Gastineau Wins An Absolute Thriller
Knocks Off Passmore At Tri-State
John Lemon
OCRS Public Relations
Pocola
Oklahoma (September 8, 2012)- When sports fans buy a ticket
for a sporting event, they often have high hopes that their experience will be
full of excitement and highly entertaining. The 25-lap A Feature at the Tri-State
Speedway was all of that and then some as Whit “Gasman” Gastineau and series
points leader Jamie Passmore put on an epic dual on the 3/8 mile high banked
track that had the fans in attendance savoring every lap right from the start.
Both
started on the front row as each had an opportunity to start at the rear for
“The Oil Medics – Back Row Challenge” for extra cash. Neither would take the
challenge as the field would have such heavy hitters as Danny Smith, Shane and
Roberts Sellers, Sean McClelland, Mike Peters and others that would make for a
quality packed starting grid. Gastineau would jump out front first while
‘Jammin Jamie’, a winner 11 times this season would tuck behind in second and
the fight was on. Johnny “Hotrod” Kent, Shane Sellers and Kyle Clark would
complete lap one third through fifth respectively as the two speed demons would
motor onward. McClelland would then dive low on Clark to take the fifth spot
coming out of turn two.
As the
lead duo would come to the stripe to complete lap two, Gastineau would be
scored as the leader by the virtue of a single tire length. It would be the
first of several such occurrences as the main event played out. Passmore would
hug the bottom of the track as snug as possible while Gastineau’s preferred
line was as high around the top as he could get. The amount of real estate
between them as they were side by side was often three semi cabs wide and this
went on for what seemed to be an eternity. Coming out of turn four to complete
the third lap, Passmore got just enough of a run that he would officially be
scored as the leader although to most eyes, it looked like a dead heat.
Gastineau would get a full run out of turn two and pull right back up
along side Passmore. They would be virtually tied together. It would be
Passmore by a nose at the line again. As if there was a DVD running on a loop
system, the exact same scene would play out on the following lap. While this
was going on, Sellers had made a move around Kent in the #41 BnK Automotive /
Jennings Powder Coating / Hinton Body Shop machine for third. Coming down to
complete lap six, Passmore finally had a full car length lead in his G.A.P.
Roofing / Eagle / Wesmar sprinter. The next lap would see a three car length
advantage for the first real sign of any daylight between the two. Further
back, Robert Sellers was beginning to put pressure on McClelland for the fifth
spot and those two would begin their own battle.
The Gasman
snares 3rd win of 2012 / Mike Spivey Photo
Completing the 12th lap, Gastineau would once
again run up behind Passmore as they would also encounter lapped traffic for
the first time. Continuing the lines they started running with, it became a
matter if the lappers would go low in the corner, go high or run the middle.
They chose low and Passmore had to check up for a second and that allowed
Gastineau to make a move. The driver of the DW’s Video / Shell Rapid Lube /
Larry Allen Engines / Eagle roared down the back straight and made a dive bomb
from the top of turn three to the bottom just barely getting in front of
Passmore. They didn’t go but 20 yards to turn four where Passmore retook the
lead as Gastineau came off the bottom line. Like another video replay,
Gastineau did the exact same move in turn three of the next lap only this time,
he held the lead and kept Passmore in the runner up spot. S. Sellers, Kent,
McClelland and R. Sellers were still the next quartet.
The
one and only caution of the night came while working lap 20 when Clark spun off
track between turns one and two. This would put all the cars running for
position tail to tail with one another. Not that they wanted to, but the fans
would get a brief moment to collect their breaths. The restart order would be:
Gastineau, Passmore, S. Sellers, Kent, R. Sellers, McClelland, Peters, Danny
Smith and Rafe Essary. Gastineau would charge right back to the top of the
track when the field went back to green and this time, Passmore would follow
suit. Two laps later, Smith would pass Peters for position. On the last lap,
Peters would slide high thus loosing positions.
Gastineau would bring it on home for his third A Feature win of the
season. It was a redemption of sorts for the Gasman as he sat on the pole for
the A Feature back in June at this very track and fought with Passmore on that
night as well, only to spin trying to avoid stalled cars thus causing him to
finish near the rear of the field. Passmore, S. Sellers, Kent and R. Sellers
completed the top five.
Gastineau gave his thoughts about the feature. “He (Passmore) was a bit
better coming out of turn four and I knew I was way better than him coming out
of (turn) two so I could keep my momentum up. I would be busting it around the
top(making progress) in turns one
and two and it ended up working. This was a racy track. With me on the bottom
and Jamie on the top, it was a great track. We got this car fixed from last
year as we hurt it a couple of times and we keep on fixing it and it keeps on finding
victory lane,” said the jubilant victor.
Passmore,
while a bridesmaid this night and a driver with a reputation of being a very
cool cat in most any situation, offered a surprising revelation to how he
reacted on the track this time: “I just got hung up behind those lapped cars
and Whit got the run on me on the outside and I kind of lost my cool after
that. I couldn’t slow back down the way I needed to (from spinning his tires
with too much throttle pressure). Especially down in turns three and four I
just started running it in way to hard. It’s been a good long time since I was
in a race that competitive. Whit’s a good clean hard racer. It worked out in
his favor tonight.”
Shane
Sellers Is Making His Presence Known Quickly / Mike Spivey Photo
Shane Sellers had a solid third place run in the Bob
Martin owned Wells Engines car with a XXX chassis. “We were thankful in having
a good starting spot in fourth and we were quick. We didn’t have enough at the
beginning to get up ahead of them (Gastineau and Passmore). Once it (track)
started to take rubber Whit got ahead of Jamie and then we all started staying
at about the same speed. You had to be out front when it took (rubber on
track). We were fast and were happy with our finish. Bob had some bad luck at
the beginning of the year and we have been sorting some things out on this car
and it seems to be getting better. Were just making it work till the end of the
year and then we will regroup over the off-season and see what we got.”
“Hotrod” Kent was likewise
pleased with his third top 5 in the last four outings. “We picked up this car
(Eagle chassis) from Passmore about four races ago and man it’s made all the
difference in the world. We are getting there, were working on our program a
little bit more and I think the wins will come. I think the new car has helped
as far as being a lot more consistent. We have been playing with some shocks
and bars and seem to have found a package that we seem to take a liking to. We
aren’t having to turn a lot of wrenches now. Its more like were fine tuning.”
The #55 has backing by Wesmar Engines, Care Family Medical and Holt Graphics.
Robert
Sellers made his first OCRS run since a 6th place finish a year ago
in the Oklahoma State Championship race at Oklahoma Sports Park and returned
with a very solid fifth in the Waurika Truck and Tire / Checkered Flag Trucking
/ Brand Racing Engines / Eagle chassis mount. Sellers started 11th
and his six position improvement earned him the Ameriflex Hose and Accessories
Hard Charger award. “When you start this deep in the field with this group of
drivers, you’ll take a top five. Sometimes you just have to shoot for a top
five when you have a mid-pack start so we will take it,” said the cagy veteran.
“Coming to these bigger tracks (rather that the smaller track back home in
Lawton, Ok.) takes a bit of getting used to with a whole different set up and
driving style. We look to help Shane (son) and it makes it a bit more
comfortable for him traveling together some and trying to get him some more
experience by hitting these bigger tracks.”
Tri-State
Fans Got To Meet The OCRS Drivers / Mike Spivey Photo
Layne
Himebaugh took the Wesmar Racing Engines in the 12-lap B Feature over Andrew
Deal, Casey Wills and Harli White as your top four transferring cars. Kent won
the M&W Aluminum heat, Kyle Clark captured the Bob Hurley Auto Family heat,
Matt Sherrell won the Drive Shafts Inc. heat and Gastineau took the Car &
Fleet heat.
Dyno
Services of Oklahoma is the newest sponsor on the 2012 OCRS series as of this
Tri-State event. Dyno Services of Oklahoma will be providing a cash payout to
the team selected as an events ‘Hard Luck’ recipient. On this night, that
selection went to Kevin Cummings after suffering rear end woes in the B
feature.
The next
event for the winged warriors is Sunday night, September 9th at the
big half mile at the Thunderbird Speedway in Muskogee Oklahoma for the final
leg of the weekend’s doubleheader. Race time is at 6pm.
Several high quality associate sponsors support the Oil
Capital Racing Series. These sponsors contribute to the well being of the OCRS
sprint car series. Please support these generous sponsors in any way possible,
as they are very instrumental in assisting in showcasing the sport you have
come to enjoy. Feel free to contact them and let each and every one know how
you appreciate their participation in the Oil Capital Racing Series! These
sponsors include:
Goodyear Tire & Rubber
Carter / Maxwell Auto Service
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories
The Oil Medics
M&W Aluminum
Bob Hurley Auto Family
Drive Shafts Inc.
Car & Fleet Parts
Lightning Wings
Grand Prix Auto Center
Wesmar Racing Engines
Keizer Aluminum Wheels
Brodix Cylinder Heads
PM-PRO
Schoenfeld Headers
Same Day Auto Repair
Tri-State Speedway
Race
Date: Spetember 8, 2012 – Event 17
26
Cars
M&W Aluminum Heat
1, Johnny Kent (2). 2,
Jamie Passmore (6). 3, Robert Sellers (5). 4, Tim Kent (4).
5, Casey Wills (3). 6,
Andrew Deal (7). 7, Chuck Bellefeuille (1)
.
Bob Hurley Auto Family Heat
1, Kyle Clark (1). 2, Rafe
Essary (2). 3, Sean McClelland (6). 4, Danny Smith (7).
5, Beau Gastineau (3). 6,
Harli White (5). 7, Kevin Cummings (4).
Drive Shafts Inc. Heat
1, Matt Sherrell (1). 2,
Fred Mattox (2). 3, Alex Sewell (4). 4, Brian McClelland (5). 5, Michael
Bookout (3). 6, Kevin Pickard. (DNS).
Car & Fleet Parts Heat
1, Whit Gastineau (2). 2,
Shane Sellers (3). 3, Mike Peters (4). 4, Shayla Waddell (6). 5, Brent Bates
(5). 6, Layne Himebaugh (1).
Pole Dash
1, Whit Gastineau (1). 2,
Jamie Passmore (6). 3, Kyle Clark (2). 4, Shane Sellers (3). 5, Johnny Kent (4).
6, Matt Sherrell (5).
Wesmar Racing Engines B Feature
1, Layne Himebaugh (7). 2,
Andrew Deal (5). 3, Casey Wills (1). 4, Harli White (6). 5, Brent Bates (4). 6,
Michael Bookout (3). 7, Kevin Cummings (9). 8, Kevin Pickard (10). 9, Beau
Gastineau (2). 10, Chuck Bellefeuille (8).
OCRS A FEATURE
1, Whit Gastineau (1). 2,
Jamie Passmore (2). 3, Shane Sellers (4). 4, Johnny Kent (5). 5, Robert Sellers
(11). 6, Sean McClelland (7). 7, Danny Smith (10). 8, Matt Sherrell (6). 9,
Fred Mattox (9). 10, Rafe Essary (8). 11, Mike Peters (13). 12, Alex Sewell
(12). 13, Tim Kent (15). 14, Layne Himebaugh (17). 15, Harli White (20). 16,
Casey Wills (19). 17, Shayla Waddell (14). 18,
Kyle Clark (3). 19, Brian McClelland (16). 20, Andrew Deal (18).
AmeriFlex Hose &
Accessories Hard Charger: Robert Sellers +6
Dyno
Services of Oklahoma Hard Luck Award: Kevin Cummings
