Emerson Axsom competed in the Bettenhausen 100 USAC Silver Crown race in Springfield, Illinois last month, placing fifth.
Submitted photo
Winds of change apply to racing, too.
The ones Emerson Axsom has experienced in recent months could’ve slowed the progress of the Franklin native, but didn’t.
“Honestly, I feel like last year was a little bit of a struggle,” said Axsom, 18, referring to finishing a more-than-respectable fifth in the 2022 USAC AMSOIL national sprint car points standings. “There were a lot of ups and downs. It was a bit of a roller coaster.
“At the start of this year, we went through a crew chief change, and I didn’t really know how good we would be.”
As it turns out, exceptionally good.
Axsom, who drives for Clauson Marshall Newman Racing, sits in third place in points for this season with 1,743, trailing only Brady Bacon (1,851) and Justin Grant (1,842).
Drivers return to the dirt tonight at the half-mile Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas. Then it’s off to Texarkana, Arkansas, for two days of racing Friday and Saturday.
In all, there are 10 races remaining, the last at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma on Oct. 28.
Axsom, who drove to runner-up status in two of four February racesto open the 2023 season, has been able to maintain that momentum throughout.
“Once we got rolling, it just took off,” Axsom said. “(Racing) is almost a three-year deal. The third year is usually when you put it all together. But we’ve been able to put ourselves in a position to win almost every night.
“Even on our bad nights, instead of wrecking it, we finish in the top 10.”
Axsom’s victories thus far this season were June 15-16 at the Pennsylvania cities of Pottsville and Mechanicsburg, respectively, and on the quarter-mile Bloomington Speedway on July 28.
Most recently, Axsom raced three events at his favorite venue, Kokomo Speedway, taking 11th, 14th and 12th. Grant, a native of Ione, California, won all three of those races.
Last month, Axsom stepped away from his comfort zone by taking part in the Bettenhausen 100 USAC Silver Crown race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. He finished fifth of 31 drivers after running in the top three for the first quarter of the 100-lap race.
Axsom ran another Silver Crown race last weekend at the Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in Illinois, finishing seventh in the Ted Horn 100 after qualifying 12th.
Tim Clauson, Axsom’s crew chief, is confident the USAC National Sprint Car Series possesses as deep of a talent pool as it has in years. The fact that his driver is competing for a points title against competitors who in some cases have a decade head start over Axsom at many of the dirt tracks speaks volumes.
“It’s really been kind of an interesting year,” Clauson said. “We’ve had some runs of absolute brilliance, and some that have been not so brilliant. But overall, having three wins, and three or four others that have probably slipped away, he’s exceeded expectations, really, just based on where the competition is at.”
Like all young drivers, Axsom aspires to one day make left turns at larger stages with more pairs of eyes watching the action. In the meantime, he, Clauson and car chief Bobby Lamond have prepared for what they hope will be a strong showing over these final 10 races.
“The ultimate goal is to run World of Outlaws full time,” said Axsom, alluding to the premier dirt track racing circuit the past 40-plus years. “It could be two more years. It could be five.”
No matter the timeline, Emerson Axsom gets to continue playing in the dirt.
