TULSA, Okla. — A driver racing in the Chili Bowl Nationals is in the hospital after a crash Wednesday night.
Ten laps into a 30-lap race, 16-year-old Ashton Torgerson clipped a wall... that caused his car to turn sideways and flip—- ejecting him from the car.
That left the once loud arena silent.
“It was tough to see but seeing that he’s better than what we expected that’s very helpful,” said Danny Torgerson, Ashton's dad.
Chili Bowl media reported Torgerson passed multiple cognitive tests and had no broken bones.
Danny Torgerson tells 2 News Oklahoma that Ashton has a cut above his eye and a small spot of blood on his brain but everything else checked out OK.
Many fans are happy to hear after the loud arena turned silent Wednesday night. The driver who won the race, Rico Abreu, says he's feeling a mix of emotions.
Rollercoaster of emotions. First and foremost I want to send my thoughts and prayers to Ashton Torgerson. We’re one big family and we wish you a speedy recovery.
Thank you @KKM_67 for this opportunity and for helping me pick up my 8th #ChiliBowl prelim win!
📸 Dave Higgins pic.twitter.com/tavuiNxDDr
— RICO (@Rico_Abreu) January 12, 2023
He recounts what it was like on the track when the red flag was waved.
“Those are tough moments as race car drivers. I didn’t personally witness what happened but you could just feel the energy shift change in the building," Abreu said. "It's anxiousness and fearfulness that was being created so you could feel that and you know just to see a curtain come across the track.”
Abreu says the Chili Bowl had a great safety crew which was on sight right away.
“I've gotten to know Torgerson over the last few months racing in California and I know he's a pretty humbled kid... he's going to have a good recovery,” he said.
Despite the traumatic accident, Ashton is ready to get back on the track.
“I think the first thing he asked me when he got better was what position he was running and then a couple hours later he asked if they were going to have his car ready for Saturday,“ Torgerson said.
Ashton’s dad told 2 News his son won’t be back that soon.
Doctors ordered at least 2 weeks of recovery, but Ashton should be ready for his next race in February.
Danny Torgerson calls what happened at this race a freak accident.
“He’s got 100% all of his safety equipment. He wears every bit of it. So whether it was a part failure, you know I guess anything at this point would be speculation, but we will find out. Once we do find out obviously we will let the community know so it doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Torgerson said.
Nascar driver Kyle Busch, who sponsored Torgerson in Micro Sprints last year, reacted to the crash on Twitter and sent his prayers to the driver and his family.
The Busch family send our thoughts and prayers out to the whole Torgerson family and Ashton that he is ok!! We’ve gotten to know them the last couple years and have loved to c the racer Ashton is and the friendships we have made! 🙏🏻
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) January 12, 2023
The Torgerson family tells me they’re thankful for everyone’s support and they’re especially grateful for the chili bowl staff.
“That literally can be the difference between life and death. You couldn’t ask for anything better more professional they are the best in the business," he said. "I mean we race just about every weekend a year and if something like this happened at a different facility the outcome could have been totally different. I think they are the real heroes here. So a huge thank you to them and the racing community has definitely been amazing.”
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