By Pete Walton
Atlanta, GA – July 19, 2010 – The United Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear www.uscsracing.com continues action in the 2010 Southern Thunder Tour portion of its schedule on Saturday July 24th with the USCS “South Carolina Sprint Car Nationals” event at the I-77 Speedway in Chester, South Carolina. The event is loaded with action-packed racing featuring a full program of winged outlaw style sprint car racing plus racing in six of I-77 Speedway’s regular racing divisions. Saturday night’s USCS winged sprint car race will award USCS Southern Thunder presented by Goodyear Championship points and additionally award USCS “Outlaw Thunder” Tour National Championship points.
The USCS Southern Thunder Tour presented by Goodyear regional series includes races scheduled in North and South Carolina plus Georgia and East Tennessee. All of those events will award points toward the series’ 14th National Championship. This weekend’s dirt track event will bring a number of drivers seeking the United Sprint Car Series “Outlaw Thunder” presented by Goodyear National and regional Championships roaring into the fast 4/10-mile Carolina red clay oval. The USCS drivers will also race on paved ovals approximately ten times during the 40+-race 2010 season. The USCS is the only winged outlaw sprint series in the World that races on both dirt and pavement.
The I-77 Speedway event is expected to bring top winged outlaw sprint car drivers from at least six states to the track from as far away as Florida and West Tennessee . The exotic fire breathing, alcohol burning, 700 horsepower open-wheeled USCS sprint cars weight just 1,300 pounds, and are pound for pound the World’s most powerful short track race cars. The cars will literally fly around the track surface at speeds over 130 M.P.H. It is not uncommon to see the USCS sprint cars popping “wheelies” or doing wheel stands because of the brute force of their engines and their huge 18-inch wide Goodyear Eagle rear tires.
Saturday night’s Outlaw sprint car action will feature a full program of sprint car racing that includes test and tune hot laps. The evening’s first sprint car race will be the Goodyear Speed Dash that will showcase the top six cars from the previous event in an edge-of-your-seat six-lap shootout. Next up will be the qualifying heat races that determine the starting positions before the 30-lap “Thunder at I-77” finale. In between the sprint car racing elements, the speedway’s regular racing divisions are sure to keep the action rolling on Saturday night’s racing card.
Eight-time and defending USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee, who was ranked in the top ten drivers in the Nation, by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame pollsters at the end of the 2009 season heads the entry list for the event. Gray, who is also among the top twenty-five drivers in the Nation in feature wins over the past five years with over eighty-five feature wins, is entered. Gray was the winner of Four out of five USCS main events during the last two seasons at nearby Carolina Spedway. Gray currently leads the USCS National and Southern Thunder regional series point standings.
Other notable entries include: The 1998 USCS Rookie of the Year and 2004 USCS/AOAS Champion Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina won the June 18th USCS event at Carolina Speedway. Bridges will be driving one of only two rare Ford powered sprint cars. Bridges will be piloting the Biobased USA (Farm Products) Roush-Yates J&J Auto Racing familiar #07s car owned by Sue Ellen Wilshe. Eighteen year-old young gun Nick Bashford from China Grove, North Carolina will be piloting the other Roush Yates Ford powered entry.
Seventeen-year old female sprint car hot-shoe and current USCS rookie point’s leader, Morgan Turpen from Bartlett, Tennessee leads a strong contingent of talented young drivers into I-77 Speedway. Turpen has been very impressive thus far in 2010. She is in second place in both the USCS National and in the USCS Southern Thunder regional series point standings behind the defending Champion Terry Gray.
Additional out of state entries expected are: The May 15, 2010 Lavonia (GA) Speedway USCS Feature winner, Matt Linder from Hoschton, Georgia. Linder and USCS sprint car veterans, Brian Thomas from Pendergrass, Georgia, Joe Larkin from Suwannee, Georgia and David Thorman from Greenville, South Carolina. Three potent entries from the state of Florida are entered. Those will be multi-time Eastbay Raceway track Champions, Sport Allen from Pinellas Park, Florida and rookie A.J. Maddox from Tampa, Florida. Another expected Florida entry is talented young-gun, Matt Kurtz from Jacksonville, Florida.
In addition to Turpen, the young gun’s entry list includes: last week’s feature winner at Dixie Speedway, Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas who is again expected to be in the Hancock #1A. The 2008 USCS Southern Thunder Rookie of the Year, Jake McLain from Indian Trail, North Carolina and his brother Brandon McLain from the same hometown. Additional young drivers include 2010 Rookie of the Year candidate, fifteen year-old Eric Riggins from Charlotte, North Carolina and twenty one year-old, 2009 USCS Southern Thunder Rookie of the Year Brandon Rekow from Mooresville, North Carolina.
To give the event some International flavor, former road-racer and European stock car star, twenty-three year-old Adam Jackson from Birmingham, England, who presently resides in Timmonsville, South Carolina is entered. Jackson was named as the 2008 the USCS Asphalt Thunder Tour rookie of the Year
Other expected North Carolina entries include: Coby Adams and Justin Lineman from Mooresville, Brian Carter from Concord and Tim Perry from China Grove, North Carolina is also expected. In addition, Clarke Brothers Motorsports team-mates Darren Clarke, David Clarke and Tracey Jorgenson from Huntersville, North Carolina are also entered. Troy Severin and Ryan Price, both from Ashland, Virginia are expected as well.
I-77 Speedway is That’s just ½ mile off I-77 at South Carolina Exit 65, then west toward to 2657 Lancaster Highway, Chester, SC 29706. The race track is on the right. The track’s information phone number is: 803-789-7223. The track’s website is www.mosleyi77speedway.com For USCS info visit the USCS web site at www.uscsracing.com or call 770-460-7223.
Pre-entry entry list for I-77 Speedway on Saturday 7.24.10
1.. 1a – Derek Hagar, Marion, AR
2.. 1x – Matt Linder, Hoschton, GA
3.. 5 – David Thorman, Greenville, SC
4.. 6c – Brian Carter, Concord, NC
5.. 07s – Johnny Bridges, Cherryville, NC
6.. 10 – Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN – 8 time – USCS National Champion
7.. 11 – Troy Severin, Ashland, VA
8.. 12 – Tracey Jorgenson, Huntersville, NC
9.. 20 – Darren Clarke, Huntersville, NC
10.. 21b – Brandon McLain, Indian Trail, NC
11.. 21c – David Clarke, Huntersville, NC
12.. 24 – Nick Bashford, China Grove, NC
13.. 28 – Justin lineman, Mooresville, NC
14.. 29 – Coby Adams, Mooresville, NC
15.. 33 – Joe Larkin, Suwannee, GA
16.. 36 – Tim Perry, China Groove, NC
17.. 46 – Adam Jackson, Birmingham, ENG.
18.. 47 – Eric Riggins, Jr., Charlotte, NC
19.. 67m – Jake McLain, Indian Trail, NC
20.. 67t – Brian Thomas, Pendergrass, GA
21.. 69 – Brandon Rekow, Mooresville, NC
22.. 80 – Morgan Turpen, Bartlett, TN – Rookie points leader
23.. 81 – A.J. Maddox, Tampa, FL
24.. 82 – Sport Allen, Tampa, FL
25.. 92 – Matt Kurtz, Jacksonville, FL
26.. 880 – Ryan Price, Ashland, VA