By Bill Martin
WEATHERFORD, Texas (Oct. 31, 2025) — The planning for Christian Gaston’s 2025 rookie of the year run started early the season before.
Younger brother Cameron topped point standings for first-year Smiley’s Racing Products IMCA Southern SportMod drivers in 2024. As was their goal, Christian made it two straight rookie crowns for Team Gaston this season, besting fellow Texan Colton Birmingham in a title chase that went all the way into September.
“It would have been hard, my brother and I both racing for rookie the same season,” said Gaston, 23 years old and from Weatherford. “We had been just racing and having fun. Our grandfather Langston Layne is from the dirt track racing world and knew how this rookie of the year thing worked. He helped us set it in motion. Camo would run for it in 2024 and I’d run for it this year, it all worked out and we won back-to-back titles.”
The Oklahoma State champion and eighth nationally, Gaston was runner-up to his brother at Southern Oklahoma Speedway. He had another nine top five finishes in 37 starts, most of them at Ardmore, Heart O’ Texas Speedway and Kennedale Speedway Park.
He got his only win of the season in his 24th start, passing Josh Landers for the July 5 checkers at Ardmore.
“I don’t want to say I had zero faith I could win because I knew I could, but my brother went all last year, didn’t win one time and still got rookie,” reasoned Gaston. “I guess that night I put another gear down and got the win. It was really unexpected. It worked out perfectly.”
“Being a rookie, it was something really cool to do and Josh came over later and told me congratulations. It was a good feeling that night.”
Gaston prepped for his IMCA career on “bicycles, dirt bikes, BMX, quads and side-by-sides, “just about anything with wheels.”
He ran a Mach-1 IMCA Sport Compact two years and then an eco-mod, a class that runs at tracks around the Lone Star State and is similar to the Southern SportMod other than the engine, in 2023 and 2024.
“The eco mod was good practice for this season. I love everything about the Southern SportMod,” Gaston said, “and I had a lot of fun traveling and racing with Camo.”
The two had just enough room to fit their race cars in the same trailer on 30 race nights, pulling a smaller trailer with their golf carts behind. Cameron was a six-time winner and fifth in the national points chase this season.
Their mutual successes have Christian looking ahead to 2026.
“You always itch for more, but when you work that hard all year and put all those races in, what you’ve done is really rewarding,” he said. “Do I miss it now that we’re in the off-season? Yes, but I’m satisfied with what we accomplished and where we finished.”
Feature Wins 1
Top Five’s 9
Starts 37
HIS CREW: Grandfather Langston Layne, brother Cameron and girlfriend Lauryn Rasco.
HIS SPONSORS: Layne Automotive, Generation Race Cars, RWN Fabrication and Shibby Designs, all of Springtown.