By John Rittenoure
PRYOR CREEK, Okla. (May 27, 2023) – Blake Edwards was enjoying how his new sprint car was driving during Saturday’s AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories OCRS Sprint Car main event at Salina Highbanks Speedway.
The defending OCRS champion crossed the finish line first 1.774 seconds ahead of Alex Sewell. However, a post race inspection revealed Edwards sprinter was too light and Sewell was awarded the victory.
“It was a good run. It is a shame we were five pounds light at the scales,” Edwards said of his disqualification. “It is my first time being light in 20 some years of racing. But It was fun regardless.”
It was only the second time Edwards has entered an OCRS event this season and he thought his sprinter was working really well.
“My wife and I had twins in February and that kind of took priority of everything,” Edwards said of missing several races. “We built a new car and new engine for this year and finally made it out.”
Fred Mattox led the first nine laps before Edwards was able to drive by for the lead on lap 10. Sewell moved into second on the final lap, but knew he would not catch Edwards and was surprised at the outcome at the scales.
“They weighed his car three or four times,” Sewell recalled. “He waxed the field tonight. I hate to win it that way. It does not feel good because you can’t really celebrate. We are all friends out here. It is feels good to walk away with a trophy, but it is not the right way to do it.”
Smith took over second on lap 13 with Sewell close behind.
“We raced hard most of the race,” Sewell said of his battle with Smith. “I kind of picked Danny on a lapped car and got him in three and four. That gave me the win at the scale. I guess that is why you never give up.”
Smith settled for second behind Sewell, Gage Laney ended up with third, Sheldon Barksdale finished fourth and Zach Chappell charged from 24th starting to finish fifth.
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories OCRS Sprint Car Results
Salina Highbanks Speedway – Pryor Creek, Oklahoma
May 27, 2023
AmeriFlex Hose Accessories A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 8-Alex Sewell[6]; 2. 5$-Danny Smith[4]; 3. 22RL-Gage Laney[9]; 4. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[3]; 5. 50Z-Zach Chappell[24]; 6. 1-Sean McClelland[15]; 7. 22M-Rees Moran[20]; 8. 55W-Danny Wood[21]; 9. 5-Joe Bob Lee[13]; 10. 55-Johnny Kent[22]; 11. 26M-Fred Mattox[1]; 12. 8R-Ryker Pace[8]; 13. 55M-Corey McGehee[12]; 14. 2L-Brandon Leland[18]; 15. 1T-Joshua Tyre[23]; 16. 22C-Alex DeCamp[7]; 17. 61A-Doug Fry[17]; 18. 22T-Frank Taft[11]; 19. (DNF) 938-Bradley Fezard[5]; 20. (DNF) 9-Emilio Hoover[10]; 21. (DNF) 52JR-Conner Long[16]; 22. (DNF) 12M-Mitchell Barros[19]; 23. (DNF) 42-Grady Mercer[14]; 24. (DNS) 2-Whit Gastineau; 25. (DQ) 17E-Blake Edwards[2]
Schure Built Suspensions Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[1]; 2. 938-Bradley Fezard[4]; 3. 8-Alex Sewell[6]; 4. 9-Emilio Hoover[2]; 5. 42-Grady Mercer[3]; 6. 5-Joe Bob Lee[8]; 7. 52JR-Conner Long[9]; 8. 22M-Rees Moran[5]; 9. 55W-Danny Wood[7]
Lightning Wings Powder Coating Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5$-Danny Smith[2]; 2. 17E-Blake Edwards[6]; 3. 8R-Ryker Pace[4]; 4. 55M-Corey McGehee[1]; 5. 1-Sean McClelland[3]; 6. 61A-Doug Fry[5]; 7. 2L-Brandon Leland[7]; 8. 12M-Mitchell Barros[8]
Smith Titanium Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22C-Alex DeCamp[2]; 2. 26M-Fred Mattox[1]; 3. 2-Whit Gastineau[4]; 4. 22RL-Gage Laney[6]; 5. 22T-Frank Taft[7]; 6. (DNF) 55-Johnny Kent[5]; 7. (DNF) 1T-Joshua Tyre[3]; 8. (DNS) 50Z-Zach Chappell
Lap Leaders: Fred Mattox 1-9, Blake Edwards 10-25
D&G Contracting Hard Charger: Zach Chappell +19
2023 Winners
03/11 – Red Dirt Raceway, Tanner Conn.
03/18 – Tulsa Speedway, Fred Mattox.
04/01 – Enid Speedway, Zach Blurton
04/15 – Longdale Speedway, Zach Blurton
05/26 – Arrowhead Speedway, Sean McClelland
05/27 – Salina Highbanks Speedway, Alex Sewell
2023 Top Ten: 1. Johnny Kent, 627; 2. Joe Bob Lee, 600; 3. Danny Wood 581; 4. Alex DeCamp 548; 5. Sheldon Barksdale, 539; 6. Zach Chappell, 504; 7. Fred Mattox, 497; 8. Terry Easum, 443; 9. Bradley Fezard, 431; 10. Ryker Pace, 409.
About the AmeriFlex / OCRS Series –
Established in 2002, the Tulsa OK based AmeriFlex / Oil Capital Racing Series sanctions dirt track sprint car racing in the southern region of the central plains. Fan appeal and quality race teams, combined with our solid core of supporting sponsors are the nucleus of the series. Thrilling competition providing the ultimate quality family entertainment is the essence of what the AmeriFlex / OCRS series is all about.
Website: www.ocrsracing.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oil.series