Wolff gets second chance, wins Sooner late model main at Thunderbird

by John Rittenoure (Kelten Weaver photo) - MUSKOGEE, Okla. (October 9, 2026) - Tyler Wolff was setting a torrid pace around the historic Thunderbird Speedway half-mile on Friday night. Wolff was leading the Sooner Late Model Series presented by the Hayden Ross Motorsports Foundation A-feature, but he needed a liitle help to secure the win.

Eli Ross had been nearly glued to Wolff’s rear bumper the whole race. On lap 10 Ross roared into turn one and put a slide job on Wolff taking away the lead. However, the yellow flag came out before the lap could be completed giving Wolff another chance.

“That is a big track, and with Eli (Ross) behind me I was giving it all I had,” Wolff said of the fast half-mile. “I kind of slowed down a little bit and the next thing I knew he was sliding me. I thought I was going fast and he was going a whole another level.

“I was trying to take it easy and had some cars I was working around. The next thing I know he got by me going another 20 miles per hour faster.”

The restart put Wolff back in front and once again pacing the field.

“It gave me another chance to rejuvenate my arms and get another chance,” Wolff said.

Wolff felt he was going as fast as he could and was surprised Ross drove past so quickly.

“It was extremely fast, especially going around the top,” Wolff said of the track. “I had it to the floor all the way around. Just trying to keep my momentum going.”

For much of the race Ross and 12-year old Callan Hill were running 2-3 behind Wolff and it appeared the race might finish that way. However, on lap 16 Hill suffered a right rear flat and pulled to the infield. Two laps later Ross pulled off with a right rear flat. That left Wolff with breathing room and his first Sooner Late Model feature victory.

Dan Smith took over second on the final lap followed by previous Thunderbird winner Brandon Morton following in third. Jeff Roth and Delbert Smith rounded out the top five.

It was a night of point battles and Eric Brill kept his points lead with a seventh place finish over second place Dakota Dellinger who finished ninth.

Rookie points leader Ashlee Buck had a rough night, but held on to a 140 point lead over second place James Rini.

The night started turning sour in the third heat.

“We were running good, the gauges looked good, oil pressure, temperature, RPM’s, I was going into turn three and boom and that was the end,” said Buck, who was running second at the time when the engine let go. “It just locked up and everything just stopped instantly.”

There were pieces of the engine all over the track.

“It got a rod, part of the crank and hole in the block,” Buck said.

Needing to start the feature to earn points Randy Swett offered his car to Buck. Buck started the feature but pulled out with a smoking engine after four laps.

“I could hear it and feel it laying down a little bit so I backed out of it," said Buck. "I flipped the switches and smoke came out of it.”

Not the way Buck wanted to end the night, but her rookie points lead was still intact.

Sooner Late Model Series Results

Thunderbird Speedway - Muskogee, Oklahoma

October 9, 2026

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff[2]; 2. 92S-Dan Smith[1]; 3. 11M-Brandon Morton[9]; 4. 14R-Jeff Roth[3]; 5. 92-Delbert Smith[18]; 6. 41-Bryce Clark[10]; 7. 65-Eric Brill[19]; 8. 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[16]; 9. 66R-James Rini[12]; 10. ZZ-Sloppy Hog[8]; 11. 88S-Richard Shepler[14]; 12. 66-Eli Ross[6]; 13. 87C-Callan Hill[4]; 14. 1W-David Vinson[11]; 15. 31-Gary Lowe[17]; 16. 14S-Ashlee Buck[15]; 17. 15H-Nathan Hagar[5]; 18. 34-Weston Holman[22]; 19. 24-Heath Stephens[23]; 20. 97-Jeff Perry[20]; 21. 99-Jeff Hull[21]; 22. 18-Eddie Tidwell[13]; 23. (DNS) 14X-Randy Swett; 24. (DNS) 777X-Luke Vargas

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Eli Ross[3]; 2. 87C-Callan Hill[6]; 3. ZZ-Sloppy Hog[2]; 4. 41-Bryce Clark[4]; 5. 18-Eddie Tidwell[7]; 6. 9XX-Dakota Dellinger[1]; 7. 65-Eric Brill[8]; 8. 34-Weston Holman[5]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 4W-Tyler Wolff[7]; 2. 92S-Dan Smith[4]; 3. 11M-Brandon Morton[8]; 4. 1W-David Vinson[2]; 5. 88S-Richard Shepler[3]; 6. 31-Gary Lowe[6]; 7. 97-Jeff Perry[1]; 8. 24-Heath Stephens[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 14R-Jeff Roth[1]; 2. 777X-Luke Vargas[3]; 3. 15H-Nathan Hagar[4]; 4. 66R-James Rini[6]; 5. 14S-Ashlee Buck[5]; 6. 92-Delbert Smith[7]; 7. 99-Jeff Hull[2]; 8. 14X-Randy Swett[8]

Lap Leaders: Tyler Wolff 1-20.

Margin of victory: 12.537.

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; 8/15/2026 - Callan Hill, Enid Speedway; 9/5/2026 - Nate Janz, Enid Speedway; 9/18/2026 - Brett Hansen, Thunderbird Speedway; 9/19/2026 - Brandon Morton, Caney Valley Speedway; 10/9/2026 - Tyler Wolff, Thunderbird Speedway.

2026 Top 10: 1. Eric Brill 6175; 2. Dakota Dellinger 6005; 3. Ashley Buck 5485; 4. James Rini 5345; 5. Randy Swett 3590; 6. Kip Hughes 2970; 7. Kevin Newell 2670; 8. Jaden Bolster 2410; 9. Eli Ross 2290; 10. Nate Jantz, Denver Howard 2260.

2026 Rookie Standings: 1. Ashlee Buck 5485; 2. James Rini 5345; 3. Randy Swett 3590; 4. Jaden Bolster 2410; 5. Dustin Leatherman 2115; 6. Brian Stinson 1490; 7. Troy Martin, Jr. 1055.

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.