(TULSA, Okla.) – Knebel, Davis, McQuary repeat victories, While Sean McClelland and Austin McSperitt draw their first wins of 2016.
In an exciting finish in the Factory Stock division, Austin McSperitt had to work hard to come out on top, after being challenged virtually the whole race by Chris Bales. Bales made several attempts to take the lead from McSperitt, however, he was unable to complete the pass by the end of the 15-lap main event. Toby Cooper put his bid in to take the top spot, but was unable to make the pass on Bales. Cooper was then challenged by Tate Green, who was able to make a pass on Cooper on lap 9, to take the third spot. Green found himself in a battle with Jimmy Owens, coming down to the last two laps. Owens made the pass to secure the third spot, while Dalton Garrison made his way past Cooper on the last lap to claim the fifth position.
In a last lap attempt, fourth row starter, Sean McClelland made a last minute pass on Keith Bolton to come out on top of the 25-lap Sprint Car division feature event. Bolton had led the entire race, after starting on the pole, to be passed by McClelland on the last lap. Alex DeCamp made his way past Bolton on the last lap as well, after starting in the third row, finishing second. Danny Smith, who started on the outside of the fifth row, managed to squeeze in a fourth place finish, after battling with Casey Wills, who finished fifth after starting in the same position.
The Modified division, once again, found Chad Davis victorious at the end of the 20-lap feature. After a first lap caution flag, Colin Wisely found himself restarting in the first position, followed by Davis and Joe Wright. Davis managed to pass Wright and Wisely on lap 3 to claim the top spot, where he would continue on to lead the rest of the race. Wright made the pass on Wisely on the same lap to go on and finish second, behind Davis. Wisely held on to the third position, after being passed by Wisely. Anthony Neel started in the fourth row and made it up to fifth place before coming to a stop on the track to bring out the yellow flag. Neel was shuffled to the rear for the restart, and managed to make his way past Justin Cartwright and lap traffic to finish fourth. Cartwright started in the third row, only to gain one spot to finish the race in fifth.
Rob McQuary found himself atop of the Dwarf Car feature, after taking the lead during a series of yellow flags during the opening laps of the race. McQuary would then go on and win the 20-lap feature event. Jorge Chacon made his way through the pack after starting eighth to finish the race in second place. Brian McClelland raced his way into the top five to battle for second place with Chacon. After a back and forth race with Chacon, McClelland fell short coming to the checkered flag. Tanner Phillips managed to score a fourth place finish, after getting tangled up with two other cars on lap 3. Phillips had to restart at the tail end of the 18-car field, and raced his way back into the top 5 when the checkered flag dropped. Larry Pense gained one position during the race, starting sixth, and finishing fifth.
After a green to checkered Mini Stock feature event, Wesley Knebel was at the top of the leader board. Jimmy Masterson challenged Knebel for the opening laps of the 15-lap event, but fell short at the end. Justin Melton gave Masterson a run for his money challenging him for the second position for the remainder of the race. As the race went on, the battle became fierce between Robert Lockhart and Cody Lincoln, as they raced their way to the checkered flag. Lockhart made a final pass on Lincoln to lock up the fourth place spot coming out of turn four to the checkered flag.
During intermission, nine drivers signed up for a winner take all, 20-lap feature event at the end of the evening's racing program. That 20-lap race found David Stephenson victorious. Stephenson started out on the front row and took an early lead. Kyle Clark reeled him in and made the pass on lap five. Danny Smith was trying to catch them as they pulled away from the rest of the field. A yellow flag waved for leader Kyle Clark, who was stopped in turn two for what looked like a mechanical problem. That would stack the field back up and Stephenson would regain the lead. After the restart, another yellow flag flew for Smith and Kevin Cummings getting together and coming to a stop on the track. That would put them in the back for the restart. They raced hard and found themselves back in the top five. Brent Bates finished second after a battle ensued between him and Cummings, coming from the back on the last restart. Smith fell to fourth while Will Scribner and Kevin Brewer finished fifth and sixth.
Article Credit: Hank Duensing