John Lemon
Ada Oklahoma (September 15, 2012) – The excitement and drama being played out in Oil Capital Racing Series A Feature action as of late is something to behold and Whit “Gasman” Gastineau is a lead actor in the play. Starting back in the 5th row, the Moore Oklahoma driver methodically worked his way forward and bided his time to snatch his second victory in the 6th Annual Oklahoma State Championship run presented by Carter-Maxwell. While ‘Gasman’ Gastineau was becoming a repeat OSC champion (he also won this event in 2010), Rose Oklahoma’s Jamie Passmore, who finished fourth, clinched the 2012 Goodyear Tire and Rubber / OCRS championship with just two chapters remaining on the card.
Wichita Kansas veteran Mike Peters got the jump on the night’s pole dash winner Fred Mattox sweeping by the Drumright Oklahoma ace up high in turns one and two to take the initial lead. Following Peters was Johnny ‘Hotrod’ Kent from the outside second row leaving Mattox to sit third. The Gasman, was passing cars quickly early and he would fight with his brother Beau on lap two for the fourth spot with three passes between them on lap three alone. Older sibling Whit would hold the spot crossing the start / finish line to complete the third lap. The charge to the top spot by the Gasman in his DW’s Video / Shell Rapid Lube / Exterior Specialties / Allen Competition Engines / Eagle would be one of luck and effort.
Peters, in another Allen Competition Engines power plant but with a Schnee chassis with backing by Mid-America Millwright & Precise Racing Products, was cruising around the topside with ease. The leader would lap his first back-marker by the 7th lap while trying to put more distance on ‘Hotrod’ who was keeping the wiley veteran in sight. Mattox was retaining the third spot with Gastineau and ‘Jammin Jamie’ also charging for the custom acrylic trophy that awaited the victor of this showdown.
On the next lap, Peters had his motor expire as he exited turn four bringing out a yellow flag. This would place ‘Hotrod’ Kent on the point with Mattox, Gasman, Passmore, B. Gastineau, Alex Sewell, Jeremy Allen, Kyle Ezell, Danny Smith and Harli White as your top ten for the restart. Mattox made a hard attempt to pass ‘Hotrod’ in the first set of corners on the restart with W. Gastineau doing the same to Mattox. As the field came back to the stripe, Kent was inches ahead of Mattox.
Behind the lead trio, trouble would ensue. As cars entered turn four, Beau Gastineau, Shayla Waddell, Kyle Clark, Jeremy Allen and Tim Kent all became entangled with one another. B. Gastineau was propelled into such a position that it appeared he was going upside down and a quick call was made to red flag the race. It was just as well as it took a few moments to clear the mess B. Gastineau got the worse of it as his entire right front was ripped to shreds. Clark and Allen would not restart. Waddell and T. Kent would but T. Kent would pull off as the field took green with a car that wasn’t suitable to compete any further.
The Gasman would make a pass on Mattox in turn once underway only for Mattox to make the pass right back in less than 100 feet. Gastineau then made the pass the next time they went through turns one and two. As the field approached the halfway point of the 25-lap feature, many eyes became affixed on Harli White as the young lady from Lindsay had maneuvered her way into the sixth spot from her seventh row starting position in her Charlie’s Trucking / Terraco Soil Farming / Jerry Tucker Construction #17w. Sewell would have a malfunction on the 14th lap and would need to pull off the track.
Kent held a six car length lead on Gastineau when he would run up on lapped traffic on the 18th lap. Gastineau would use the lappers to assist him in reeling in Kent, but as has been the case of late, Kent was running strong in his Care Family Medical / Holt Graphics / Wesmar Engines / Eagle. Gastineau would be up to the task and pass Kent in turn two with just five laps to go only to have Kent take the spot right back in turns three and four. As Gastineau went in for another attack in turns one and two, Kent blew a right rear tire and stalled high on the track. While Kent was having his woes, Mattox, while still running third, went into a major half spin but kept the car going. Had it not been for Kent not being able to get off the track, Mattox was going to lose a minimum of six positions. Instead, Mattox would restart second behind Gastineau. If there were to be a “Luckiest driver of the race” award, Mattox would have earned it. Passmore would line up third, White, Smith and last years OSC, Gary Owens, Rafe Essary and then Kip Hughes who was making his first 2012 OCRS start. The feature would come down to a three-lap dash for the custom trophy and the $2,000 winners check.
The attempt at the restart had the OCRS officials in bewilderment as Gastineau hammered the throttle from Amarillo Texas (aka middle of the back stretch) and flagman JD Etter would have none of that. After receiving a warning, Gastineau made a proper restart the next time and behind him, Passmore made a run at Mattox in turn two only to be attacked himself by White. Mattox fended off the 2012 champion and Miss White, not respecting the champions hold on the third spot took it away with a well calculated move in turns three and four. Gastineau would come around for the checkers for his fifth win in 2012 with Mattox second in his #26m Pacer Energy Marketing / AKL Oilfield Services / Mattox Engines / XXX chassis with White, Passmore and Smith rounding out the top five. White would also earn the AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories ‘Hard Charger’ award. Beau Gastineau was tabbed with the Dyno Services of Oklahoma ‘Hard Luck’ award.
Rafe Essary won the 12-lap Wesmar Racing Engines “B” Feature over fellow feature transferring pilots: Shane Sellers, Brandon Jennings and Kyle Clark. ‘Hotrod’ Kent took the M&W Aluminum heat, Beau Gastineau won the Bob Hurley Auto Family heat, Passmore the Drive Shafts Inc. heat and Mattox claimed the Car & Fleet parts heat.
The next event will be at the Salina Highbanks Speedway next Saturday night where the OCRS warriors will make their third and final appearance at the highbanks in 2012. Shayla Waddell and Jamie Passmore claimed victories in previous stops at SHS. Race time is 7:00pm. Track website is: www.salinahighbanksspeedway.com.