By John Rittenoure
KELLYVILLE, Okla. (September 13, 2025) – Deciding what line to run was a challenge for everyone of the 26 starters in the 50-lap Ortco, Inc. United Sprint League presented by Same Day Auto Repair David Stephenson Classic Saturday at Creek County Speedway.
Over $22,000, with $5,022 to the winner, was on the line and roughly nine lead changes were scored at the start-finish line. But the final 18 laps belonged to Daniel Shaffer who held on for his first USL victory.
Shaffer knew he had to stay committed to the bottom of the track if he wanted to keep the lead.
“We found the middle about half way through and passed a few cars,” said Shaffer. “It (the track) was getting pretty dark and I could hear the tires and I knew it was time to go. We just held our own and if they were going to pass us there were going to have to drive around us.”
Much like Joshua Tyre did in his win on Friday, Shaffer had to have patience.
“It took patience and dodge the wrecks on the race track,” Shaffer said. “Pick them off when you can and don’t force issues.
“You could run about a car off. I missed it once and I knew I had to get back down and hold it.”
Shaffer has won NOW600 Micro events and the Pete Frazier Memorial in the past, but never anything this big.
“I have a half dozen sprint car starts but this was the biggest,” he said. “I gave one away at Caney, but I was not giving this one away.”
Shaffer knew the late David Stephenson and has fond memories.
“David (Stephenson) was a great guy. I really enjoyed dealing with him.”
Early in the race pole sitter Tyler LaPointe set the pace running the inside while Tyler Edwards was ripping the cushion. The two ran side-by-side for the first half of the race. But finally gave way to Shaffer.
“I made a couple of mistakes when the rubber came in and that is what cost us,” LaPointe said. “It was good fighting with some guys I grew up with at Port City. That was fun.
“The rubber was about a half a car width off the bottom and I was right on the tires and I had to slow down too much. On that restart I moved up to the middle then the yellow came out. The next time we went double file, I ran around Tyler and took the lead back.”
Ryker Pace moved into third on lap 45 and struggled with where to run as did everyone else.
“It was kind of follow the leader for awhile then it kind of got wide then it turned in to freight trains,” said Pace. “I could not make anything work at the top. We fell back to ninth at one point the started picking cars off.”
With one race remaining Ty Hulsey now has the points lead by five points over Tanner Conn. Pace sits in third 49 points behind Hulsey.
United Sprint League
Creek County Speedway – Kellyville, Oklahoma
September 13, 2025
Morton Excavating A-Feature (50 Laps): 1. 78S-Daniel Shaffer[10]; 2. 45-Tyler LaPointe[1]; 3. 8R-Ryker Pace[2]; 4. 98-Ryan Padgett[11]; 5. 7F-Joshua Tyre[5]; 6. 5-Noah Harris[20]; 7. 11A-Blake Hahn[13]; 8. 6-Tanner Conn[12]; 9. 6K-Brylee Kilmer[17]; 10. 79-Tim Kent[4]; 11. 24C-Craig Carroll[15]; 12. 5S-Danny Smith[26]; 13. 24H-Ty Hulsey[7]; 14. 6T-Cameron Hagin[22]; 15. 24T-Glenn Bratti[23]; 16. 21P-Mike Ables[25]; 17. (DNF) 55-Johnny Kent[9]; 18. (DNF) 9S-Kyle Clark[8]; 19. (DNF) 17-Tyler Edwards[14]; 20. (DNF) 1F-Jimmy Forrester[19]; 21. (DNF) 69-Greg York[24]; 22. (DNF) 23-Jeffrey Newell[3]; 23. (DNF) 50-Cody Whitworth[21]; 24. (DNF) 5X-Cooper Cottrell[16]; 25. (DNF) 5B-Brock Cottrell[6]; 26. (DNF) 21-Jeremy Wickham[18]
DFR Discount Tire B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 1F-Jimmy Forrester[3]; 2. 5-Noah Harris[5]; 3. 50-Cody Whitworth[4]; 4. 6T-Cameron Hagin[1]; 5. 24T-Glenn Bratti[8]; 6. 69-Greg York[9]; 7. 36-Zack Smith[2]; 8. 5S-Danny Smith[6]; 9. 21P-Mike Ables[7]; 10. 7-Tyler Kent[11]; 11. (DNF) 5F-Sandy Rushing[10]; 12. (DNS) 0-Casey Buechler
Speed Stix Shocks Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Tyler LaPointe[2]; 2. 8R-Ryker Pace[7]; 3. 11A-Blake Hahn[4]; 4. 6T-Cameron Hagin[1]; 5. 36-Zack Smith[5]; 6. 6K-Brylee Kilmer[9]; 7. 5-Noah Harris[6]; 8. 21P-Mike Ables[8]; 9. (DNF) 0-Casey Buechler[3]
Kent Fireworks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5B-Brock Cottrell[2]; 2. 6-Tanner Conn[3]; 3. 78S-Daniel Shaffer[6]; 4. 55-Johnny Kent[9]; 5. 1F-Jimmy Forrester[1]; 6. 21-Jeremy Wickham[8]; 7. 5S-Danny Smith[5]; 8. 69-Greg York[7]; 9. (DNF) 7-Tyler Kent[4]
H&R Auto Glass Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 98-Ryan Padgett[1]; 2. 9S-Kyle Clark[8]; 3. 24C-Craig Carroll[3]; 4. 17-Tyler Edwards[6]; 5. 5X-Cooper Cottrell[7]; 6. 50-Cody Whitworth[4]; 7. 24T-Glenn Bratti; 8. Sandy Rushing.
Lap Leaders: Tyler LaPointe 1-11,14,16,19-20,28-31; Tyler Edwards 12-13,15,17-18,21-27; Daniel Shaffer 32-50.
Margin of Victory: 0.601.
2025 Winners: 3/22 – Steven Shebester, Red Dirt Raceway; 4/11 – Johnny Kent, Tulsa Speedway; 4/12 – Johnny Kent, Creek County Speedway; 4/25 – Tyler Edwards, Creek County Speedway; 6/14 – Ty Hulsey, Lawton Speedway; 7/18 – Tanner Conn, Creek County Speedway; 8/2 – Ryker Pace, Enid Speedway; 8/15 – Ryker Pace, Tulsa Speedway; 8/16 – Ty Hulsey, Creek County Speedway; 9/6 – Ty Hulsey, Caney Valley Speedway; 9/12 – Joshua Tyre, Creek County Speedway; 9/13 – Daniel Shaffer, Creek County Speedway.
2025 Top 10: 1. Ty Hulsey 1564; 2. Tanner Conn 1559; 3. Ryker Pace 1515; 4. Cameron Hagin 1421; 5. Johnny Kent 1398; 6. Brylee Kilmer 1367; 7. Cody Whitworth 1360; 8, Craig Carroll 1312; 9. Greg York 1230; 10. Tim Kent 1211.
About United Sprint League
Owned by Michael Tyre, the USL sanctions 360 two-barrel / 305 non-wing sprint car events throughout Oklahoma and surrounding states with goals of supporting sponsors and providing fans the the opportunity to enjoy the excitement of non-wing sprint car racing.
Website: https://www.UnitedSprintLeague.com.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedSprintLeague.
About Ortco Inc.
Ortco Inc. manufactures qualify oilfield parts from American made bar and shaped steel on computerized CNC machinery. Products are then Heat Treated, coated for rust prevention, and warehoused for shipments across the globe. Ortco also utilizes high quality investment castings for safety clamps and various tongs.
Website: http://OrtcoInc.com.
United Sprint League Marketing Partners
Ortco, Inc., Same Day Auto Repair, Speed Stix Shocks, D&G Contracting, DFR Discount Tire, Morton Excavating, Kent Fireworks, H&R Auto Glass, Premier Self Storage, Risley’s Trash Service, Oklahomatidbits.