By John Lemon
Ardmore Oklahoma (August 25, 2012)- Someone had to do it. Someone was bound to do it. Tonight, at the Southern Oklahoma Speedway, the Caretaker did it. Sapulpa’s Danny Smith halted the five race Oil Capital Racing Series sprint car win streak of OCRS point leader Jamie Passmore, a streak that dates back to June 30th by making a turn four pass coming to the checkers as Passmore spun trying to keep the lead he had held since lap six of the 25-lap main event. The Smith victory narrows the points chase for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber / OCRS Championship to just 149 points (1307-1158).
Smith won for the second time this season in his Same Day Auto Repair / BMS Engines / XXX Chassis with Goodyear tread. “I know what happened to him, (Passmore) he ran out of fuel and jumped the cushion, we both ran out of fuel,” said the jubilant winner. “I hate to win it like that. Jamie is a friend of mine but sometimes things happen and we will take this. My car has almost no fuel in it now.”
The feature started off with mishap right from the get go. First time Pole Dash winner Harli White of Lindsay, Oklahoma was fighting off outside front row starter Passmore entering turn one when a case of bumper cars began to take place right behind them. Drive Shaft Inc. heat race winner Kyle Clark, teammate to Smith, got hit and went into a half spin from his third row starting spot. With the field bearing down on him, several cars collided with one another with a few coming to a stop with Clark, Shayla Waddell, David Stephenson and Alex Sewell all parked in the turn. Russell Boren made it to turn three before his car would come to a rest. Michael Bookout cruised to turn four before his car would roll to a stop. Tim Kent, and Beau Gastineau would head into the pits. Morgan Dowdy from Amarillo Texas was making his first start in OCRS competition and suffered damage to both wings but he would restart.
White would once again fend off the challenge of Passmore on the restart. The field would complete a single lap when David Stephenson went flipping into turn one landing upside down on his head. With the exception of a beat up racecar, he otherwise would be OK. Dowdy would retire to the pits prior to the next restart, which would begin single file with the one lap in the books.
Danny Smith Conquers Southern Oklahoma Speedway / Mike Spivey Photo
Looking to become the second woman in OCRS history to win a main event (and second this year), White took off when the track went back to green with Passmore, Smith, Johnny “Hotrod” Kent and Rafe Essary in the hunt. Passmore used his knowledge and skill to make the pass on White on lap six. The driver on the move was Moore Oklahoma’s Whit “Gasman” Gastineau who had started in the 19th position and was 5th by lap three. That run would come to an end on lap 11 when Gastineau’s car would lose power with the result being a yellow flag to clear the #2w from the racing surface. The restart would see Passmore on the point followed by White, Smith, Kent and Fred Mattox as the top five in order.
Smith was set to make his charge as he took second from White on the ensuing restart and zeroed in on a tough hombre in Passmore. The field would run tight and steady until lap 16 when the next yellow unfurled for Essary who spun his #26 machine. Before a full lap could be chalked, fifth running Fred Mattox in the 26m car would spin thus requiring another caution. This miscue allowed Gary Owens to slip into the top five for the first time in the race.
The next restart with 10 laps to go saw Smith wrestle the lead away from Passmore briefly in turns one and two only to have Passmore retake the lead before getting back to the flagstand. These two warriors would engage in a pressure packed duel as White kept within a respectable striking range. However, with just a couple of laps left, White slid her car up and over the outer edge of turn four and stalled to bring out the final caution of the race. She would restart at the rear.
The dash to the checkers was everything a ticket buyer looks forward to seeing. At the drop of the green, Smith made another stab to get by Passmore in turns one and two. He produced a slide job that put him in front only to have Passmore execute a crossover move and retake the lead going down the back straight. Coming to the white flag, Smith’s car stumbled as it was beginning to run out of fuel. He still managed to move up onto Passmore’s bumper heading in the final two turns. Passmore jumped the cushion in turn four and started his spin while Smith stayed in the middle groove and went on to take the win.
In the scramble to avoid the spun Passmore, J. Kent worked his way through to take second for his career tying best finish. Owens took third followed by Sewell who came back from the opening start skirmish and Mattox would round out the top five. Layne Himebaugh was sixth and was the events AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories “Hard Charger” after starting 16th. White finished seventh, first time OCRS contestant Derek Cottrell was eighth, Passmore was credited with ninth and Boren completed the top ten.
The next stop for the OCRS winged warriors is this Labor Day weekend where the ¼ mile bullring of the Caney Valley Speedway in Caney Kansas will host OCRS Saturday night for the touring series’ second appearance of the season at CVS.
Track website is: www.caneyvalleyspeedway.net
Southern Oklahoma Speedway
Race date: June 30, 2012 – Event 15
23 cars
M&W Aluminum Heat:
1- Johnny Kent (2), 2- Danny Smith (6), 3- Gary Owens (2), 4- Fred Mattox (4),
5- Alex Sewell (3), 6- Layne Himebaugh, 7- Whit Gastineau (7). 8- Chuck Bellefeuille (DNS)
Bob Hurley Auto Family Heat:
1. Casey Wills (2), 2- Harli White (3), 3- Rafe Essary (4), 4- Derek Cottrell (6),
5- Michael Bookout (5), 6- Beau Gastineau (1), 7- Brandon Jennings (DNS)
Drive Shafts Inc. Heat:
1- Kyle Clark (1), 2- Tim Kent (2), 3- Jamie Passmore (4), 4- Shayla Waddell (5),
5- Russell Boren (5), 6- Morgan Dowdy (8), 7- David Stephenson (6), 8- Jeff Garnett (3)
Pole Dash:
1- Harli White (1), 2- Jamie Passmore (4), 3- Danny Smith (6), 4- Casey Wills (3),
5- Johnny Kent (5), 6- Kyle Clark (2)
OCRS A Feature:
1- Danny Smith (3), 2- Johnny Kent (5), 3- Gary Owens (10), 4- Alex Sewell (13),
5- Fred Mattox (12), 6- Layne Himebaugh (16), 7- Harli White (1), 8- Derek Cottrell (9), 9- Jamie Passmore (2), 10- Russell Boren, 11- Jeff Garnett (21), 12- Chuck Bellefeuille (22), 13- Rafe Essary (8), 14- Whit Gastineau (19), 15- Tim Kent (7), 16- Casey Wills (4), 17- David Stephenson (20), 18- Morgan Dowdy (18), 19- Kyle Clark (6), 20- Shayla Waddell (11), 21- Michael Bookout (14), 22- Beau Gastineau (17), 23- Brandon Jennings (DNS)
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories “Hard Charger”: Layne Himebaugh +10
www.ocrsracing.com