John Rittenoure
Enid, Okla. (April 1, 2023) – Zach Blurton made it look easy on the way to a first career victory with the AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories Oil Capital Racing Series Saturday at Enid Speedway.
Blurton led from the start, but near the end of the 25-lap main a broken radius rod had the Kansas native wondering if he could hang on.
“We were lucky to survive,” Blurton said of the final laps. “The right front bottom radius rod broke with about four to go and it was a hand full. If I turned the steering wheel left it didn’t want to turn. I had to actually keep it turned to the right to keep the front end under pressure. I was waiting for them to come around me, I just tried to stay on the bottom and not get out of the groove.
“I was just happy I could bring it home.”
Blurton was chased all the way by Sheldon Barksdale, but was never threatened.
“We were fast from the very beginning tonight,” Blurton said. “These bigger slicker tracks are what we like.”
The victory was a highlight for Blurton.
“It was definitely cool to win an OCRS show,” he said. “It is one I haven’t won. It was cool to check that off my bucket list.”
Blurton credits his daughter for helping get the win.
“We finished second in the heat race and that put us into the redraw and my daughter was able to draw us a 1,” explained Blurton. “On a track like tonight it was definitely good.”
Whit Gastineau came from 12th starting, moving into third on lap 13 where he finished. Series points leader Johnny Kent was fourth and former champion Zach Chappell finished fifth.
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AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories OCRS Sprint Car Results
Enid Speedway – Enid, Oklahoma
April 1, 2023
AmeriFlex hose & Accessories A Main (25 Laps): 1. 2J-Zach Blurton[1]; 2. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[2]; 3. 2-Whit Gastineau[12]; 4. 55-Johnny Kent[4]; 5. 50Z-Zach Chappell[3]; 6. 5-Joe Bob Lee[9]; 7. 88-Terry Easum[11]; 8. 55W-Danny Wood[7]; 9. 8R-Ryker Pace[14]; 10. 9-Emilio Hoover[22]; 11. 69-Greg York[5]; 12. 938-Bradley Fezard[13]; 13. 22C-Alex DeCamp[8]; 14. 21-Brandon Jennings[6]; 15. 1T-Joshua Tyre[15]; 16. 23K-Mike Kleymann[20]; 17. 26M-Fred Mattox[10]; 18. 12M-Mitchell Barros[18]; 19. 2L-Brandon Leland[19]; 20. 30X-Larry Bratti[17]; 21. 17-Chris Partin[16]; 22. 22M-Rees Moran[21]
Schure Built Suspensions Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50Z-Zach Chappell[1]; 2. 2J-Zach Blurton[5]; 3. 26M-Fred Mattox[4]; 4. 2-Whit Gastineau[6]; 5. 17-Chris Partin[3]; 6. 8R-Ryker Pace[8]; 7. 12M-Mitchell Barros[2]; 8. 2L-Brandon Leland[7]
Lightning Wings Powder Coating Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 22C-Alex DeCamp[4]; 2. 55W-Danny Wood[5]; 3. 55-Johnny Kent[6]; 4. 69-Greg York[7]; 5. 1T-Joshua Tyre[1]; 6. 23K-Mike Kleymann[3]; 7. 9-Emilio Hoover[2]
Rod End Supply Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[1]; 2. 5-Joe Bob Lee[2]; 3. 88-Terry Easum[4]; 4. 21-Brandon Jennings[7]; 5. 938-Bradley Fezard[6]; 6. 30X-Larry Bratti[5]; 7. 22M-Rees Moran[3]
Lap Leaders: Zach Blurton 1-25
Margin of Victory: 3.045
Hard Charger: Emilio Hoover +12
2023 Winners
03/11 – Red Dirt Raceway, Tanner Conn.
03/18 – Tulsa Speedway, Fred Mattox.
04/01 – Enid Speedway, Zach Blurton
2023 Top Ten: 1. Johnny Kent 329; 2. Danny Wood 306; 3. Joe Bob Lee 292; 4. Terry Easum 287; 5. Zach Chappell, 254; 6. Sheldon Barksdale, Bradley Fezard 253; 8. Ryker Pace 248; 9. Alex DeCamp 246; 10. Fred Mattox 245.