CONCORD, NC (Jan. 19, 2024) – After several seasons cutting his teeth in the Micro Sprint ranks, Ashton Torgerson is taking the next step in his career, joining the chase for the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota championship.
The 17-year-old from Glendale, AZ, has partnered with team owners Jay Mounce and Gavin Stout of Mounce/Stout Motorsports to pilot the Eibach Springs, Safety-Kleen, Spike/Stanton #02 in his first national Midget series season.
“I’ve been watching all the races and always see [Mounce/Stout] cars up front,” Torgerson said. “I’ve got no reason not to win with these guys behind me and the equipment that I have. I’m super pumped to have them.”
Torgerson brings a wealth of open-wheel racing experience to the table as a former full-time Micro Sprint racer, claiming multiple track championships on the ovals of California in both the Winged and Non-Wing divisions. Last year, he dipped into Winged 360 Sprint Car racing, making over 35 starts at tracks in Washington, Oregon and California, and scored two Feature wins in the Torgerson Racing #02 – one at Southern Oregon Speedway and another at Placerville Speedway.
His biggest career accomplishment came nearly three weeks ago when he scored the win in the Restricted ‘A’ Class division at the Tulsa Shootout, bringing his name into the spotlight of Micro Sprint racing as he prepared for his second Chili Bowl Nationals appearance two weeks later.
Torgerson suited up for Mounce/Stout for the first time inside the SageNet Center and garnered his best results in the marquee Midget event, finishing 11th in his Prelim Feature Thursday night before falling shy of a transfer spot in a C-Main on Saturday. Still, he ranked in the top half of the 350-plus car field and showed great potential to compete with the best in the sport.
“I feel like Midgets are the most fun thing I’ve driven so far,” Torgerson said. “I feel like if I can get good in these, maybe it’ll help me out everywhere else.”
Torgerson’s also made two previous starts with the Xtreme Outlaw Series. He teamed with former Chili Bowl Nationals champion Tanner Thorson for two races last year in Kansas and saw success right from the start, leading the first 21 laps of the Toyota Racing Feature at Humboldt Speedway before recording his first podium finish with a third-place finish.
“I just hopped in with Thorson last year and we were running up front pretty much both nights,” Torgerson said. “I know me and Jay can be up front every night, we’ve just gotta be smart and have luck go our way.”
Torgerson and Mounce/Stout will make their national Midget series debut together in the 2024 Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series presented by Toyota season opener inside the Southern Illinois Center in Du Quoin, IL, as part of a two-day program – Friday-Saturday, March 15-16.
Tickets will be on sale at the gate on race day. If you can’t be there to watch in person, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.