Trevor Barnard

Up-and-coming Dirt Late Model racer Hayden Ross of Muskogee, Okla., died early Thursday in an ATV accident on the property of his team’s race shop. Ross, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was 20.

Fellow racer and family friend Kip Hughes, the promoter of Enid (Okla.) Speedway, told DirtonDirt.com he learned of the death from the family and called the incident a “freak deal.” A report in the Muskogee Phoenix said the 4 a.m. crash also injured another man on the four-wheeler, Spencer Libby of Fargo, N.D., but no details were known about his condition. The Muskogee Police report didn't say who was operating the vehicle.

Ross had recently clinched the championship on the Complete Well Testing Sooner Late Model Series and had a season-high seven victories on the Oklahoma-based tour, including Friday’s victory at his hometown Thunderbird Speedway. He also clinched the 2022 championship on the Texas-based Southern Touring Late Model Series last weekend.

“It’s terrible,” said Hughes, the Sooner tour’s all-time winningest driver who was second in points to Ross most of the season. “Our little Sooner family is completely devastated.”

The son of Brady and Elizabeth Ross began his Late Model career in 2018 and had two victories heading into 2022 when he blossomed as the Sooner tour’s top driver with victories at Thunderbird, Enid, Ada’s Oklahoma Sports Park and Crawford County Speedway in Van Buren, Ark.

The third-generation racer, who competed in go-karts before his Late Model career, followed the tire tracks of his father Brady and great uncle Tom Laster, the 1979 National Championship Racing Association champion. Ross was also mentored by National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame driver Bill Frye of Greenbrier, Ark., who came out of retirement to field the Ross team’s backup car last month in a Sooner Series event at Thunderbird.

“Hayden was very well liked among racers and fans and will be missed,” the Sooner Series posted on the series website. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Ross family.”

The Southern Touring Late Model Series posted that “we’re devastated to hear of the passing of Hayden Ross, our 2022 champion. Hayden was an incredible racer and a great, great friend. Our condolences go out to his friends, family and everyone his life impacted and our thoughts and prayers are with them. Rest in peace, Hayden.”

Ross was featured in DirtonDirt.com's Weekly Notebook during the summer.

Correction: Fixes that death was early Thursday morning sted Wednesday; updates with other details.