16-year-old Ashton Torgerson involved in very scary Chili Bowl crash

Torgerson was awake and talking to rescue workers before being taken by ambulance to a local hospital for examination and treatment.

TULSA, Okla. -- On the 11th lap of Wednesday night's Chili Bowl feature, and in the first midget race of his career, outside pole sitter and 16-year-old Ashton Torgerson was involved in an extremely scary flip that resulted with the driver being ejected from his vehicle.

Torgerson was running seventh when his car hit the outside retaining wall and began a barrel roll of several flips. Rescue workers were already on their way to the scene before his car finally stopped flipping.

The race fell under red flag conditions, and the FloRacing broadcast crew moved its cameras away from the site.

After a few minutes, it was announced that the driver was awake and talking to officials and rescue workers.

After a few minutes more, the driver's name was given over the loudspeaker and FloRacing broadcast.

Photo courtesy Ashton Torgerson official Twitter account / Photo courtesy Torgerson Racing official Twitter page

An ambulance was brought onto the track, Torgerson was stabilized and placed in the emergency vehicle while covered in a track banner, for privacy.

The ambulance stayed at the track center for several minutes, presumably while stabilizing the patient for the ride across the dirt track and to the hospital.

With 20 laps left in the evening, a drivers meeting was called in turn two, at the same time the Racers for Christ Champlain came across the loud spreader to ask for prayer from fans, crew, and drivers of faith.

The ambulance slowly made it around the track to a respectful cheer.

Crews joined their drivers on track and prepared for the rest of the race.

When the race restarted, the infamous Chili Bowl Flip Count tracker in turn one had been turned off. 

Here's a tweet from Chili Bowl officials:

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

Fortunately, in a follow-up on Torgerson's family Twitter account, the news was encouraging:

Update on Ashton @_Torgerson02
Passed back ,neck tests waiting on CT scan... 1st thing he asked me was what place was he in!!.. you have no idea how much the support means to Ashton and the family...

— Torgerson Racing (@torgersonracing) January 12, 2023

Torgerson was looking forward to his first-ever midget race. Here's a tweet, courtesy of @AlwaysRaceDay, from just prior to Wednesday's race:

UDPB: Ashton Torgerson (@_Torgerson02) is sitting on the front row tonight of the Chili Bowl Nationals Wednesday prelim.

He's 16 years old and this is his first time racing a midget in his life. #ChiliBowl2023 pic.twitter.com/xq6djWqR4f

— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) January 12, 2023

Note: Because the race broadcast rights are owned by FloRacing, we cannot show the accident. However, it has been uploaded by a third party to YouTube.