By John Rittenoure - GLENPOOL, Okla. (October 22, 2025) - Tanner Conn has been through a lot of experiences in his eight years behind the wheel of a sprint car. But 2025 is one season that may stand out above the rest.
More accustomed to a winged sprint car, Conn was out of his comfort zone this season racing a non-wing sprinter full-time with the Ortco, Inc. United Sprint League presented by Same Day Auto Repair. Then finding himself locked into a points battle added to the challenges he faced.
Coming into the season final at Creek County Speedway on October 18, Conn only had an eight-point lead in the point standings and a battle to the finish was expected. But mother nature had other plans and the race rained out. With no make-up date available Conn is officially the USL points champion.
“I mean, that’s kind of what everybody wants to see, you know, storybook ending with a close points battle where multiple people have a chance going into the last night,” Conn said of the rainout. “It would have been interesting to see how it would have played out.
“It is unfortunate that the last race was over a month ago and not being able to have the last race because of weather. So glad to come out on top and get it done for Ashley and Nick.”
Conn had a lot to adapt to and credits car owner Nick Newton with making the transition to non-wing easier.
It has been awhile since we went point racing,” Conn said. “The last time was with the Sprint Series of Oklahoma. Point racing is a different mind set. You don’t want to do something stupid. It got me out of my comfort zone being a winged racer.
“Nick (Newton) did a good job of getting the car to where I could be comfortable and just focus on the night and getting the car better. It was different knowing I was going to be running non-wing. In years past I had only run two or three non-wing races a year so this year it felt a little different knowing I was doing something I was not use too.”
Conn had to adjust to the way a non-wing car handles in the corners verses a winged car.
“It was just learning a new package,” Conn said. “Nick got things similar to how our own car is, but it was still a learning curve. We had to learn how to navigate in all track conditions. Non-wing seems a little tougher on a tacky track cause it is easier to get the car tight and push the nose. In non-wing if your car is on edge you might lack a little bit of confidence not knowing if you are going to go in there and wad the thing up or get through the corner good.”
“It has been great. This is our first season together. Last year we ran a few races together. I appreciate all the effort he has put in to get good equipment, which he has always had, and changing things to my liking. He worked with me really well. He did a great job as crew chief and maintaining it.”
The only disappointment to the season was not getting to run the final race at Red Dirt Raceway in the season opener.
“Overall, it was a pretty smooth (season),” Conn explained. “We had a mechanical failure the first night at Meeker, which was unfortunate because I hated to not be able to finish the race the last time we were going to race there. We had something with the engine go wrong.”
And the toughest test for Conn was the Tulsa Speedway oval.
“I would say Tulsa Speedway was the biggest challenge,” he said. “I had only ran it one time in a midget. It is a tight paper clip of a track and the track had a lot of character. It was definitely a bit of a challenge.”
The most fun came at Creek County Speedway, where Conn got his only victory, and Lawton Speedway.
“I enjoy Creek, Lawton, both of those, but I had a lot of fun at Creek,” Conn said. “It seemed like the track was better this year than some the past few years. A lot of times it had a bottom line and a top lane that were pretty even and made some interesting racing.”
The most important element to racing week in and week out was family and crew.
“A big thanks to Ashley and Nick for putting me in a car and working so hard all year,” said Conn who began his racing career in 2008 in Micro Sprints. “It would not be possible with Ortco, Inc. I have to thank Smiley’s Racing Products, Jeff Taft and Jeremy Allen for the good engine package we’ve got, Slade Shocks, JR1 Race Cars and Seabass Racing. Big thanks to my wife (Kenlee), my mom, and Ashley, specifically for keeping us fed all the nights with the races by bringing good food. That is really important. Also, Tanner Newton.”
- administrator on Oct 23, 2025
- Article Date: 10/23/2025 by John Rittenoure