Colton Horner Starts NeSmith Rookie Campaign In Rumble
Colton Horner Starts NeSmith Rookie Campaign In Rumble
Colton Horner starts his NeSmith rookie campaign in Rumble on the Gumbo in Greenville, Mississippi, on April 8-9.
Colton Horner's age should not fool anyone into thinking the young gun lacks experience. Barely into his teens, Horner already has three years of racing under his belt.
"I try to respect all the guys that are older than me even if I think I'm better. I look up to them. I'm out here to learn," he said while preparing for his next late model race.
When the Rumble on the Gumbo streams live from Greenville, Mississippi, on April 8-9, the 14-year-old Horner will kick off his NeSmith Touring Cruise with the Champions Rookie of the Year campaign.
In 2015, he raced locally around his Katy, Texas, home. After winning a race at Battleground Speedway in Highlands and finishing second there several times, Horner decided that he needed to find some stiffer competition.
In 2016, he made nine starts in the NeSmith series. Without a top 10 to his credit, Horner finished 13th in the points.
Horner needed to know if he could continue to improve, so he packed up his late model and ran the Winter Shootout this year. He failed to score a top 10 in five attempts but bookended the experience in Alabama with a 13th-place finish at Talladega Short Track and an 11th at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City.
"We wanted to know how we would do," Horner said. "And we actually turned out to be pretty good.
"We ran good at East Alabama, timed in on the pole but made a setup mistake in the feature and spun."
Racing against Ronnie Johnson, Horner got loose underneath the veteran driver's car and skated up into him Horner was forced to the tail end of the field because of the spin. He found his way back to 11th and was in sight of that elusive top 10. Johnson finished sixth.
That on-track incident became a teachable moment--but it wasn't Johnson who initiated the lesson.
Horner went to Johnson's hauler after the race to apologize for getting into him. The veteran shrugged it off, and instead of lashing out of the teenager, Johnson told him what he had seen while running behind him.
"He told me how it was reacting and what could make it better," Horner said. "He ran behind me and could tell the car was real free."
That was actually Horner's second lesson of the night.
"I learned a lot running side-by-side with him," Horner said. "I could run close to him, right off the wall and not worry about his doing something stupid or a dirty slide job."
"I try not to focus on who I'm racing against. It's a car, and I try to get around it. I'm out here to learn."
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"I try to respect all the guys that are older than me even if I think I'm better. I look up to them. I'm out here to learn," he said while preparing for his next late model race.
When the Rumble on the Gumbo streams live from Greenville, Mississippi, on April 8-9, the 14-year-old Horner will kick off his NeSmith Touring Cruise with the Champions Rookie of the Year campaign.
In 2015, he raced locally around his Katy, Texas, home. After winning a race at Battleground Speedway in Highlands and finishing second there several times, Horner decided that he needed to find some stiffer competition.
In 2016, he made nine starts in the NeSmith series. Without a top 10 to his credit, Horner finished 13th in the points.
Horner needed to know if he could continue to improve, so he packed up his late model and ran the Winter Shootout this year. He failed to score a top 10 in five attempts but bookended the experience in Alabama with a 13th-place finish at Talladega Short Track and an 11th at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City.
"We wanted to know how we would do," Horner said. "And we actually turned out to be pretty good.
"We ran good at East Alabama, timed in on the pole but made a setup mistake in the feature and spun."
Racing against Ronnie Johnson, Horner got loose underneath the veteran driver's car and skated up into him Horner was forced to the tail end of the field because of the spin. He found his way back to 11th and was in sight of that elusive top 10. Johnson finished sixth.
That on-track incident became a teachable moment--but it wasn't Johnson who initiated the lesson.
Horner went to Johnson's hauler after the race to apologize for getting into him. The veteran shrugged it off, and instead of lashing out of the teenager, Johnson told him what he had seen while running behind him.
"He told me how it was reacting and what could make it better," Horner said. "He ran behind me and could tell the car was real free."
That was actually Horner's second lesson of the night.
"I learned a lot running side-by-side with him," Horner said. "I could run close to him, right off the wall and not worry about his doing something stupid or a dirty slide job."
"I try not to focus on who I'm racing against. It's a car, and I try to get around it. I'm out here to learn."
How To Watch Rumble On The Gumbo
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