John Lemon
Tulsa Oklahoma (April 30, 2012) – Just one event into the Oil Capital Racing Series 12th season, the first of three scheduled doubleheaders already takes shape this weekend. Friday night will see the 360 cu. in. winged warriors travel to the eloquent facility of the “Hummer”. Also known by “Humboldt Speedway” to the casual race fan, The Hummer is a southeastern Kansas track that is well known for its well-kept grounds and attention to detail from promoters Ron & Rhenda Whitworth. The 2012 edition will be the second time in three years OCRS will have treaded on Hummer soil. In 2011, a rainout kept Hummer fans from witnessing high speed rockets buzz around the Hummer’s 3/8 mile track. In 2010, Hummer sight seekers saw Moore Oklahoma’s Whit “Gasman” Gastineau and Sapulpa Oklahoma’s Danny “Caretaker” Smith take Hummer hardware back to Sooner land.
Since the last trip to the town that bore baseball hall of fame pitcher, Walter “Big Train” Johnson, OCRS has strengthened in team quality and sponsors have taken note. So much so that 2012 now boasts the largest package for number of sponsors and available prize earnings. The next night, it will be a short one hour drive south to the Mid-America Speedway in South Coffeyville Oklahoma where the track is now co-promoted by Bill McMurtrie and Kenny Gariss. The “MAS” hosted an upset winner in 2011 when Collinsville Oklahoma’s Dean Drake Jr took down his fellow pilots. MAS is typically known for the unexpected. Proof of evidence came during the Memorial Day Weekend in 2010 when Broken Arrow’s Travis “Hollywood” Jenkins also scored an upset win.
It is also a track that the series “Princess” finds to her liking. Miss Shayla Waddell is an Oklahoma City college student who seems to hover around the top five when OCRS drops in on the MAS. If ever there were to be a track that could be suited for her first OCRS win, it would be the MAS. Then there is the three time OCRS champion (2008-’10) in Jamie Passmore of Rose Oklahoma who finds the MAS to his comfort level as well. Passmore, the season’s opening winner last weekend at the Brill Motor Speedway, has four MAS wins in the last three seasons. Two were in 2009 (9/26 – 10/17) and another two were in 2010 (7/31 – 9/4). Several strong chargers capable of feature wins of their own will be entered in the doubleheader weekend.
~~~ WIN FREE OCRS TICKETS! ~~~
Race fans! Want to win two free tickets to one of next weekend’s doubleheader OCRS events? Send us a 30 second (or less) video and simply tell us why you deserve to win a pair of tickets to see the OCRS sprint cars at Humboldt Speedway on May 4, 2012 or Mid-America Speedway on May 5th, 2012. Indicate in your video which track your wanting to win tickets for and submit them to: ocrsracing.pr@gmail.com Include your phone number as well (in your email to OCRS) in the event your video is selected as the winning entry. There will be a winner selected for each track. Send in those videos by 6pm Thursday May 3rd. If selected as a winner, your tickets will be at the ticket window for the track you opted to attend. Good Luck to everyone!
~~~ OCRS Pit Notes ~~~
Groomed and Ready: By his own accounts, Jamie Passmore had an off season in 2011 with one win and a fifth place finish in the standings. He dominated at Brill Motor Speedway last week and set the tone in what he hopes will be a banner year. Tied with Sean McClelland and Mike Goodman for three OCRS titles, Passmore may collect title number four to sit alone on the king’s throne.
Excuse Me, Coming Through: When OCRS officials cited a rule infraction on JD and Jannie Porter’s “Hog Wagon” with sprint ace Joe Wood Jr at the helm and regulated the #71 team to the last row (20th position) of the 25-lap A Feature last Friday at the Brill Motor Speedway, Wood Jr instantly began cutting through the field like a hot knife cutting through a wax candle. By the 10th lap, Wood Jr was seventh on his way to a second place run. That was one wild flying hog.
Excuse Me II: Kyle Cobb, a 2-time winner in 2011, was scheduled to start scratch but was bumped up one spot when Wood Jr was sent back. Not one to be a gentle cruiser, Cobb sliced and diced his way to a fourth place finish to earn the AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories “Hard Charger” award. The award went to Cobb as a driver cannot qualify as the hard charger if sent back due to a rule infraction or if a driver elected to start in the rear of the field on their own accord. The driver of the number 4c sprinter is always a handful when he checks into the pits. Cobb knows where the “go pedal” is located.
Here I am, There I Go: Another awesome display of passing was that of the #87 machine of Jeremy Allen. While all eyes were on Passmore’s charge and Wood Jr’s passing prowess, Allen was picking cars off one by one as well. He had worked his way to second after starting 15th. Later in the race, Allen was behind a car that cut down a tire, checked up a little where he was tagged by Wood Jr. Allen’s car suffered some damage that required an exit off to the pits. Look for the former Chris Lloyd sprinter (now car #87) when it hits the track next as the team has a new found burst of enthusiasm.
A Princess or A Fighter? Two weeks ago, Shayla Waddell suffered an “against all odds” injury in a non-sanctioned event at the Lawton Speedway. In her heat race, Waddell was pulling off a tear off when her shoulder separated. A darling princess on-off the track, Waddell, at the same event, wrapped her shoulder up and had a solid run in that night’s feature. In the OCRS season opener at Brill Motor Speedway, Waddell arrived at the track still wrapped up but ready to take on all comers. She earned a 12th place finish (up form a 23rd start) in her first ever race at the “Red Castle”. Count this woman as having gone the full 15 rounds. She’s a tough cookie.
Young Fast Rookies: Two 2012 rookie entrants, Alex Sewell and Layne Himebaugh, qualified for last weeks A Feature. These two gunslingers are no stranger to one another as they have had many a “High Noon Showdown” over the past few years in micro sprint competition. At 17 years of existence for each, Sewell, who is the younger of the duo by two whole days, got the better of round one with a seventh place finish (started 11th) while Himebaugh brought it home 13th (from 14th). Other rookies in competition were: Colton Brewer, Michael Bookout, Will Scribner and Brandon James.
~~~ TRACK INFORMATION ~~~
Humboldt Speedway:
Directions: From Highway 169 – Take the Humboldt Exit #224, go west 1 block to electric plant, turn left go to stop sign, turn left. Speedway 1 mile on right.
NOTE: DO NOT follow GPS systems. They will lead you to a tough winding road!
Time Info: Gates open at 6pm / Hot Laps 7:15pm / Races start at 8:00pm
Phone: 620-473-3694
Website: www.humboldtspeedway.com
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Mid-America Speedway:
Directions: From Highway 169 – Turn west onto EW02 Road (2mi south of Oklahoma / Kansas Line) Track is ½ mile on EW02.
Time Info: Gates open at 4:00pm* / Hot Laps 6:15pm / Races start at 7:00pm
*Pit gates will be open by noon for this event
Phone: 918-766-6960
Website: www.mid-americaspeedway.com
Additional information on the OCRS sprint car series can be viewed at: www.ocrsracing.com
Make plans now to attend this doubleheader shootout! The Oil Capital Racing Series is set to entertain one and all with their on-edge speed and the high stakes wheel to wheel action that is sure to excite everyone that dares to witness these warriors do battle.
Remember race fans……………………….
Get those video submissions in by 6pm Thursday May 3rd for your chance to win FREE TICKETS!
Humboldt??? South Coffeyville??? Are you ready for an OCRS invasion?
Ya’ll best get ready cause we are coming with reckless abandon.
~~~~ CAN YOU HEAR THE THUNDER? ~~~~