Hughes sweeps Sooner double at Beaver, Amarillo

By John Rittenoure (Rickety Roach photo) - AMARILLO, Texas.. (July 18, 2026) - After missing the first six races of the Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation Sooner Late Model Series, Kip Hughes has found himself playing catchup. But the four-time series champion is quickly making up for lost time.

Friday Hughes captured his second straight victory at Beaver County Raceway then followed that up with a third win Saturday at Route 66 Motor Speedway. .

Hughes started outside second row on Friday, however, it did not take him long to challenge for the lead. Hughes moved into second on lap three and reeled in early leader Eric Brill. Brill was determined to maintain his lead, but on lap eight Hughes was able to take away the lead. Hughes pulled away over the final 12 laps for his 46th career victory. Brill held on to second followed by rookie Ashlee Buck finishing in third. Nate Jantz was fourth and Steve Hewitt, Sr picked up fifth.

Saturday Hughes started on the pole and went the 25-lap distance. Hughes pulled away to easily win over Dakota Dellinger. Cameron Thomas, Nate Jantz and Eric Brill rounded out the top five.

While Hughes was running out front a points battle was taking place between Dellinger and Brill. Dellinger came into the night with a narrow 15 point lead over Brill. The two battled, but Dellinger finally took over the runner-up position and Brill faded fifth giving Dellinger more breathing room in the standings.

The Sooner Series returns to Thunderbird Speedway on Friday, July 31, for the make-up of the Hayden Ross Memorial race that was rained out.

Sooner Late Model Series Results

Route 66 Motor Speedway - Amarillo, Texas

July 18, 2026

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 60-Kip Hughes[1]; 2. 66R-Dakota Dellinger[3]; 3. 1T-Cameron Thomas[8]; 4. 99-Nate Jantz[11]; 5. 65-Eric Brill[4]; 6. 8B-Ashlee Buck[6]; 7. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[5]; 8. 9-Kenton Sanders[16]; 9. 22N-Kevin Newell[10]; 10. T12-Shannon Skaggs[7]; 11. 3-Halston Shipman[13]; 12. 8-Michael Hilton[9]; 13. 71-Brittany Hogan Venable[14]; 14. 29-Mercedes Abercrombie[2]; 15. (DNS) 9XX-James Rini; 16. (DNS) 14S-Randy Swett

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 65-Eric Brill[3]; 2. 29-Mercedes Abercrombie[6]; 3. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[5]; 4. T12-Shannon Skaggs[1]; 5. 8-Michael Hilton[2]; 6. (DNS) 9XX-James Rini; 7. (DNS) 3-Halston Shipman; 8. (DNS) 14S-Randy Swett

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 60-Kip Hughes[1]; 2. 66R-Dakota Dellinger[2]; 3. 8B-Ashlee Buck[4]; 4. 1T-Cameron Thomas[6]; 5. 22N-Kevin Newell[3]; 6. 99-Nate Jantz[5]; 7. (DNS) 71-Brittany Hogan Venable; 8. (DNS) 9-Kenton Sanders

Lap Leaders: Kip Hughes 1-25.

Margin of victory: 8.996.

Sooner Late Model Series Results

Beaver County Raceway - Beaver, Oklahoma

July 17, 2026

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 60-Kip Hughes[4]; 2. 65-Eric Brill[1]; 3. 8B-Ashlee Buck[2]; 4. 99-Nate Jantz[3]; 5. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[9]; 6. T12-Shannon Skaggs[8]; 7. 66R-James Rini[7]; 8. 84-Gary Kilbourn[5]; 9. 22N-Kevin Newell[6]; 10. 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[10]; 11. 14S-Randy Swett[11]

Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 60-Kip Hughes[5]; 2. 99-Nate Jantz[4]; 3. 84-Gary Kilbourn[1]; 4. 66R-James Rini[2]; 5. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[3]; 6. 14S-Randy Swett[6]

Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 65-Eric Brill[1]; 2. 8B-Ashlee Buck[2]; 3. 22N-Kevin Newell[3]; 4. T12-Shannon Skaggs[5]; 5. (DNS) 9XX-Dakota Dellinger

Lap Leaders: Eric Brill 1-7, Kip Hughes 8-20.

Margin of victory: 7.541.

2026 Winners: 4/4/2026 - Eli Ross, Enid Speedway; 5/2/2026 - Dakota Dellinger, Enid Speedway; 5/15/2026 - Eli Ross, Humboldt Speedway; 5/16/2026 -  Eli Ross, 81 Speedway; 5/29/2026 - Brandon Morton, Thunderbird Speedway; 5/30/2026 - Christopher Wilhite, Jr., Creek County Speedway; 7/3/2026 - Kip Hughes, Enid Speedway; 7/17/2026 - Kip Hughes, Beaver County Raceway; 7/18/2026 - Kip Hughes, Route 66 Motor Speedway.

2026 Top 10: 1. Dakota Dellinger 3845; 2. Eric Brill 3810; 3. Ashley Buck 3590; 4. James Rini 3080; 5. Randy Swett 2270; 6. Dustin Leatherman 2115; 7. Kip Hughes 1715; 8. Kevin Newell 1585; 9. Eli Ross 1525; 10. Denver Howard 1415.

Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation

Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation goal is to help grow both high school, trade school and college programs to start and or develop a motorsports program, club, or organizations at their school as well as individual motorsports programs. HRMF will provide financial grants, equipment, expertise, scholarships, and educational opportunities for these organizations and individuals. This program will allow students to overcome the hurdle of entering motorsports due to the high costs and specialized experience needed to get started. This program will allow these students the opportunity to be part of a team with one overall goal of success on the track, including budgeting, marketing, mechanical skills, logistics, and team building efforts. All while honoring the life lost to early of Hayden Diesel Ross, #forever66.

Sooner Late Model Series

The Sooner Late Model Series was formed in 2016 by Enid Speedway co-promoter Mark Brill. Brill felt there was not many opportunities for late model competitors to race in Oklahoma and the Sooner Late Model Series was formed. Now the series has grown beyond the borders of Oklahoma with events held in the neighboring states of Kansas, Texas and Missouri, and Arkansas.