by John Rittenoure - MEEKER, Okla. (October 16, 2021) - Kyle Clark picked up his first AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Sprint Car victory of the season over a record field of sprint cars Saturday night at Red Dirt Raceway.
A total of 54 drivers signed in for the Salute to State Fair Speedway Pat Suchy Classic setting a OCRS record. And the racing was some of the best seen all season.
Clark shot into the early lead, but veteran racer Danny Wood wheeled into second on lap 12 setting the stage for a battle to the finish. Clark and Wood swapped the lead on lap 22 just before the red flag waved for Chris Kelly’s turn three flip. Kelly was not hurt.
Over the next 11 laps it was a cat and mouse game between Clark and Wood. The two slid each other for the lead several times, but Clark made the final move for the win.
“I always like running with Danny,” Clark said of racing with Wood. “We always race clean and you can trust he is not going to beat (on you). I almost got him once and did not mean too. My car pushed on me once. It was a lot of fun.
“I never really ever got around him for good. I just ran the car a little harder after that last caution and I think that is what got it.
“This track is a lot of fun and I have always wanted to win here.”
After running the bottom Clark quickly found the top was the place to be.
“I ran the top most of the time,” he said. “I ran the bottom a couple of times, but the top was the place to be. It was slide job city up there. It was a fine line in (turns) 3 and 4.”
Wood congratulated Clark after the races in the tech area.
“That was a good race,” Wood said. “I like Kyle. He is a good guy.”
Wood felt he could have won but Clark out smarted him with one final pass on lap 26.
“I just misjudged it,” Wood said of Clarks move. “He had been crossing me over then I would cross him over. I though he was going to cross me over again and did not see him. Then he got me on the outside. I should have let it drift a little more. I could have won it, but he out thought me.”
Andy Shouse moved into third on lap 23 but could not catch the leaders. Noah Harris worked his way from 11th to finish fourth and Joe Bob Lee finished fifth to secure the AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA season championship.
Lee, who also leads the Oklahoma IMCA points, won for the first time and picked up the OCRS West Challenge Cup points title as well.
“That was a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” Lee said of his championship. “We can go into the last night of racing having fun and go for the win instead of worrying about points.”
AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Sprint Cars
Red Dirt Raceway - Meeker, Okla.
October 16, 2021
AmeriFlex Hose Accessories A-Main (33 Laps): 1. 9$-Kyle Clark[2]; 2. 55W-Danny Wood[4]; 3. 27-Andy Shouse[5]; 4. 7F-Noah Harris[11]; 5. 5-Joe Bob Lee[8]; 6. 8-Alex Sewell[12]; 7. 31-Casey Wills[20]; 8. 88-Terry Easum[9]; 9. 8X-Austin Shores[19]; 10. 3C-Roy Larkin[15]; 11. 11-Michael Tyre II[13]; 12. 66-Edmund Bishop[14]; 13. 77-Kale Drake[17]; 14. 98K-Dane Fields[10]; 15. 26M-Fred Mattox[3]; 16. 2C-Whit Gastineau[16]; 17. 32K-Chris Kelly[1]; 18. 83-Jett Hays[18]; 19. 5$-Danny Smith[7]; 20. 78-Tanner Conn[6]
Hoosier Racing Tire B-Main 1 (12 Laps): 1. 3C-Roy Larkin[1]; 2. 83-Jett Hays[3]; 3. 22M-Rees Moran[7]; 4. 5M-Blake Edwards[4]; 5. 31K-Ross Moore[9]; 6. 21-Brandon Jennings[13]; 7. 4-Jimmy Forrester[10]; 8. 50-Cody Whitworth[11]; 9. 55-Johnny Kent[6]; 10. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[5]; 11. 3-Justin Mowry[2]; 12. 33K-JT Kelly[8]; 13. $5-Emily Lowry[14]; 14. 56L-Nicholas Lucito[12]
Hoosier Racing Tire B-Main 2 (12 Laps): 1. 2C-Whit Gastineau[1]; 2. 8X-Austin Shores[5]; 3. 17-Jeremy Allen[3]; 4. 18-Zach Patterson[2]; 5. 5X-Matt Sherrell[4]; 6. 20-Shawn Wicker[7]; 7. 19-Justin Fisk[8]; 8. 29K-Brian Harvey[11]; 9. 2L-Brandon Leland[9]; 10. 22T-Frank Taft[6]; 11. 22Z-Zach Campbell[10]; 12. 97-Kevin Cummings[13]; 13. 79-Tim Kent[12]
Hoosier Racing Tires B-Main 3 (12 Laps): 1. 77-Kale Drake[4]; 2. 31-Casey Wills[2]; 3. 28-Joe Wood Jr[13]; 4. 30X-Larry Bratti[1]; 5. 8H-Richie Harvey[6]; 6. 6-Alison Slaton[8]; 7. X-Perry Pickard[10]; 8. 08E-Elizabeth Phillips[5]; 9. 25-Kyle Admire[9]; 10. 57-Michael Gossman[11]; 11. 69-Greg York[3]; 12. 13$-Len Larkin[7]; 13. 15-Jase Randolph[12]
Schure Built Suspensions Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 26M-Fred Mattox[2]; 2. 66-Edmund Bishop[3]; 3. 3C-Roy Larkin[5]; 4. 77-Kale Drake[4]; 5. 17-Jeremy Allen[8]; 6. 5M-Blake Edwards[9]; 7. 6-Alison Slaton[7]; 8. X-Perry Pickard[6]; 9. $5-Emily Lowry[1]
Lightning Wings Powder Coating Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 32K-Chris Kelly[3]; 2. 18-Zach Patterson[1]; 3. 98K-Dane Fields[6]; 4. 11-Michael Tyre II[8]; 5. 3-Justin Mowry[9]; 6. 19-Justin Fisk[2]; 7. 25-Kyle Admire[5]; 8. 22Z-Zach Campbell[7]; 9. 28-Joe Wood Jr[4]
Smith Titanium Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 27-Andy Shouse[2]; 2. 5$-Danny Smith[4]; 3. 2C-Whit Gastineau[5]; 4. 5-Joe Bob Lee[9]; 5. 22M-Rees Moran[3]; 6. 55-Johnny Kent[8]; 7. 2L-Brandon Leland[6]; 8. 97-Kevin Cummings[1]; 9. 21-Brandon Jennings[7]
Car Fleet Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 55W-Danny Wood[8]; 2. 9$-Kyle Clark[5]; 3. 69-Greg York[1]; 4. 30X-Larry Bratti[7]; 5. 20-Shawn Wicker[2]; 6. 33K-JT Kelly[3]; 7. 4-Jimmy Forrester[4]; 8. 50-Cody Whitworth[6]; 9. 57-Michael Gossman[9]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 8-Alex Sewell[1]; 2. 88-Terry Easum[4]; 3. 7F-Noah Harris[6]; 4. 08E-Elizabeth Phillips[2]; 5. 22T-Frank Taft[5]; 6. 8H-Richie Harvey[7]; 7. 13$-Len Larkin[8]; 8. 79-Tim Kent[3]; 9. 56L-Nicholas Lucito[9]
Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 78-Tanner Conn[2]; 2. 31-Casey Wills[1]; 3. 83-Jett Hays[4]; 4. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[3]; 5. 8X-Austin Shores[6]; 6. 5X-Matt Sherrell[9]; 7. 31K-Ross Moore[7]; 8. 29K-Brian Harvey[5]; 9. 15-Jase Randolph[8]
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…………..
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Website: www.AmeriFlexHose.com
AmeriFlex / OCRS IMCA Contingency Sponsors
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories, Hoosier Tires, Amsoil, Car and Fleet Parts, Smith Titanium, lightning Wings and Powder Coating, Schure Built Suspensions.