Colton Bettis Opens Must See Racing Season with First Career Win

Colton Bettis, already one of the rising young stars in pavement Sprint Car racing, scored his first career Must See Racing Sprint Series win on Friday night at Anderson Motor Speedway.

Bettis jumped to the top spot at the start of Friday's 40-lap feature, leading every lap in the caution-free race completed in nine minutes, 18 seconds at the South Carolina facility.

The 16-year-old from Florida is an 11-time race winner with the BG Products Southern Sprintcar Shootout Series, which partnered with the Muse See Sprints for Friday's contest. Now, he is a Must See Racing winner in his sixth career start with the series.

While Bettis flexed his muscle in the feature, it was a trying weekend for the young driver. Mechanical issues during testing at Anderson on Thursday set a negative tone for the weekend, but he and his team rebounded for the win on Friday.

“We found a fuel issue yesterday during practice and were devastated at the time” explained Bettis in victory lane. “We pulled the tail tank off today and put another one we had in the trailer, and it ran. So, it must have been a tail tank issue. My guys never give up and I’m thankful for them."

Bettis took the lead from Bobby Santos, III to start the race, and quickly distanced himself from the veteran with 14 career Must See wins. While occasionally battling intense lapped traffic, Bettis maintained his advantage, crossing the finish line 5.754 seconds ahead of Santos.

Santos finished second, with Davey Hamilton, Jr. , Joe Ligouri and Jimmy McCune rounding out the top five.

Hamilton set a new Anderson Motor Speedway track record during qualifying on Friday, navigating the 3/8-mile oval in 12.907 seconds. He and Bettis, at 12.989 seconds, became the first drivers to clock in under 13 seconds in the track's history.

Ligouri and Dylan Reynolds scored heat race wins to start the evening of racing.

Originally, Friday's event at Anderson was scheduled as part of a doubleheader weekend in the Southeastern United States for the Must See Racing Sprint Cars. However, Saturday's race at Cordele Motor Speedway has been postponed due to inclement weather. Cordele officials announced Friday evening that the speedway has canceled its racing program for Saturday, with rain in the forecast throughout the day.

Currently, the next stop on the Must See Racing schedule is Berlin Raceway on Saturday, June 6. Fans can watch the Must See Racing Series all year long on RacingAmerica.TV. Click here to subscribe today and watch the Must See Racing Series in 2026.

-Photo credit: David Sink

Must See Racing at Anderson Motor Speedway
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