Sooner Region Coffeyville results 2007-10-05

Brian McClelland Muscles to ASCS Sooner Prelim Win at Mid-America

SOUTH COFFEYVILLE, Okla. (October 5, 2007) -- With the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region championship hanging in the balance, Tulsa's Brian McClelland muscled his way to victory lane in Friday night's 25-lap feature event at Mid-America Speedway.

McClelland chased Kevin Ramey, who entered the night with a slim points lead, in the early rounds before assuming the lead after Ramey flipped when the pair made contact on the eleventh circuit.

Taking the series points lead in the process, McClelland raced on to the checkered flag in front of Jason Martin, Sean McClelland and Don Droud, Jr., with those four drivers locked into Saturday night's $3,000-to-win season championship ASCS Sooner Region finale at Mid-America Speedway.

After Ramey out dueled Brian McClelland in the Pole Dash to earn the pole position for the main event, the pair again battled on the opening round of the feature with Ramey taking command upon the completion of the first lap.

Following a pair of cautions in the opening three laps, one of which included J.P. Bailey showing his displeasure with Droud after sliding to a stop on the frontstretch with front end damage, Ramey led the way in front the McClelland siblings.

Ramey held a five car-length advantage until reaching lapped traffic on the tenth round, with Brian McClelland quickly closing the gap.JMcClelland challenged for the lead in turns one and two on the eleventh round, then dove underneath Ramey entering turn three. With neither driver giving way, the resulting contact sent Ramey flipping. Following some heated words on the backstretch under the red flag stoppage, Ramey returned to the work area but was unable to rejoin the chase.

Brian McClelland led the rest of the way aboard the Wesmar-powered R&B Motorsports/Maxwell Oil No. 87 Triple-X, surviving a turn four bicycle with the white flag in sight that brought big brother Sean McClelland and Jason Martin to his tailtank.

A flawless final lap secured McClelland's third series win of the year, with Martin slipping underneath Sean McClelland in the final corner to snare second. Sean McClelland settled for third, with Droud battling forward from seventh to take the fourth and final lock-in position.

Roy Larkin rounded out the top five to record his first top-five run in ASCS Sooner Region action since the 2003 season finale. Staying in the championship points hunt, Cody Branchcomb crossed the stripe sixth with 10th-starter Nick Smith out dueling 14th-starter Jason for seventh. ASCS Rocky Mountain Region champion C.J. Johnson raced from 15th to ninth, with 16th-starter Michael Brown completing the top ten.

Credited with a 15th place finish, Ramey enters Saturday night's season finale ranked third in points, 23 markers behind McClelland. Branchcomb is 14 points out of the lead in second. McClelland can secure the ASCS Sooner Region crown with a finish of sixth or better on Saturday night.

Ramey, Sean McClelland, Keith Rauch, Branchcomb and Larkin topped heat race action for the rugged 41-car field, with C.J. Johnson and Michael Brown winning the "B" Mains.

The night got off to an inauspicious start when Derek Cottrell and Matt Covington tangled entering turn one on the first lap of the first heat, with Covington getting upside down. There were no injuries, but both were done for the night.

Burt Davis smacked the frontstretch wall at the start of the third heat, with Zach Chappell stopping on the track a lap later with mechanical woes. Both were done for the night as well.

Saturday night's $3,000-to-win season finale for the ASCS Sooner Region at Mid-America Speedway is set to fire off at 7:00 p.m.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Results from Mid-America Speedway:

Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 12x-Jason Martin, 4. 29-Lyle Howey III, 5. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 6. 97-Tom Cummings, 7. 19-Joe McCarthy, 8. 95-Matt Covington, 9. 25-Derek Cottrell.

Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 1-Sean McClelland, 2. 1x-Don Droud, Jr., 3. 45-J.P. Bailey, 4. 99-Justin Melton, 5. 22-Koby Barksdale, 6. 10r-David Wheeler, 7. 8-Jeff Eckhardt, 8. 85s-Forrest Sutherland.

Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 71-Keith Rauch, 2. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 3. 15b-Michael Brown, 4. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 5. 19s-Steven Cross, 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 7. 92-Zach Chappell, 8. 1b-Burt Davis.

Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 94-Cody Branchcomb, 2. 81au-Gavin Punch, 3. 15s-Nick Smith, 4. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 5. 72-Sherman Davis, 6. 35-Derrik Ortega, 7. 26m-Shelly Ward, 8. 85-John Hunt.

Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 52-Roy Larkin, 2. 25x-Gary Taylor, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 21-Brian Brown, 5. 88-J. Kinder, 6. 27-Andy Shouse, 7. 010-Brian Roberts, 8. 7F-Frank Sudduth.

Pole Dash (5 Laps): 1. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 2. 87-Brian McClelland, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 94-Cody Branchcomb, 5. 12x-Jason Martin, 6. 52-Roy Larkin.

First "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 2. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 3. 99-Justin Melton, 4. 22-Koby Barksdale, 5. 72-Sherman Davis, 6. 10R-David Wheeler, 7. 85s-Forrest Sutherland, 8. 85-John Hunt, 9. 19s-Steven Cross, 10. 010-Brian Roberts. DNS: 27-Andy Shouse, 19-Joe McCarthy, 92-Zach Chappell, 25-Derek Cottrell.

Second "B" Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15b-Michael Brown, 2. 88-J. Kinder, 3. 21-Brian Brown, 4. b4-Eric Baldaccini, 5. 14k-Kyle Bellm, 6. 26m-Shelly Ward, 7. 35-Derrik Ortega, 8. 7F-Frank Sudduth, 9. 8-Jeff Eckhardt, 10. 97-Tom Cummings. DNS: 29-Lyle Howey III, 95-Matt Covington, 1b-Burt Davis.

"A" Feature (25 Laps): 1. 87-Brian McClelland, 2. 12x-Jason Martin, 3. 1-Sean McClelland, 4. 1x-Don Droud, Jr., 5. 52-Roy Larkin, 6. 94-Cody Branchcomb, 7. 15s-Nick Smith, 8. 41-Jason Johnson, 9. 45x-C.J. Johnson, 10. 15b-Michael Brown, 11. 4am-Travis Jenkins, 12. 81au-Gavin Punch, 13. 88-J. Kinder, 14. 11x-Garry Lee Maier, 15. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 16. 99-Justin Melton, 17. 21-Brian Brown, 18. 71-Keith Rauch, 19. 45-J.P. Bailey, 20. 25x-Gary Taylor.

American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region Points (Top Ten): 1. Brian McClelland 1,810, 2. Cody Branchcomb 1,796, 3. Kevin Ramey 1,787, 4. Michael Brown 1,518, 4. Gavin Punch 1,506, 6. J.P. Bailey 1,447, 7. Derek Cottrell 1,331, 8. Nick Smith 1,310, 9. Eric Baldaccini 1,186, 10. Sherman Davis 1,119.

-credit: ascs