UPDATE – Thursday, January 12 at 1:07 am ET: From Torgerson’s family: “Passed back, neck tests waiting on CT scan… First thing he asked was what place was he in! You have no idea how much the support means to Ashton and the family.”
Wednesday’s Preliminary A-Main Feature from the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma became less about the on-track action and more about the well-being of Ashton Torgerson, after the 16-year-old was involved in an accident early in the 30-lap feature.
Torgerson, who started on the outside of the front row for Wednesday’s A-Main Feature, was running outside the top five when he made contact with Kevin Thomas Jr, pushing him into the outside wall, and causing him to do a somersault on the backstretch.
While flipping end-over-end, the Medford, Oregan-native was then ejected from his vehicle while it was still moving, causing the driver to make contact with the dirt surface at a high rate of speed.
According to FloRacing, Ashton Torgerson was awake and talking to the safety crew after the accident occurred, and was loaded into an ambulance at the Tulsa Expo Center, where he was transported to a local hospital shortly thereafter.
Via Twitter, at 11:44 pm ET, the Chili Bowl Nationals released the following statement:
“Ashton Torgerson was transported to a Tulsa hospital following an accident during Wednesday’s preliminary feature event at the Chili Bowl Nationals. Ashton was alert and communicating with track officials before being transported. We will update when we have more information.”
Ashton Torgerson was transported to a Tulsa hospital following an accident during Wednesday's preliminary feature event at the Chili Bowl Nationals. Ashton was alert and communicating with track officials before being transported. We will update when we have more information.
— Chili Bowl Nationals (@cbnationals) January 12, 2023
Further updates from the family of Ashton Torgerson state that the driver is awake and alert at the hospital. Torgerson currently has feeling in his hands and feet and has passed all of his tests thus far and will be going into scans.
Update from the @torgersonracing family on @_Torgerson02 –
Ashton is awake and alert at the hospital. He has feeling in hands and feet and has passed his tests so far.
He’s now going into scans. We will continue to keep you posted. @cbnationals
— ???????? ????? (@Petersen_Media) January 12, 2023
Any updates that are provided via official sources – Ashton, his family, his race team, or the Chili Bowl Nationals – will be added to this story as an update.
