TULSA, Oklahoma – Three days after being involved in one of the scariest accidents in Chili Bowl history, Ashton Torgerson, 16, and his father Danny Torgerson made an appearance at the 2023 Chili Bowl. Ashton was not only able to walk out of the hospital and into the SageNet Center press room, he also wondered if his car might be ready for him to make his first Saturday start in one of midget racing’s premiere events.
Battling Kevin Thomas, Jr. for seventh on Wednesday night after starting his first ever midget race, Torgerson crashed on the back stretch and was thrown from the car. He was transported to a local hospital, where news quickly spread that he was awake and alert, had feeling in his hands and feet, and passed preliminary tests. One of the first thing he asked his family was where he was running at the time of the incident.
The second thing he asked was, “Will they have my car ready for Saturday?” according to his father.
“I’m sorry for the scare there,” Ashton said. “Wednesday night, I started on the pole and all I can remember is the drop of the green flag. After that, I couldn’t tell you what happened. Obviously, I was in a very bad wreck there. The next thing I remember was the ambulance – a tiny bit of the ambulance there. I got to the hospital and they were checking me out asking me what hurts and I told them my head and my face.”
The race resumed with Rico Abreu taking his eighth preliminary night win, but his mind was on Ashton. In victory lane, he pledged the winnings from the night to the Torgerson family. Abreu addressed the media that night and then headed to the hospital.
“Rico, he’s such a good guy,” Ashton said. “I was laying there and he walked in and set the trophy on the table and said the trophy was for me, and kept asking: ‘How is he? How’s he doing?’
“That means a lot to me. Rico didn’t have to do any of that.”
👉 The best thing you’ll see today: @_Torgerson02 at the @cbnationals!
📺 https://t.co/ZEEs0NORjq
Presented by @Lucas_Oil pic.twitter.com/6U1sw6Uavv
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) January 14, 2023
Thomas also checked in on Ashton Wednesday night after finishing fifth Chili Bowl.
“You don’t realize how much the prayers mean until something like this happens,” Danny said. “I could say thank you for every hour for the rest of my life and I don’t think it wouldn’t be enough. I told myself I wouldn’t get emotional. … Being able to sit next to my son today is beyond amazing. It’s not what I expected Wednesday night.”
As Ashton works to recover memory of that night, the search begins for what went wrong with the safety gear.
“We know that when he went out the belts were tight,” Danny said. “We remember cinching them down at the track.
“Racing is dangerous and sometimes, unfortunately, things do happen. Anyone who says they know what happened, it’s 100% speculation and guess work.
“There will be time to take a better look at that and try to figure out what happened. I would never want what happened to him to happen to him or anybody, so we will definitely be working on trying to recreate what happened in the car and see if anything caught the belt to try and get some answers because we do need those answers. ”
Ashton has been cleared to fly back to Montana on Sunday. In two weeks, he is scheduled to see a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic.
Meanwhile, the outpouring of support continues. Kyle Busch, whose Rowdy Energy Drink was sponsoring Torgerson this week, reached out to the family the night of the crash and continues to do so.
“Kyle Busch was one of the first ones to reach out,” Ashton said. “He messaged me right now. He keeps checking on me – he and Brexton keep asking how I’m doing.
“Brexton’s going to send me a card.”
Read more about Motorsports