SALINA, Okla. — Alex Sewell added his name to the list of AmeriFlex / OCRS Challenge champions with a victory Saturday at Salina Highbanks Speedway.
Winning the AmeriFlex / OCRS Challenge IV earned Sewell $3,000 from a purse of more than $25,000.
“I think this is the most money I have won racing at one single event,” said Sewell who joins Mike Goodman, Mickey Walker, and Sean McClelland as AmeriFlex / OCRS Challenge winners. “It is awesome that we get to participate for this caliber of money. A big thanks goes out to Corvan (Robison) because without him it wouldn’t be possible. It is really nice to be able to come to a race for three grand.”
“I really wanted to win at least two this year and we were lucky enough to get it done tonight.”
Sewell, who started sixth after the top eight in points redraw, chased early leader Robert Sellers for 13 laps then took advantage of an opportunity in lapped traffic to take the lead.
“Sometimes it is better to run second,” Sewell said of his eventual pass of Sellers for the lead. “I had been watching the lapped cars for the last couple of laps trying to make sure I knew what to do when I got to him. Lucky enough for me Robert (Sellers) wen to the bottom and I went to the top and was able to clear Robert around those lapped cars.”
Once out front in his Action Auto Collision sponsored sprinter, Sewell had to deal with more lapped traffic and hope he could maintain the lead.
“I had to try and hold my own there at the end,” Sewell said. “I got held up by a few lapped cars there at the end who I guess wanted to race the leader. But in the end, I just got around the lapped cars better I think and came home with the win.”
Point leader Zach Chappell also got by Sellers and chased and chased down Sewell in the closing laps, but settled for second. Sellers held on to third with previous Challenge winner Walker and Terry Easum finishing fourth and fifth.
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1, 8-Alex Sewell[6]. 2, 50Z-Zach Chappell[7]. 3, 22C-Robert Sellers[2]. 4, 2-Mickey Walker[9]. 5, 88-Terry Easum[10]. 6, 15D-Andrew Deal[14]. 7, 5-Joe Bob Lee[11]. 8, 79-Tim Kent[15]. 9, 6-Alison Slaton[3]. 10, 82-Keith Bolton[17]. 11, 62-James Shoun[22]. 12, 007-Michael Bookout[18]. 13, 22T-Frank Taft[21]. 14, 77-JC Wilson[20]. 15, 84-Alex DeCamp[5]. 16, 5H-Cameron Hagin[12]. 17, 30-Joseph Miller[13]. 18, 21P-Phillip Davis[16]. 19, 22X-Charlie Crumpton[19]. 20, 2W-Whit Gastineau[1]. 21, 28-Joe Wood Jr.[4]. 22, 20S-Sheldon Barksdale[8].