Nov. 17, 2005:

• 2005 ASCS Sooner Review: Collinsville, Oklahoma's Sean McClelland kicked the 2005 season off on the right foot with a feature win and never looked back as he charged to the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region title. While McClelland led the points chase throughout, it didn't come without a fight as 2002 series champ Danny Jennings closed the gap at midseason and stayed within striking distance until the season's final checkered flag flew at Mid-America Speedway in South Coffeyville, OK, on October 15. Ultimately, it was McClelland outlasting Jennings by just 52 points, taking the series title aboard Kurt Temple's Myers-powered Cloud 9/K&N Filters No. 1 J&J on the strength of five feature wins, a dozen top-fives and 18 top-tens in 20 Sooner Region events. McClelland served notice in the series season opener at Tulsa Speedway on April 2, collecting his first career ASCS win after apparent victor Kenneth Walker was disqualified for use of an illegal wicker bill. McClelland backed it up a week later by scoring a convincing win at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, TX. Jennings fought off McClelland in the series next outing at Ada's Oklahoma Sports Park on April 23 to take his first Sooner Region win of the season and closed to within eight points.The next weekend, Danny Wood outlasted Kevin Ramey and McClelland for victory honors at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway, with McClelland outdueling National Tour invader Tony Bruce, Jr., for the win the next night at Lawton Speedway. With three victories in the series opening five events of the season, McClelland had extended his point lead to 32 markers over Jennings with a handful of events run in conjunction with the O'Reilly ASCS National Tour up next. Two-time Sooner Region champion Kevin Ramey claimed an Oklahoma City win on May 20 as five of the top seven finishers, including Ramey, Danny Wood, Cody Branchcomb, McClelland and Jennings, were Sooner Region reps. Jennings then closed the gap on McClelland during the June 17-18 Dodge City Raceway Park double, where Jennings posted a runner-up finish in the prelim then held off Gary Wright to win the finale. McClelland could only muster sixth and 14th place showings, allowing Jennings to close to within 16 points. Jennings shaved another eight points off the lead the next Friday night with a fourth place run at Oklahoma City, only to have McClelland stretch the lead back out to 28 points the next night at Cowtown when McClelland finished fifth as Jennings and Ramey watched the checkered flag fly from the pit area after an early skirmish. McClelland snared his fourth Sooner Region victory of the season in dramatic fashion at Lawton Speedway on July 2, battling past Jennings in an intense wheel-to-wheel duel on the final round to take the win. Zach Chappell slipped past Foster Landon to top the series debut atop Thunder Valley Speedway in Fayetteville, AR, on July 9, with Ramey leading a Sooner Region slaughter of the Gulf South Region in the July 16 Regional Shootout at Devil's Bowl Speedway. Exiting the Devil's Bowl main with engine woes, McClelland's point lead had withered to just 16 points over Jennings entering a combined weekend of action with the National Tour on July 29 and 30 at Oklahoma City and Tulsa. While Gary Wright swept the weekend, McClelland posted strong finishes of third and fourth to reestablish a 40-point advantage over Jennings, who struggled over the weekend. With just a handful of events remaining, Nick Smith held off Sam Hafertepe, Jr., and Zach Chappell to take his first series win since 2003 in the August 27 stop at Tulsa Speedway. Then on September 3, McClelland extended his lead in the points chase to 52 markers by making a late move past Andy Shouse at Oklahoma Sports Park to score his fifth triumph of the season. While Ramey posted a convincing win at Lawton Speedway on September 17, Jennings gained some ground on McClelland when rear end woes forced the point leader to the infield on the final lap of the feature. Still 40 points ahead with two events remaining, McClelland was a ninth place finisher at Cowtown Speedway on September 24. It was good enough to extend his lead to 50 points over Jennings, who only finished 14th as Travis Rilat outlasted Kevin Ramey in an entertaining non-stop affair atop the high-banked quarter-mile oval. The season wrapped up with the series debut at Mid-America Speedway in South Coffeyville, OK, where Rilat picked up his second series win in a row to the tune of an ASCS Regional record $3,000 payday. McClelland finished third behind Rilat and Ramey to secure the crown by 52 markers over fourth-place runner Danny Jennings. While McClelland earned the series crown, Jennings bid for a second title in the Folks-powered Lucas Products/Goodyear Tires No. 61J Maxim came up just short. After three years on the National Tour, 19-year-old Cody Branchcomb flirted with victory lane several times before settling for third in final points. Brian McClelland, younger brother of the champion, claimed fourth in points in his first year of ASCS competition with a third place run at Fayetteville's Thunder Valley Speedway his best run of the year. Also in his first year of ASCS Sooner Region competition, Fletcher, Oklahoma's Derek Cottrell parlayed several top ten feature finishes in the latter portion of the season into a fifth-place ranking in points. J.P. Bailey, the ASCS Sooner Region's inaugural champion in 2001, earned a sixth place ranking in final points with a third place finish at Oklahoma Sports Park on September 3 his top finish, while Foster Landon claimed seventh in points. Sixteen-year-old Dex Eaton earned eighth in final points despite a pair of bone-jarring Cowtown crashes, with veteran Earnest Jennings and Ramey completing the top ten. A total of 152 drivers competed in at least one American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Sooner Region event in 2005, with ten different drivers earning trips to victory lane as the series contested 20 events at nine different tracks throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas. Additional information regarding the American Sprint Car Series is available at www.ascsracing.com. (ASCS PR)

Aug 29, 2005:

• USAC Midgets in Tulsa Sat. Night: Saturday is United Ford Night at Tulsa Speedway. OCRS Sprints, Pro 4's and USAC Oklahoma Ford Focus Midgets will be racing for the final time in 2005. Admission is free with a ticket from an area United Ford dealer. Race time is 7:30. The night will also be a fund raiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund and the drivers will come through the stands at intermission. The driver that collects the most money United Ford will give him a miniature signed replica helmet from Sam Hornish and Roger Penske. Weekly Friday night racing has ended for the 2005 season. The possibility of some special events exists and will be announced as the information becomes available. (Tulsa Speedway)

Aug 28. 2005:

• Champions crowned in all series at Tulsa: Champions were crowned in all six divisions as the 2005 points season came to a close at Tulsa Speedway on Friday night. Ronnie Hunt, B.J. Frohnapfel, Daniel Ray Denton and Nick Dillingham earned their first ever titles while David Dutton and Rick McNatt added to their list of past championships. (Tulsa Speedway)

Aug  21, 2005

• Tulsa Points Championship to be determined Friday Night: Friday, August 26, wraps up the 2005 points season at Tulsa Speedway and several titles are going down to the final night. The closest race is in the modified divsion where Ronnie Hunt moved into a 10-point lead over three-time champion Greg Skaggs to force a final night showdown. Hunt finished third in last weeks A feature while Skaggs struggled and finished 14th. B.J. Frohnapfel will need to stay out of trouble Friday night to maintain his lead and win the factory stock title. Daniel Ray Denton will need to do the same in the mini stock division. David Dutton will have to wait a week to lock up the pro 4 crown as their final points race is Sept. 3 during the United Ford Night special. Points racing is over after Friday but plenty of racing remains at special non-point events are being setup for September and October. Details will be announced soon. (Tulsa Speedway)

Aug  20, 2005:

• Races Cancelled tonight: Reports are there have been two big downpours at the track which have soaked the pit area. Therefore we are forced to cancel the races for tonight. We look forward to seeing everyone next week! (Tulsa Speedway)

Aug 13, 2005

• Rained out in Tulsa: High winds and rain forced postponement of Saturday night's USAC Oklahoma Ford Focus Midget race at Tulsa (Olka.) Speedway. Track officials anticipate rescheduling the event and will announce a new date when firm. (Tulsa Speedway)

Aug 5, 2005

• Dean Wins Modified Race:  Ho Dean took the lead away from Bobby York then turned back Tim Bailey in the closing laps to win the modified A feature Friday at Tulsa Speedway. Dean moved into second behind Bobby York on lap seven and finally slipped by York for the lead on lap 12 in turn two. But his lead was far from safe as Tim Bailey closed in passing York for second on lap 14. Bailey challenged Dean in turn one of lap 19 but Dean held his line for his first win of the season. Bailey finished second ahead of Steve Lacy in third.  Matt Weintz turned back a late bid by Kenny McGee to win a wild pure stock feature. McGee challenged with one lap remaining, but Weintz held on to win over McGee and John Watt in third. The race was red flagged just after the halfway mark when Cody Tucker flipped into the infield. Rusty Etherton spun and nearly flipped on the backstretch and Tucker shot to the infield clipping a tire next to a light pole base. Tucker was not hurt. Points leader Daniel Ray Denton picked up his ninth mini stock victory. Denton passed Jerry Hausman after two laps and drove to victory. Gregg Overstreet passed Hausman on lap five to capture second. (Tulsa Speedway)

July 30, 2005

• Hughes Wins Tulsa Modified Open: Jason Hughes battled past Steve Lacy and went on to win the 25-lap modified feature and a first place check of $1,500 Friday at Tulsa Speedway. Soon to be new Tulsa Speedway promoter James Longping put up extra money for his first show as a promoter and total of 51 modifieds came to town looking for a little extra cash. (Tulsa Speedway)

• Forester Returns: Jeremy Forester returned to pro 4 racing after sitting out several weeks with an injury suffered at JRP Speedway and it looked like he was in his old form However the defending champion spun in turn four on the final lap and points leader David Dutton was there to take advantage and picked up the win. (Tulsa Speedway)

July 25,  2005

• ASCS head to Tulsa Speedway:  Sprint car racing returns in a big way Saturday when the ASCS National Tour makes a stop at Tulsa Speedway. Series points leader Gary Wright of Hooks, Texas will lead a full field of competitors to Tulsa. Only 86 points back of Wright in second is Darren Stewart of Bixby. The race will also be a points race for the ASCS Sooner region and Sean McClelland is on top of that point chart. The OCRS sprints will also be competing on the program in a $1,000-to-win points show. Defending champion Mike Goodman, driving the Bobby Moore owned sprinter, is currently leading the point chase. Race time is 7:30. Friday nights regular point show will feature a $1,500-to-win $100-to-start payout for the modified division. Six classes will be racing Friday starting at 7:30. For more information visit the OCRS website at www.ocrsracing.com.

April 10, 2005

• Morgan Takes Focus Opening: Sixteen-year-old Dustin Morgan led all 25 laps to win the USAC Oklahoma Ford Focus Midget series presented by United Ford season opener Saturday at Tulsa Speedway.  Morgan started inside second row for the main event and got a break when pole sitter Leon Bacon spun entering turn one as the race took the green. The yellow came out and Bacon limped to the pits with a left rear flat. Morgan moved to the pole for the restart and jumped into a quick lead racing unchallenged around the 3/8 mile oval for his first USAC victory. Jasiel Randolph ran second until lap 24 when a hard charging Matt Sherrill slipped past for second. Randolph settled for third and Evan Sewell finished fourth after a mid race battle with Sherrill. Sewell held off the challenges of Sherrill through 13 laps but Sherrill seemed to run faster as the race wore on. Matt Johnson rounded out the top five. (WhoWon)

July 23, 2005

• Lacey Repeats at Tulsa Speedway: Steve Lacy drew on his experience behind the wheel to pass Brandon Pittman and leader Bobby Wolfe to win his second straight modified A feature Friday at Tulsa Speedway. After early leader Richard Bias blew an engine on lap 15 to bring out a yellow, second year modified driver Wolfe took over the lead with Brandon Pittman close behind. Pittman tried to challenge Wolfe in turns three and four of lap 18. Both drivers skated to the center of the track and third place Lacy gunned his modified past them on the inside groove to take lead for his fourth victory of the season. Pittman got by Wolfe on lap 19 for second. (Tulsa Speedway)

April 9, 2005

• Howard may of lost consciousness:  Racer Michelle "Shelly" Howard may have lost consciousness and been unable to cut the fuel firing the engine of her dragster before it flipped over and shot backward, killing her and her son.  During a Saturday night test run, Howard's rear-engine dragster suffered a "blowover," where all four wheels left the surface, Tulsa Raceway Park said Friday in a statement.  Howard, 59, apparently took her foot off the accelerator when the car went airborne at the 1/8-mile mark on the track.   "As the dragster became vertical, it rotated 180 degrees on its axis and then touched down on all four wheels and against the wall with the car now facing the starting line," the raceway said. "The impact of the dragster to the pavement could have been enough to cause Shelly Howard to lose consciousness."  (NewsOK)

April 5, 2005:

• NCRA Modifieds in Tulsa Friday: The O'Reilly/National Championship Racing Association Modified series will open their 2005 season Friday at Tulsa Speedway. A large field of drivers from throughout Kansas and Oklahoma are expected for the event which pays $1,000 to win and $300 to start the main event. The B main pays $100 to start.  Two-time defending champion Brian Franz of Newton, Kansas will lead a host of Kansas drivers against a strong field of Oklahoma competitors. (Tulsa Speedway)

April 4, 2005:

• Sad News in Tulsa: Automobile racing, regardless of the venue, is a dangerous business. It goes without saying that those who participate in the racing universe and those who ardently follow the action from the safety of the grandstands or their TV rooms understand the risks.  The car crashed heavily back onto the racing surface facing the starting line. Then, with her husband, Paul, looking on helplessly, the racecar accelerated back toward the starting line at high speed, crashing into the team's tow vehicle which was parked at the starting line with Shelly's son, 36-year-old Brian, sitting inside the cab. Shelly and Brian lost their lives almost simultaneously in what those in attendance have described as one of the sport's most horrifying mishaps. Police estimated the car hit the truck at 250 mph. And while the accident itself is an unspeakably freakish tragedy, the circumstances and magnitude of the two lives ultimately lost seem to add an even greater dimension of inexplicable sadness to what was witnessed.  "She was certainly a great competitor and a great champion with the NHRA,'' Anthony Vestal, director of media relations for the NHRA, told the Tulsa World.  (ESPN) More at www.shellyhoward.com/

April 3, 2005:

• McClelland wins First ASCS Sooner Region: Sean McClelland broke into the American Bank of Oklahoma's ASCS Sooner Region victory lane for the first time by topping the series' season-opening 25-lap feature at Tulsa Speedway Saturday night.  McClelland battled past Danny Jennings on the 23rd round for what appeared to be second place, but then was awarded the victory when apparent winner Kenneth Walker was disqualified for the illegal use of a wicker bill on his top wing.  "You know how long it's been since I've won a race?" last year's third-place finisher in American Sprint Car Series Sooner Region points queried in victory lane. "It was in the two-barrels and that's been a couple of years, so it's been way too long. It's good to finally get one with these guys." (WhoWon)