AFTON — After the race at Thunder Mountain was canceled last Saturday morning due to rain in the forecast, the team kept a close eye on the weather and made the decision to switch the car over and head to Afton Motorsports Park.

Talan Oliver, 15, of Norwich hit the track for hot laps and immediately reported that the car was fast. Oliver, who had started racing full time at five years old, was scheduled to start fifth in his heat race, but his night quickly took an unexpected turn. Before completing a single lap, a stuck throttle forced him to safely exit the track and return to the pits.

Once back in the pit area, the crew went to work diagnosing the issue. After removing body panels and inspecting the throttle system, they discovered that a tiny rock had become lodged under the throttle cable. Unfortunately, this issue resulted in Talan finishing last in his heat race, and set him up to start at the rear of the field for the feature event.

Undeterred, Talan put on an impressive drive through the pack. He gained three positions before the completion of the first lap and continued his charge toward the front. By lap 9, he had worked his way into third place, and by lap 13 he was running second. With just three laps remaining, Talan made the winning pass for the lead and never looked back, taking the checkered flag and earning his first victory of the 2026 season.

This accomplishment would not have been possible without the support of his incredible sponsors:

TSC Construction LLC, Duncan Well Drilling, 607 Shooters, Norwich VFW, Husted Trucking, Monroe and Shaver Contracting, Park Place Sports Bar & Grill, Nina’s, Magro’s Norwich, Miller Tree Service, Bodies by Barker, Land Designs.

The team would also like to thank their family and crew members, whose hard work and dedication behind the scenes make nights like this possible. Finally, a heartfelt thank you goes out to all of the fans whose support means the world to Talan and the entire team.

The team looks forward to carrying this momentum into the next race, which this weekend’s plan is to race on Saturday at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Lisle, NY and then Sunday at Brookfield Speedway in Brookfield, NY.

-Information from The Oliver Family