McClelland the Master in ASCS Sooner Region Lawton Run
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (April 30, 2005) -- Sean
McClelland solidified his series point lead by fending off Tony Bruce,
Jr.'s advances for the point to capture his third American Bank of
Oklahoma American Sprint Car Series Sooner Region triumph of the season
in Saturday night's 30-lap feature at Lawton Speedway.
McClelland slipped underneath Bruce to take command on the 14th round,
then foiled Bruce's tenacious bids for a first career ASCS victory
over the final rounds to snare the hard-fought victory, extending his
point lead to 32 markers over eleventh place finisher Danny Jennings in
the process.
"That was fun!" McClelland exclaimed in victory lane. "Tony's a good guy and a really good racer, I really like him a
lot, and I knew he'd race us clean but he definitely made us work for
it. Three wins in five races, wow! I'm just really excited right
now."
McClelland gridded Kurt Temple's K&N Filters/Pro Shocks/Cloud Nine
No. 1 J&J outside the second row in the feature, with Cody Branchcomb and
Bruce leading the way to the green flag. Branchcomb gunned into the lead
at the drop of the green and raced away to a half straightaway advantage
over Bruce, Kevin Ramey, J.P. Bailey and McClelland before the race's
only caution flew after three rounds for Eric Baldaccini, who came to a
halt in turn one.
Branchcomb took off once again on the ensuing restart, while McClelland
immediately raced past Bailey to claim fourth. One lap later, McClelland
disposed of Ramey to claim third. Bruce then closed the gap on
Branchcomb on the eighth round and took command two laps later. McClelland followed Bruce's lead and charged past Branchcomb for
second after two more circuits, as Branchcomb soon faded from contention
with power steering woes.
McClelland closed on Bruce's rear bumper and took quick advantage
when Bruce slipped high exiting turn four on the 14th round. "We
could have won that one, I made that one mistake though and let Sean get
by me," Bruce commented afterward.
Bruce kept the pressure on McClelland over the remaining laps as the pair
raced to a half-lap advantage over the balance of the field, pulling
alongside on several occasions to no avail. Bruce made one final bid on
the final round, poking his nose underneath McClelland as the pair exited
turn two and charged down the backstretch.
McClelland was not to be denied his third series victory of the season
however, and beat Bruce to the line by little more than a car-length. Bailey slipped past Ramey for third on the twelfth round, but Ramey
returned the favor with just four laps remaining to snare the show
position. Bailey claimed fourth, with Johnny Miller rounding out the top
five.
Brian McClelland posted a career-best ASCS Sooner Region finish by
advancing from eleventh to cross the stripe in sixth, with Sam Hafertepe,
Jr., charging from 15th to finish seventh. Claud Estes took the
checkered flag in eighth, with Jason Martin and 19th-starter Gavin Punch
completing the top ten.
Branchcomb, Sean McClelland, Bailey and Ramey topped heat race action for
the 31-car field, with Baldaccini captured his first ASCS checkered flag
by winning the 15-lap B Main.
Results:
First Heat (10 Laps): 1. Cody Branchcomb, 2. David Langford, 3. Claud
Estes, 4. Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 5. Danny Jennings, 6. Gavin Punch, 7. Joel
Howard. DNS: Landon Brown.
Second Heat (10 Laps): 1. Sean McClelland, 2. Jason Martin, 3. Andy
Shouse, 4. Brian McClelland, 5. David Lee Lambert, 6. Joe Wood, Jr., 7.
Robert Byrom, 8. Lee Jennings.
Third Heat (10 Laps): 1. J.P. Bailey, 2. Johnny Miller, 3. Travis Scott,
4. Zach Chappell, 5. Kerry McAlister, 6. Earnest Jennings, 7. Josh Close,
8. Derek Cottrell.
Fourth Heat (10 Laps): 1. Kevin Ramey, 2. Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. Natalie
Sather, 4. Eric Baldaccini, 5. Koby Barksdale, 6. Preston Peebles II, 7.
Foster Landon.
B Feature (15 Laps): 1. Eric Baldaccini, 2. David Lee Lambert, 3. Gavin
Punch, 4. Kerry McAlister, 5. Lee Jennings, 6. Koby Barksdale, 7. Josh
Close, 8. Joe Wood, Jr., 9. Derek Cottrell, 10. Preston Peebles II, 11.
Joel Howard, 12. Foster Landon, 13. Earnest Jennings. DNS: Robert Byrom,
Landon Brown.
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. Sean McClelland, 2. Tony Bruce, Jr., 3. Kevin
Ramey, 4. J.P. Bailey, 5. Johnny Miller, 6. Brian McClelland, 7. Sam
Hafertepe, Jr., 8. Claud Estes, 9. Jason Martin, 10. Gavin Punch, 11.
Danny Jennings, 12. Zach Chappell, 13. Andy Shouse, 14. David Langford,
15. Natalie Sather, 16. Cody Branchcomb, 17. Travis Scott, 18. David Lee
Lambert, 19. Eric Baldaccini, 20. Kerry McAlister.
American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Sean
McClelland 740, 2. Danny Jennings 708, 3. Cody Branchcomb 674, 4. Kerry
McAlister 610, 5. J.P. Bailey 593, 6. Brian McClelland 591, 7. Preston
Peebles II 583, 8. Foster Landon 542, 9. Andy Shouse 532, 10. Joel Howard
528.
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