MEEKER, Okla. — Third place with just a couple of laps to go?
No problem for Tanner Conn in Saturday’s season-opening 30-lap Oil Capital Racing Series feature event that headlined Red Dirt Raceway’s Sixth Annual Spring Nationals.
Conn battled past Danny Smith for second on the 28th round and then surprised race-long leader Steven Shebester in the final corner to snare his fifth career OCRS feature win.
The Oklahoma City shoe sat third on the race’s final restart with five laps to go behind Shebester and Smith after working his way past Danny Wood. And then heroics ensued from the driver of the Seabass Racing/Kramer Farms No. 78 Sprint Car.
“I really thought we were just gonna run one-two-three-four the way we had been,” Conn commented afterward.
After starting fourth, Conn had his work cut out for him as he trailed pole starter Shebester, Smith and Wood in the early going after Shebester outdueled Danny Smith on the opening lap to take early command.
Shebester kept Smith at bay as he weathered a pair of cautions along the way and two red flags after 12 and 17 laps for flips by Wisconsin’s Owen Carlson in turn four and then Nebraska’s Joey Danley in turn two.
Conn made his way past Wood for third by the time a final caution flew for Landon Thompson’s turn four spin with a handful of laps remaining and then pounced on Smith for second when the Same Day Auto driver slipped exiting turn two after a challenge for the point.
Conn wasted little time closing in on Shebester to set up what proved to be the race-winning move in turn four with the checkered flag in sight.
Shebester settled for runner-up honors after leading the way for all but one corner with Smith rounding out the podium in third. Wood crossed the stripe in fourth with Johnny Kent rallying from 14th to round out the top five.
The Finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 78-Tanner Conn[4]; 2. 16S-Steven Shebester[1]; 3. 5$-Danny Smith[2]; 4. 55W-Danny Wood[3]; 5. 55-Johnny Kent[14]; 6. 2-Whit Gastineau[8]; 7. 88-Terry Easum[13]; 8. 10-Trevor Serbus[6]; 9. 03-Joe Wood Jr[12]; 10. 79-Gage Montgomery[18]; 11. 22M-Rees Moran[19]; 12. 938-Bradley Fezard[7]; 13. 22C-Alex DeCamp[11]; 14. 7-Shane Sundquist[20]; 15. 5-Joe Bob Lee[15]; 16. (DNF) 7T-Landon Thompson[17]; 17. (DNF) 8-Alex Sewell[5]; 18. (DNF) 14-Joey Danley[16]; 19. (DNF) 07-Owen Carlson[9]; 20. (DNF) 50Z-Zach Chappell[10]