Morton cruises to first Sooner victory at Thunderbird Speedway

By John Rittenoure (Kelten Weaver photo) - MUSKOGEE, Okla. (May 29, 2026) - It has been awhile since Brandon Morton raced on a half-mile. But you would not have known it by watching Friday at Thunderbird Speedway.

Morton started on the pole of the 20-lap main, thanks to the redraw, then quickly jumped out front and went the distance to win his first career Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation Sooner Late Model Series feature.

“That is the first time I have been on as half-mile in about 15 years,” recalled Morton afterwards in the pits. “This is where I learned to race, Muskogee and Salina (Highbanks Speedway) Friday and Saturdays.”

Morton ran second in the second heat race to Dustin Leatherman then made some adjustments that helped in the feature.

“We made some adjustments from the heat race to the feature and I think we went in the right direction,” Morton said.

Previous experience at Thunderbird might have helped Morton on deciding what line to run.

“I had a pretty good idea of where we were going to be,” Morton said of his line around the speedway. “I mainly ran around the top. I knew we would have to work around some lap traffic. The track was really racy. There was a couple of bumps you had to drive through down low, but the track was fast.”

While Morton had the lead covered, Leatherman and 2023 Sooner champion Brett Hansen battled for second. Leatherman drove into second on lap 8 only to give way to Hansen on lap 13. But on lap 19 Leatherman shot past Hansen to finish second. Glen Powell drove from 11th starting to finish fourth behind Hansen, and points leader Dakota Dellinger was fifth.

Sooner Late Model Series Results

Thunderbird Speedway - Muskogee, Oklahoma

May 29, 2026

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 11M-Brandon Morton[1]; 2. 9L-Dustin Leatherman[2]; 3. 7H-Brett Hansen[3]; 4. 26-Glen Powell[11]; 5. 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[10]; 6. 65-Eric Brill[5]; 7. 9*-Troy Martin Jr[9]; 8. 14S-Randy Swett[14]; 9. 66R-James Rini[12]; 10. 3-Gerald Tackett[15]; 11. 2B-Jordan Barbee[6]; 12. 8B-Ashlee Buck[4]; 13. 41-Matt Menzie[8]; 14. 23-Michael Foreman[13]; 15. (DNS) 7L-Brian Stinson

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 7H-Brett Hansen[3]; 2. 8B-Ashlee Buck[2]; 3. 65-Eric Brill[4]; 4. 7L-Brian Stinson[6]; 5. 9*-Troy Martin Jr[7]; 6. 14S-Randy Swett[8]; 7. 66R-James Rini[1]; 8. (DNF) 23-Michael Foreman[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 9L-Dustin Leatherman[2]; 2. 11M-Brandon Morton[3]; 3. 2B-Jordan Barbee[6]; 4. 41-Matt Menzie[4]; 5. 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[5]; 6. 26-Glen Powell[1]; 7. 3-Gerald Tackett[7

Lap Leaders: Brandon Morton 1-20.

Margin of Victory: 4.897.

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.

2026 Top 10: 1. Dakota Dellinger 1970; 2. Eric Brill 1840; 3. Ashley Buck 1775; 4. James Rini 1690; 5. Dustin Leatherman 1545; 6. Eli Ross 1325; 7. Denver Howard 1095;  8.Troy Martin, Jr. 1055; 9. Jaden Bolster 925; 10. Joseph Gorby, Zach Nickell 890.

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.