Gastineau back in winning form with OCRS at Monett

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From John Rittenoure

Monett, MO — (June 17, 2016) — Just two weeks ago Whit Gastineau was involved in a crash at the Lawton Speedway that heavily damaged his sprinter. Friday at Monett Speedway Gastineau showed that was all behind him picking up his second Ameri-Flex / OCRS victory of the season.

“We needed this,”Gastineau said of the win. “Anytime you crash a car you need to win really bad.”

Gastineau started outside second row but did not take the lead until lap 16 of the 20 lapper.

“We were a little bit tight but I knew we were ok,” Gastineau said of his run to the front. “I was following figuring out where to go and hit it just right two or three times on the bottom. I did more messing up then good but once I found it, I felt I could get them.

“It was a great track tonight. It was racy.”

The race went just one lap with Terry Easum in the lead before the red flag waved for a multi-car crash in turn two. Tim Kent ended up flipping his sprinter after contact with another car. Fortunately, Kent wasn’t seriously injured.

The red flag helped Gastineau avoid a sticky situation that could have cost him the race.

“We got lucky on the red,” Gastineau said. “When I flipped last week, there was menthol that poured all over my helmet. I did not realize it but when I was doing my helmet today the paint was all sticky and during that red I had to use my teeth to get the tear offs loose. I had to undo all my tear offs.”

Easum continued to lead following the restart with Sheldon Barksdale and Michael Bookout giving chase. On lap four, Gastineau passed Bookout for third and went after the front runners.

Meanwhile, Barksdale was looking for a way around Easum and the two raced side-by-side on the front straight on lap 11. Barksdale took over the lead the next time around. Then two laps later, Gastineau passed Easum for second. Gastineau chased down Barksdale and managed to drive past for the lead just four laps from the finish. Barksdale held on to second, Andrew Deal finished third, series points leader Zach Chappell was fourth and defending Ameri-Flex / OCRS champion Robert Sellers rounded out the top five.

Early leader Easum spun on lap 15 but continued racing to earn a ninth place finish.

Shane Sellers earned the Action Auto Collision Hard Charger award after advancing six spots to finish sixth. Joseph Miller was the D&E Supply Hard Luck recipient of the event.

Ameri-Flex / OCRS Official Results
Monett Speedway, Monett, Mo.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Car count: 14

(Pos-Car-Driver-Start)

Drive Shafts, Inc. Heat (8 laps)
1, 31-Casey Wills[2]. 2, 88-Terry Easum[1]. 3, 2W-Whit Gastineau[3]. 4, 4X-Robert Sellers[4]. 5, 4-Shane Sellers[6]. 6, 55-Johnny Kent[7]. 7, 00-Kacee Frazier[5].

A1 Machine Shop Heat (8 laps)
1, 15D-Andrew Deal[2]. 2, 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[4]. 3, 50Z-Zach Chappell[6]. 4, 007-Michael Bookout[3]. 5, 79-Tim Kent[5]. 6, 30-Joseph Miller[1]. 7, 5-Cameron Hagin[7].

Car & Fleet Parts Qualifier: (8 laps)
1, 79-Tim Kent[2]. 2, 55-Johnny Kent[3]. 3, 00-Kacee Frazier[5]. 4, 4-Shane Sellers[1]. 5, 30-Joseph Miller[4]. 6, 5-Cameron Hagin[6].

AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories A Feature (20 laps)
1, 2W-Whit Gastineau[4]. 2, 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[3]. 3, 15D-Andrew Deal[5]. 4, 50Z-Zach Chappell[7]. 5, 4X-Robert Sellers[8]. 6, 4-Shane Sellers[12]. 7, 007-Michael Bookout[2]. 8, 00-Kacee Frazier[11]. 9, 88-Terry Easum[1]. 10, 31-Casey Wills[6]. 11, 79-Tim Kent[9]. 12, 55-Johnny Kent[10]. 13, 5-Cameron Hagin[13]. DNS: 30-Joseph Miller.

Lap Leaders: Terry Easum 1-11; Sheldon Barksdale 12-15; Whit Gastineau 16-20.

Contingency Awards:
Drive Shaft Inc. Heat: Casey Wills
A1 Machine Heat: Andrew Deal
Car and Fleet Parts Qualifier: Tim Kent
D&E Supply Hard Luck Recipient: Joseph Miller
Action Auto Collision Hard Charger Recipient: Shane Sellers +6
M&W Aluminum Products Recipient: Johnny Kent
Rod End Supply Recipients: Robert Sellers, Terry Easum, Joseph Miller