Shouse Nips Jennings For Oklahoma State Championship

Story by John Lemon
Photos by Phil Pace

Ada, Oklahoma (September 19, 2009) - Andy Shouse of Oklahoma City reeled in race long leader Danny Jennings of Norman after chasing him for the entire distance and won the Oil Capitol Racing Series third annual 'Oklahoma State Championship' sprint car event by a mere two feet at the Oklahoma Sports Park race track in Ada, Oklahoma last Saturday night.

The original start of the scheduled 25 lap championship event had front row starters Mike Goodman, the 2007 Oklahoma State Champion, and Jennings taking the green on a track that was constantly changing throughout the night from a weeks worth of rain that hit the Ada area prior to Saturday night. As the front row starters headed into turn one, they were attacked by second row starters Shouse and Evan Sewell. Contact ensued in the turn and Goodman took a violent series of flips to bring out a red flag. Goodman climbed out of his totaled out machine, walked to the ambulance where he gathered himself and returned to the pit area where he further spent the evening in good condition.

With time and track conditions to be considered, OCRS officials gave word that the event would be reduced to 20 laps. On the restart, Jennings took to the point in his Goodyear sponsored number 61j while Shouse (who restarted on the pole) tucked in behind Jennings in his number 27 XXX Chassis / Bishop Race Products machine. Evan Sewell completed the initial lap in third with Chris Burns and OCRS point leader Jamie Passmore in tow.

There were several position changes in the pack during the race. On the sixth lap, Sewell faltered back to fourth and Burns to fifth as Passmore moved into third. On the 11th lap, Matt Sherrell moved up to sixth and began to show his muscle. All the while, OKC's Larry Neighbors, who won the nights second semi main, was putting on a passing clinic to the delight of the packed crowd by moving into the eighth spot from his 18th starting position. Sewell recaptured third from Passmore on the 13th lap. Sherrell took fifth from Burns on lap 15 while Neighbors took Burns' position on the next lap with the 2008 Oklahoma State Champion, Danny Smith, running behind Burns.

On the 17th lap, Shouse was making serious gains on Jennings for the top spot. What was once a 10-12 car length lead was now down to 4-5 lengths and closing. Shouse then cut the lead on lap 18 to three car lengths with just two to go. On the last lap, as Jennings drove into turns three and four, Shouse set his car for the final charge. Jennings headed for the checkers as Shouse pulled along side on the front stretch and nipped Jennings by a mere two feet at the finish line. Sewell drove a consistent race to bring home a third place finish. Passmore was fourth followed by Sherrell, Neighbors, Burns, Jonathan Beason, Smith and Rafe Essary rounding out the top ten.

OCRS sprint cars will race a doubleheader next weekend on:

Friday 9/25 @ Outlaw Motor Speedway in Wainwright, Oklahoma where hot laps begin at 6:45pm and racing starts at 7:30pm. Track phone is: (918) 687-9200.

Web Site is: www.outlawmotorspeedway.com

Saturday night 9/26 @ Mid-America Speedway in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma where hot laps begin at 6:30pm and racing starts at 7pm. Track phone is: (918) 829-8490

Web site is: www.mid-americaspeedway.com

For information on the Oil Capitol Racing Series, contact Barry Grabel at (918) 260-3899.

OCRS Sprints

HEAT 1 - 1, Andy Shouse. 2, Gary Owens. 3, Jonathan Beason. 4, Fred Mattox. 5, Tim Kent. 6, Jason Adams. DNS: Frank Dittman, Cody Metsher.

HEAT 2 - 1, Jamie Passmore. 2, Danny Smith. 3, Evan Sewell. 4, Matt Sherrell. 5, Brian Bishop. 6, Johnny Kent. 7, Dan Moreno. 8, Michael Gossman.

HEAT 3 - 1, Mike Goodman. 2, Chris Burns. 3, Travis Jenkins. 4, Shane Sellers. 5, Shayla Waddell. 6, Terry Easum. 7, Daryl Provost. DNS: Robert Sellers.

HEAT 4 - 1, Danny Jennings. 2, Tony Edmondson. 3, Rafe Essary. 4, Phillip Davis. 5, Kyle Clark. 6, Travis Ashwood. 7, Jeff Garnett. DNS: Larry Neighbors.

1st B FEATURE - 1, Johnny Kent. 2, Phillip Davis. 3, Kyle Clark. 4, Daryl Provost. 5, Jeff Garnett. DNS: Terry Easum, Cody Metsher, Robert Sellers.

2nd B FEATURE - 1, Larry Neighbors. 2, Shayla Waddell. 3, Frank Dittman. 4, Tim Kent. 5, Jason Adams. 6, Travis Ashwood. 7, Michael Grossman. DNS: Dan Moreno.

A FEATURE - 1, Andy Shouse. 2, Danny Jennings. 3, Evan Sewell. 4, Jamie Passmore. 5, Matt Sherrell. 6, Larry Neighbors. 7, Chris Burns. 8, Jonathan Beason. 9, Danny Smith. 10, Rafe Essary. 11, Johnny Kent. 12, Tony Edmondson. 13, Shane Sellers. 14, Brian Bishop. 15, Fred Mattox. 16, Travis Jenkins. 17, Phillip Davis. 18, Gary Owens. 19, Shayla Waddell. 20, Mike Goodman.