Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

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 28^th 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 14^th. 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

Caney Valley Speedway / Caney Kansas
Race date: May 26, 2012 - Event 6

21-Cars

M&W Aluminum Heat:

1, Whit Gastineau (1) 2, Johnny "Hotrod" Kent (2) 3, Tim Kent (6)

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)

www.ocrsracing.com