By Pete Walton
Atlanta, GA – April 4, 2016 – The United Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters (www.uscsracing.com) returns to the red dirt 4/10 mile racing surface at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, North Carolina for a full night of racing action on Friday, April 8th during the 8th annual USCS “Thunder in Carolina” Sprint Car Nationals Round #1. The USCS is celebrating its 20th season of competition.
The Friday night event at one of the series drivers’ favorite ovals promises to be loaded with an action-packed sprint car racing program with some of the country’s top ranked drivers racing for pride and glory in the 8th annual sprint car challenge event at Carolina Speedway. Friday night’s racing action features a full program of USCS winged outlaw style sprint car racing plus racing in five of Carolina Speedway’s most popular weekly racing divisions. Additionally the action packed racing card features the speedway’s new SECA (open wheel) Modifieds, Street Stock, MMSA (Monster Mini Stock Assoc.) Four Cylinder and Renegade divisions will join the USCS sprint car division with special events of their own.
The USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour winged sprint cars will contest a full racing program including their Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, Qualifying Heat races and Main Events. All other divisions will also contest a full program of qualifying races and main events as well.
The Carolina Speedway event is expected to bring top winged outlaw sprint car drivers from at least seven states to the track from as far away as places like Canada, Florida and Mississippi. 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 17-inch wide Hoosier rear race tires.
Those include Eric Riggins, Jr. From Charlotte, North Carolina who won last season’s version of this event on April 10, 2015 and Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina who has numerous Carolina Speedway wins including the 2014 Carolina Thunder Nationals in Apri, 2014. The Fall 2015 visit of the USCS to the “Action Track” was won by Iowa’s Terry McCarl.
Other local and metro area Charlotte, North Carolina sprint car drivers expected to enter for the USCS Carolina Thunder Nationals include USCS 2014 Rookie of the Year, Brandon McLain from Indian Trail, North Carolina. Also expected are previous Carolina Racesaver Sprint Car Series Champions, Jake McLain also from Indian Trail, North Carolina and Johnny Petrozelle from Lexington, North Carolina. Greg Smyre from, Hickory and Tim Perry from Mooresville, North Carolina are also on the pre-entry list.
Other entries include sprint car veterans Brian Thomas from Pendergrass, Georgia , Joe Larkin from Suwannee, Georgia and Bob Auld from Largo, Florida. The 2012 USCS Rookie of the Year, Jeff Willingham from Ripley, Mississippi is entered as well, Also entered are USCS 2015 Rookie of the Year and 2016 tyro contenders, Danny Sams III from Englewood, Florida and Brandon Taylor from Cumming, Georgia.
Additionally driver s that hail from Jacksonville , Florida that are pre-entries include ; Terry Witherspoon, J.D McClary, Tanner Witherspooon, Shawn Murray and Darren Orth.
Mitch Brown who was the 2015 Southern Ontario Sprints Champion from Ontario, Canada and talented Ohio sprint car hot-show Phil Gressman from Clyde, Ohio are two other potent pre-entries for this event
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Carolina Speedway is located at 6355 Union Rd., Gastonia, NC 28054. The race track phone number is: (704) 869-0313. The track’s website is www.carolinaspeedway.net For USCS information, please visit the USCS web site at www.uscsracing.com or call the USCS presented by K&N Filters at 770-865-6097.