OKLAHOMA CITY (May 23, 2012)—Chris Bell of Norman, Okla., holds a 40-point lead over Andrew Felker of Carl Junction, Mo., going into Oklahoma’s inaugural POWRi Lucas Oil West Series events Friday (May 25) and Saturday (May 26) at I-44 Speedway.
It’s the fifth event of the season for POWRi West, launched this year. The back-to-back events on the one-sixth mile clay oval in Oklahoma City will be the first not run in conjunction with the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series.
Bell leads Felker, 480-440, with Tyler Thomas of Collinsville, Okla., third at 410 and Chett Gehrke of Broken Arrow, Okla. Matt Sherrell of Owasso, Okla., is sixth with 215.
The 17-year-old Bell has finished second at Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Mo., fourth at Valley Speedway in Grain Valley, Mo., and 10th and 22nd at Cowtown Speedway in Kennedale, Texas in the four POWRi features.
Felker was sixth and 23rd at Cowtown and seventh at Lucas Oil and Valley. The 19-year-old won the features in the POWRi National Midgets and POWRi Speedway Motors 600cc Outlaw Micro Series last Saturday (May 19) at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway. It was the first time a driver won both features at the same event.
Thomas, 16, finished second and 22nd at Cowtown, third at Valley and 18th at Lucas Oil. His victory at West Plains (Mo.) Motor Speedway last season made him, at 15, the youngest driver to win a POWRi National Midget feature.
Gehrke finished second at Valley, 13th at Lucas Oil and 13th and 16th at Cowtown.
Sherrell was sixth at Valley, 17th at Cowtown and 19th at Lucas Oil.
Jonathan Beason of Broken Arrow, Okla., is also expected to enter I-44. He was eighth and 12th at Cowtown.
POWRi Lucas Oil West Midget Series 2012 race winners: Kennedale, Texas—Brady Bacon; Kennedale, Texas—Dave Darland; Grain Valley, Mo.—Brett Anderson; Wheatland, Mo.—Jake Blackhurst.
POWRi Lucas Oil West Midget Series top-10 points standings (after four of 14 events): 1. Chris Bell 480, 2. Andrew Felker 440, 3. Tyler Thomas 410, 4. Chett Gehrke 400, 5. Garrett Aitken 355, 6. Matt Sherrell 215, 7. Darren Kingston 65, 8. Cody Ledger 50, 9. Brunson Behring 35, 10. Cameron Hagin 25.
For more information on POWRi Racing, go to www.POWRi.com.