX-
10/16/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-
10/17/2015-Devil’s Bowl Speedway – Mesquite, TX-
Driver Standings (Top 10)
Pos-Driver-Points
1-Kade Morton-1621
2-Shawn Petersen-1602
3-Joe Wood Jr-1576
4-Mickey Walker-1535
5-Chance Morton-1282
6-Brandon Hanks-1247
7-Andy Shouse-1224
8-Alex Sewell-1120
9-Harli White-1088
10-Charles McManus-1013