WEATHERFORD, Texas – Results of his second start made it clear to Cameron Gaston that his first Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod season could be something special.
Gaston followed a DNF on opening night of Kennedale Speedway Park’s February Spring Kickoff special with a solid third-place run on night two.
Another 13 top five finishes would follow, taking the 19-year-old from Weatherford straight to national rookies of the year honors, as well as Southern Oklahoma Speedway track and Oklahoma State crowns.
“That first-night DNF kind of killed some hopes but the next night I got a third and that definitely helped set the mood for the year. To get an early podium is always a good way to start the season,” said Gaston, eighth in the national points race. “Around here, Kennedale is one of the first tracks to start the season and basically everyone is going to be there. It was definitely stacked so to get a third was definitely a good way to start.”
Gaston came to the division after two seasons and nine feature wins in the Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compacts, then a year in a local eco mod class.
“It’s totally different going from front wheel drive to rear wheel drive, but it didn’t take to too long to figure out,” Gaston said of the move to the open wheeled division. “I really enjoyed the competition – it’s not easy to get a win, it’s a very packed class – and I just like the SportMod and everything about them.
“I have a good Generation Race Cars team around me and I could always go to the people I raced with and they’d give me good information,” he added. “They were always willing to help when I needed it.”
Gaston comes from a racing family as his father Ronnie, mother Christi and sister Callee all raced Sport Compacts while brother Christian piloted an eco mod this year and will run for a Southern SportMod rookie of the year title of his own in 2025.
Grandfather Langston Layne heads up his crew and also helps sponsor the number 25 ride.
“Rookie of the year was our only goal at the start of the season,” said Gaston, who clinched that title with four straight top five’s before returning to Kennedale for the Southern SportMod Nationals. “I really didn’t know what to expect moving up but I had high expectations for myself because I wanted to do good, and it worked out pretty good.”
“The last four or five races at Southern Oklahoma, we realized we had a chance to win the track, too, so we started to push for that pretty heavy,” he continued. “We weren’t planning on running for the track or state championship at the beginning of the season but everything worked out in our favor.”
Gaston be back in the division next year, racing weekly at Ardmore and at Kennedale as his schedule permits.