McClelland returns to OCRS victory lane at Arrowhead Speedway

May 26, 2023 | by John Rittenoure

It has been six years since Sean McClelland last raced with the AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories Oil Capital Racing Series. That last win came in the coveted 2017 AmeriFlex Challenge. Friday McClelland returned and picked up where he left off winning at the all-new Arrowhead Speedway.

McClelland was behind the wheel of the DSO sprinter owned by the late David Stephenson and led all 25 laps around the 1/3 mile oval.

“It was just like old times,” McClelland said of his 14th OCRS career victory. “It is my last year so we are trying to have a little fun. David (Stephenson) is gone and it is coming out of my pocket now and it just does not feel right running his car without him here.”

After feeling out the car in hot laps changes were made to the setup and it made all the difference.

“We struggled a bit in hot laps,” McClelland said. “I think it was just me not having run these in a long time. We made some changes before the feature and we were really good there at the start. I think that is what won us the race.”

However, the final laps proved to be challenging with Whit Gastineau making a run for the lead after a lap 15 restart.

“I was hanging on at the end,” McClelland said. “I was too tight and could not turn it and I knew Whit was there and he was faster than me.

“We tightened the car up. We knew it was going to take rubber.”

After running 360 injected cars the past six years McClelland found he had to adjust to the horse power difference of the OCRS power plant.

“You have to get use to the horsepower,” said the three-time OCRS champion. “Once you get back in the rhythm it is like old hat. We were happy. Chuck built a great motor and Robert my boss is here and involved in this. It is like a big family.”

Gastineau was not able to able to get around McClelland after the mid-race restart and finished second ahead of Alex DeCamp who climbed from eighth to finish third. Defending champion Blake Edwards was fourth and Bradley Fezard finished fifth. Joe Bob Lee advanced seven spots to sixth earning him the D&G Contracting Hard Charger award.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories Oil Capital Racing Series
Arrowhead Speedway, Colcord, Okla.
Friday, May 26, 2023

AmeriFlex Hose Accessories A Feature (25 laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland[2]; 2. 2-Whit Gastineau[3]; 3. 22C-Alex DeCamp[8]; 4. 17E-Blake Edwards[1]; 5. 938-Bradley Fezard[9]; 6. 5-Joe Bob Lee[13]; 7. 55-Johnny Kent[7]; 8. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[5]; 9. 7F-Noah Harris[4]; 10. 22RL-Gage Laney[10]; 11. 55W-Danny Wood[17]; 12. 88-Terry Easum[16]; 13. 42-Grady Mercer[6]; 14. 52JR-Conner Long[14]; 15. 31-Casey Wills[18]; 16. 8R-Ryker Pace[19]; 17. 30X-Larry Bratti[12]; 18. 26M-Fred Mattox[15]; 19. 38-Jimmy Forrester[11]; 20. 69-Greg York[20]

Hoosier Racing Tire B Feature (12 laps): 1. 26M-Fred Mattox[2]; 2. 88-Terry Easum[7]; 3. 55W-Danny Wood[12]; 4. 31-Casey Wills[4]; 5. 8R-Ryker Pace[8]; 6. 69-Greg York[6]; 7. 50Z-Zach Chappell[13]; 8. 2L-Brandon Leland[1]; 9. 1T-Joshua Tyre[11]; 10. 61A-Doug Fry[5]; 11. 22T-Frank Taft[10]; 12. 12M-Mitchell Barros[9]

Schure Built Suspensions Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 42-Grady Mercer[1]; 2. 22C-Alex DeCamp[5]; 3. 38-Jimmy Forrester[3]; 4. 938-Bradley Fezard[7]; 5. 31-Casey Wills[6]; 6. 8R-Ryker Pace[4]; 7. 1T-Joshua Tyre[2]

Lightning Wings Powder Coating Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 2-Whit Gastineau[3]; 2. 17E-Blake Edwards[5]; 3. 5-Joe Bob Lee[2]; 4. 9-Emilio Hoover[4]; 5. 26M-Fred Mattox[7]; 6. 88-Terry Easum[6]; 7. 50Z-Zach Chappell[1]

Smith Titanium Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 55-Johnny Kent[1]; 2. 1-Sean McClelland[3]; 3. 22RL-Gage Laney[4]; 4. 52JR-Conner Long[5]; 5. 61A-Doug Fry[6]; 6. 22T-Frank Taft[2]; 7. 12M-Mitchell Barros[7]

DSO Heat 4 (8 laps): 1. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[1]; 2. 7F-Noah Harris[6]; 3. 30X-Larry Bratti[3]; 4. 2L-Brandon Leland[5]; 5. 69-Greg York[2]; 6. 30-Joseph Miller[4]; 7. 55W-Danny Wood[7]

Hot Laps: 1. 31-Casey Wills, 00:12.680[21]; 2. 8R-Ryker Pace, 00:13.047[13]; 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 00:13.051[19]; 4. 1T-Joshua Tyre, 00:13.212[5]; 5. 938-Bradley Fezard, 00:13.235[25]; 6. 22C-Alex DeCamp, 00:13.267[17]; 7. 50Z-Zach Chappell, 00:13.296[2]; 8. 2-Whit Gastineau, 00:13.393[10]; 9. 5-Joe Bob Lee, 00:13.460[6]; 10. 9-Emilio Hoover, 00:13.543[14]; 11. 26M-Fred Mattox, 00:13.583[26]; 12. 52JR-Conner Long, 00:13.618[27]; 13. 17E-Blake Edwards, 00:13.631[18]; 14. 55-Johnny Kent, 00:13.729[3]; 15. 55W-Danny Wood, 00:13.800[28]; 16. 38-Jimmy Forrester, 00:13.853[9]; 17. 88-Terry Easum, 00:13.854[22]; 18. 20S-Sheldon Barksdale, 00:13.913[4]; 19. 30-Joseph Miller, 00:13.942[16]; 20. 69-Greg York, 00:14.045[8]; 21. 2L-Brandon Leland, 00:14.100[20]; 22. 22RL-Gage Laney, 00:14.156[15]; 23. 61A-Doug Fry, 00:14.249[23]; 24. 30X-Larry Bratti, 00:14.360[12]; 25. 22T-Frank Taft, 00:14.498[7]; 26. 12M-Mitchell Barros, 00:15.227[11]; 27. 7F-Noah Harris, 00:31.362[24]

Lap Leaders: Sean McClelland 1-25.
Margin of Victory: 0.226 second.
D&G Contracting Hard Charger: Joe Bob Lee (+7)

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

2023 Top Ten: 1. Johnny Kent, 539; 2. Joe Bob Lee, 509; 3. Danny Wood 490; 4. Alex DeCamp 468; 5. Terry Easum, 443. 6. Sheldon Barksdale, 428; 7. Zach Chappell, 416; 8. Fred Mattox, 408; 9. Whit Gastineau 363; 10. Bradley Fezard, 358.

About the AmeriFlex OCRS: Established in 2002, the Tulsa-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.

About AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories: Located in Tulsa, AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories is a family owned and operated company. From food grade hose to hoses for the petroleum industry, AmeriFlex 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. AmeriFlex 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 Contingency Sponsors: AmeriFlex Hose & Accessories, Hoosier Racing Tires, Smileys Racing Products, Schoenfeld, Brodix, Lucas Oil, RacinDirt.TV, Schure Built Suspension, Lightning Wings & Powder Coating, Smith Titanium, MyRacePass.