GASMAN BREAKS VICTORY DROUGHT
AT SOLD OUT CANEY VALLEY SPEEDWAY
(PRODUCES OWN BIRTHDAY GIFT)
Caney Kansas (May
26, 2012) – Winning never comes easy on the traveling circuit of the Oil
Capital Racing Series sprint car tour. When you win six races a season back to
back, one would expect a win every so often. For Whit “Gasman” Gastineau, a win
seemed like another lifetime ago and by his standards, it is. His last OCRS
feature win was last July at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway. On a night that
was also his 28th birthday, there was no better time than to produce
your own birthday gift than the present. That’s exactly what the Gasman did as
he swept his foes on a superbly prepared tacky and racy racing surface at the
Caney Valley Speedway.
Dedication and Commitment Pays Dividends
A
packed grandstand along with others that found “standing room areas” to view the
action witnessed a resilient team that just 24 hours earlier had found
themselves heading back to home base in Moore Oklahoma after a flip the night
before at the Thunderbird Speedway. The crash wounded their Eagle chassis badly
enough that it had to be taken back to its nesting quarters. The team burnt the
midnight oil to retrieve another Eagle and prep it for the haul to Caney Kansas
for the sixth stop on the 2012 OCRS chase for the “Goodyear Tire & Rubber”
championship.“I can’t thank my
crew enough,” said the birthday boy. “My bother Drew, Ernie Messmer, Eli
Ferguson along with Travis and Shawn Elwood are the reason why were here
(victory lane). I just could not be here without their hard work and support.”
Race Fans Filled The Stands
To See the OCRS Sprint CarsPhil Pace
Photo
After
winning the M&W Aluminum heat race earlier in the night, it was on to the
Pole Dash where the Gasman would start in the second row behind the racing
cousins, Tim and Johnny. Gastineau’s first gift of the night was in turns one
and two of the first lap. As the Kent’s went to race one another, they left an
opening to where the Larry Allen Engines prepared #2w would slice through and take
the lead coming out of the corner. From there, it was a cruise to the checkers.
Gastineau was presented with the “Back Row Challenge”. If elected to do so, he
could start tail back and win an extra $1,000 from the Oil Medics, a
lubrication services company based in Ft Worth Texas. “ This looks like the
night where it could be won;” said Gastineau. “The track is great and it’s
really passable but after what we just went through last night and today, I
need to give my guys a win so I’ll start up front.”
When
the field went green, Gastineau and the Bob Hurley Auto Family heat winner,
Jamie Passmore, darted for the turns in a race to the backstretch. The Gasman
would win that battle only to have a quick yellow unfold for a huge pile up in
turn three involving; rookie Alex DeCamp, Fred Mattox, Jeremy Allen, Kevin
Cummings and Salina Highbanks feature winner, Shayla Waddell. For Waddell and
Allen, it was their second straight night to be caught up in a multi car pile
up in the early going. Unfortunately for the “Princess”, this will not be a
Memorial Day holiday to remember, as she would have to be taken out of the race
via the hook on both occasions. Only Mattox would be able to restart in this
skirmish and he would run a very solid race earning a sixth place finish.
The Feature Pile Up: Decamp
(84) and Waddell (88s) as others squeak by. Phil Pace Photo
Back
to green and another quick yellow would fall for Casey Wills in turn two, which
would entail a second complete restart. The third time was the charm and as
with the other two attempts, Gastineau was able to fend off Passmore in his
G.A.P. Roofing / Wesmar / Eagle for the initial lead. The Kent cousins, with
Johnny aka ‘Hotrod’ in their Kent Construction / Kent Fireworks sprinters would
trail the leading duo with rookie standouts Layne Himebaugh and Colton Brewer
next. Glen Passmore, Harli White, Kyle Clark and Beau Gastineau would be next
in line. Gasman and Jammin Jamie would separate themselves a bit from the Kents
with Passmore a love tap away from Gasman’s chrome bling. Himebaugh would show
signs of smoke puffing from the Risley’s Trash Service / Hesselbein Tire / XXX chassis on lap six.
The leading pair would first
encounter lapped traffic a couple of laps latter. A half dozen laps later than
that, Passmore made a serious attempt to over take Gastineau in turns one and
two only to have Gastineau hold center court. In an exciting battle for the
point, Passmore made another hard try in the same corner but with the same
results. “I can’t really say his car is better than ours. I just got beat by a
guy who drove better than I did tonight,” said the three-time OCRS champ. Then
traffic got heavier and Tim Kent found an opening that ‘Hotrod’ left for the
taking and he took advantage of it to move into the third spot. While this was
taking place, both Clark and Brewer were methodically working their way
forward.
The Gasman gets the glory with wife Katie, daughter
Racee & crewPhil Pace Photo
The feature’s
final yellow would happen on lap 22 as Hotrod would spin in turn three. At the
same time, Himebaugh, the Drive Shaft Inc. heat race victor, would coast to a
stop with a power failure. This set up for an opportunity for Passmore to take
a shot at Gastineau and the Gasman knew it. “I figured he would try me up high
again as I wasn’t leaving much of an opening on the bottom. I just drove my
line and it worked out,” said Gastineau. Brewer had worked his way up to fourth
and Clark to fifth with Hotrod Kent and Himebaugh’s departures. There was a success
for a position change as Clark used his Same Day Auto Repair mount to over take
Brewer’s Hamptons Kustomwork’s sprinter for the fourth spot. As Gastineau took
the checkers to break his winless drought, Brewer would hold onto fifth over a
charging Fred Mattox. While Passmore was working on Gastineau and Clark had his
battle with Brewer, Tim Kent was just fine sitting between all the action in
the third spot. It was his best finish since August last year when he was
fourth at Thunderbird Speedway. “I made a mistake in the dash (spun) but you
got to make that race. You have to get into those first three rows. It’s just too
important. The car ran well. It wasn’t what Whit and Passmore had to run with
but this was a good run and we will take it,” said the podium finisher.
Clark’s run netted him the
AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories Hard Charger award as he came up from 14th.
In addition to the Hard Charger and the heat race sponsors, OCRS is
appreciative to all of the additional associate sponsors for their support of
the OCRS series. These additional sponsors include: Grand Prix Auto, Lightning
Wings, Keizer Aluminum Wheels, Schoenfeld Mufflers, Carter/Maxwell along with Brodix
Cylinders and PM-Pro
The Oil Capital Racing Teams will
now have a week off prior to their next stop on Saturday night June 9th
at the Oklahoma Sports Park in Ada Oklahoma.
Caney Valley Speedway / Caney Kansas
Race date: May 26, 2012 - Event 6
21-Cars
( ) = Starting Position
M&W Aluminum Heat:
1, Whit Gastineau (1) 2,
Johnny "Hotrod" Kent (2) 3, Tim Kent (6)
4, Alex DeCamp (3) 5, Kyle
Clark (5) 6, Fred Mattox (7) 7, Len Larkin (4)
Bob Hurley Auto Family Heat:
1, Jamie Passmore (1) 2,
Harli White (2) 3, Colton Brewer (5)
4, Rafe Essary (4) 5, Glen
Passmore (7) 6, Danny Smith (3) 7, Kevin Cummings (6)
Drive Shaft Inc Heat:
1, Layne Himebaugh (1) 2,
Shayla Waddell (6) 3, Beau Gastineau (4)
4, Jeremy Allen (2) 5, Michael
Bookout (5) 6, Russell Boren (7) 7, Casey Wills (3)
Pole Dash:
1, Whit Gastineau (1) 2,
Jamie Passmore (4) 3, Johnny “Hotrod” Kent (1)
4, Layne Himebaugh 5,
Shayla Waddell (6) 6, Tim Kent (2)
OCRS A FEATURE:
1, Whit Gastineau (1) 2,
Jamie Passmore (2) 3, Tim Kent (6) 4, Kyle Clark (14)
5, Colton Brewer (8) 6, Fred Mattox (16) 7, Danny Smith (17)
8, Glen Passmore (10) 9, Johnny "Hotrod" Kent (3) 10, Harli White (7)
11, Casey Wills (20) 12, Beau Gastineau (9) 13, Michael Bookout (15) 14, Layne
Himebaugh (4)
15, Rafe Essary (12) 16,
Len Larkin (18) 17, Russell Boren (21)
18, Shayla Waddell (5) 19,
Alex DeCamp (11) 20, Jeremy Allen (13) 21, Kevin
Cummings (19)
www.ocrsracing.com
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