Photos by Richard Bales, Story by John Rittenoure - KELLYVILLE, Okla. (March 19, 2021) - Persistence paid off in a career first AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Sprint Car victory for Noah Harris Friday night at Creek County Speedway.
Harris chased down race long leader Josh Tyre and finally passed him with three laps remaining for the lead and eventual victory.
“I struggled around the bottom. I thought that is where we had to be,” Harris said of his early laps in the 25-lap race. “I ran a couple of laps down there then we went to the top.”
That is when Harris started to advance. After a lap 12 restart Harris drove around veteran Danny Wood for second and chased after Tyre. It took Harris 10 laps before he was finally able to pull even with Tyre.
“He ran a really great race,” Harris said of Tyre. “Josh is a great racer and I was finally getting lucky through (turns) 3 and 4 to get a run to catch him.
“It was really slick tonight. There was not much of a curb and there was not really anything around the bottom. You had to do a lot to the car itself to make it happen.
“My guys did a great job getting the car ready and making the changes we needed to do.
“It is my first OCRS win and it was good to get that off my check list.”
It was a tough loss for Tyre who finished third after Wood passing him on the final lap. Tyre led from the start running down low on the quarter mile oval. But late in the race Tyre found himself racing with no brakes.
“I thought I was going to have it, but with about four or five (laps) to go I lost brakes completely,” Tyre said of the races final laps. “I was pumping the brake pedal all the way around the track. My leg is shaking pretty bad right now.
“But I had a blast. That was my first time to finish in the top five with OCRS.”
Handling the sprint car and staying ahead of the pack in the closing laps was difficult.
“When they started going away I had to kind of lift a little early to keep it down and I think that is what gave them the edge to get off the corner on me,” Tyre said. “Coming off of four I trail brake a lot and once I lost the brakes I could not do that and started spinning the tires coming off the corner.”
However, Tyre was happy for Harris.
“I am happy for him to get a win,”he said. “I wish I could have got it.”
AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Results
Spring Fling
Creek County Speedway
March 19, 2021
AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories A-Main 25 Laps | 00:06:57.913
- 7F-Noah Harris[4]; 2. 55W-Danny Wood[3]; 3. 25-Joshua Tyre[1]; 4. 50Z-Zach Chappell[5]; 5. 31-Casey Wills[6]; 6. 8-Alex Sewell[7]; 7. 15D-Andrew Deal[11]; 8. 32K-Chris Kelly[12]; 9. 26M-Fred Mattox[14]; 10. 55M-Corey McGehee[20]; 11. 79-Tim Kent[13]; 12. 777-Bailey Hughes[2]; 13. 24-Ty Hulsey[17]; 14. 15-Jase Randolph[19]; 15. 18-Dillon Laden[8]; 16. 22T-Frank Taft[15]; 17. 45X-Kyler Johnson[18]; 18. 6-Alison Slaton[9]; 19. 8X-Austin Shores[10]; 20. 55-Johnny Kent[16]
Hoosier Tire B-Main 12 Laps | 00:03:04.758
- 22T-Frank Taft[1]; 2. 55-Johnny Kent[10]; 3. 24-Ty Hulsey[3]; 4. 45X-Kyler Johnson[2]; 5. 15-Jase Randolph[8]; 6. 55M-Corey McGehee[5]; 7. 77-Dean Drake Jr[7]; 8. 22C-Charlie Crumpton[12]; 9. 2L-Brandon Leland[13]; 10. 30X-Larry Bratti[14]; 11. 1-Travis Wilson[15]; 12. 38-Jimmy Forrester[16]; 13. 5-Joe Bob Lee[4]; 14. 88-Terry Easum[9]; 15. 32-Kolton Gariss[11]; 16. 29S-Blake Scott[6]
Schure Built Suspensions Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:02:09.000
- 7F-Noah Harris[1]; 2. 25-Joshua Tyre[4]; 3. 777-Bailey Hughes[6]; 4. 24-Ty Hulsey[3]; 5. 22T-Frank Taft[7]; 6. 15-Jase Randolph[5]; 7. 1-Travis Wilson[8]; 8. 30X-Larry Bratti[2]
Lightning Wings & Powder Coating Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:01:58.000
- 55W-Danny Wood[2]; 2. 50Z-Zach Chappell[3]; 3. 15D-Andrew Deal[4]; 4. 6-Alison Slaton[7]; 5. 5-Joe Bob Lee[6]; 6. 88-Terry Easum[5]; 7. 2L-Brandon Leland[1]; 8. 38-Jimmy Forrester[8]
Smith Titanium Heat 3 8 Laps | 00:01:56.000
- 8-Alex Sewell[1]; 2. 8X-Austin Shores[2]; 3. 32K-Chris Kelly[4]; 4. 26M-Fred Mattox[5]; 5. 45X-Kyler Johnson[7]; 6. 55-Johnny Kent[3]; 7. 32-Kolton Gariss[6]
Car and Fleet Parts Heat 4 8 Laps | 00:01:54.000
- 18-Dillon Laden[1]; 2. 31-Casey Wills[3]; 3. 79-Tim Kent[4]; 4. 55M-Corey McGehee[2]; 5. 29S-Blake Scott[5]; 6. 77-Dean Drake Jr[7]; 7. 22C-Charlie Crumpton[6]
Amsoil High Point Driver: Danny Wood.
About the AmeriFlex / OCRS Series -
Established in 2002, the Tulsa OK based AmeriFlex / OCRS 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
About Ameri-Flex Hose & Accessories -
Located in Tulsa OK, AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories is a family owned and operated company. From food grade hose to hoses for the petroleum industry, Ameri-Flex will strive to fill your needs. AmeriFlex can build a hose to your specifications or we will assist you in creating what you have designed while you wait. Ameri-Flex has several hard to find items that some vendors can’t get or find. Product can be shipped quickly and efficiently. If we do not have what you are looking for, we will direct you on where to find it. Give us a try, after all…………..
AmeriFlex Has The Stuff That Keeps You Going!
Website: www.AmeriFlexHose.com
AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Contingency Sponsors
AmeriFlex Hose and Accessories, Hoosier Tires, Amsoil, Car and Fleet Parts, Smith Titanium, lightning Wings and Powder Coating, Schure Built Suspensions.
Article Credit: John Rittenoure