By John Rittenoure
MEEKER, Okla. (June 27, 2015) – A little late night homework paid off big for Robert Sellers Saturday at Brill’s Motor Speedway.
The AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories Oil Capital Racing Series points leader took a four-wheeler ride around the track at intermission and quickly decided some changes were in order for his Checkered Flag Trucking sponsored sprinter.
“After the heat races we went out there on the four wheeler and saw the moisture there,” Sellers said of the inside edge of the track. “We set the car up for the bottom. “We even changed gears from the heat race to the feature which helped us get up off the bottom. We gambled. If it had not been on the bottom we probably would have been in trouble.”
But Sellers gamble paid off with his fourth AmeriFlex / OCRS victory of the season.
Sellers was able to go low and work his way into second by lap four. On lap seven Sellers pulled alongside early race leader Zach Chappell as the yellow flag waved. The restart played into Sellers hands charging into the lead which he held over the remaining distance.
Chappell drove off the pole with the early lead but Sellers was working the bottom much better.
“I could run the bottom, but I was a lot quicker on the top once I got my momentum,” Chappell said of the line he was running. “That is where he got me.”
Late in the race Chappell felt he might be able to make a run at Sellers, but a couple of cautions ended his hopes for victory.
“We were pretty good but a little loose,” Chappell said of his cars handling. “We were pretty good on long runs. The cautions got me there at the end.
“I thought I had something for him. If we could have got some lapped traffic we could have started moving.
“But second place is second place and we will take it.”
Like Sellers Chappell also made changes to his sprinter after his heat race.
“We started on the pole of the heat and finished third so we basically built a whole new car and went after it,” Chappell said.
Instead Chappell settled for a second place finish ahead of rookie Brett Wilson. Wilson was only in his second night in a new car after totaling a car two weeks before at Tri-State Speedway.
“It is the second night in this car and it felt pretty good,” said Wilson who turned in his best OCRS career finish. “Looks like it might be a good car.
“I was lucky to get a good redraw position.”
Wilson ran the first two laps in the runner-up position behind Chappell before Sellers came sailing by on the bottom.
“Sellers is fast at most any track he goes to and when he passed me on the bottom i figured that was good enough to go to the bottom,” Wilson said.
Wilson was chased closely by Shane Sellers most of the race but stayed committed to the low groove and never gave up the position. Michael Bookout finished fifth and earned the Action Auto Collision Hard Charger award for advancing from 17th starting position. Bookout received an extra $100 thanks to Kenneth Robison II who added the money to the Hard Charger award in memory of his father. He also bought multiple OCRS t-shirts and passed them out to kids in the grandstands.
Morgan Fletcher was the D&E Hard Luck Recipient. A distinction he earned after flipping into the infield tires 19 laps into the feature. Fortunately Fletcher was not hurt.
Twenty-one laps into the race Whit Gastineau went end-over-end in turn three but escaped injury.
Race Results
AmeriFlex / Oil Capital Racing Series
Brill’s Motor Speedway – Meeker, Okla.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Car count: 20
(Pos-Car-Driver-Start)
Boyd Racing Engines Heat (8 laps)
1, 4X-Robert Sellers[4]. 2, 4-Shane Sellers[2]. 3, 50Z-Zach Chappell[1]. 4, 17-Brent Bates[5]. 5, 30-Joseph Miller[3]. 6, P78-Perry Pickard[6]. 7, 98-Jeff Garnett[7].
Shock Doc Heat (8 laps)
1, 1-Sean McClelland[3]. 2, 5-Cameron Hagin[1]. 3, 53-Brett Wilson[6]. 4, 87F-Brian McClelland[5]. 5, 7F-Andrew Deal[7]. 6, 007-Michael Bookout[4]. 7, 22-David Stephenson[2].
Drive Shafts Inc. Heat (8 laps)
1, 31-Casey Wills[4]. 2, 2W-Whit Gastineau[2]. 3, 94F-Morgan Fletcher[1]. 4, 9$-Kyle Clark[3]. 5, 5$-Danny Smith[5]. 6, 88S-Shayla Waddell[6].
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories A Feature (23 laps)
1, 4X-Robert Sellers[5]. 2, 50Z-Zach Chappell[1]. 3, 53-Brett Wilson[2]. 4, 4-Shane Sellers[7]. 5, 007-Michael Bookout[17]. 6, 5-Cameron Hagin[6]. 7, 88S-Shayla Waddell[18]. 8, 9$-Kyle Clark[13]. 9, 17-Brent Bates[10]. 10, P78-Perry Pickard[16]. 11, 30-Joseph Miller[14]. 12, 2W-Whit Gastineau[3]. 13, 5$-Danny Smith[15]. 14, 7F-Andrew Deal[11]. 15, 31-Casey Wills[4]. 16, 94F-Morgan Fletcher[9]. 17, 87F-Brian McClelland[12]. 18, 98-Jeff Garnett[19]. 19, 22-David Stephenson[20]. 20, 1-Sean McClelland[8]. (DQ).
Lap Leaders: Chappell 1-6, R. Sellers 7-23.
Contingency Awards:
Boyd’s Racing Engines Heat: Robert Sellers.
Shock Doc Heat: Sean McClelland.
Drive Shafts Inc Heat: Casey Wills.
D&E Hard Luck Recipient: Morgan Fletcher.
Action Auto Collision Hard Charger Recipient: Michael Bookout.
Wesmar Power Parts Recipient: Joseph Miller.
M&W Aluminum Products Recipient: Whit Gastineau.
Lightning Wings Recipient: Perry Pickard.
Rod End Supply Recipients: Michael Bookout, Brent Bates, Casey Wills.