By Pete Walton
Columbus, MS – April 2, 2011 – Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas chased
Cordova, Tennessee’s Brian Bell for fifteen laps before racing into the lead
on lap sixteen of the 30-lap United Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear
(www.uscsracing.com) Spring Xplosion. Crawley drove the Ward Racing #88 into
the www.rockauto.com USCS victory lane for the first time during the 2011
season. It was Crawley’s thirty-ninth career USCS presented by Goodyear win
before an impressive crowd at the historic 3/8 mile red clay oval.
When the green flag unfurled for the initial start, Bell who started in the
K&N Filters Pole Position after high points earner Derek Hagar from Marion,
Arkansas drew a four inversion, raced into the lead with Crawley in tow.
Bell held the lead through three caution periods. After a re-start on lap
fifteen Crawley got enough momentum to surge past the young driver and into
the lead on the sixteenth circuit. Bell chased Crawley for the win until lap
twenty-eight when 2006 USCS Rookie of the Year, Derek Hagar slipped past
Bell in lapped traffic for the runner-up spot. Bell held off a hard charging
Jerrod Hull from Sikeston, Missouri for the final podium spot in third
place. Hull, who started the A-Main in sixteenth position after flipping his
car in the heat race finished fourth. The defending series Champion, Terry
Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee who brought the first caution of the race when
he spun on lap eight rallied for a fifth place finish.
The 2009 USCS Rookie of the Year, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee
came home in the sixth position followed by 2010 USCS Southern Thunder
regional series Rookie of the Year, Eric Riggins from Charlotte, North
Carolina in seventh place. 2011 Rookie of the Year candidate, Jordan ‘The
Jet” Mallett from Greenbriar, Arkansas started fourteenth and finished in
the eighth spot. The 2010 USCS Mid South Thunder regional series Rookie of
the Year, Jerod Roller finished ninth and Lee Sowell from Nesbit,
Mississippi rounded out the top ten. Sowell challenged Crawley and Bell
early in the race before losing ground with a stop for a flat tire, sending
him to the rear of the field on lap ten.
Derek Hagar won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Lee Sowell from
Nesbit, Mississippi charged from third to first in the Butlerbuilt Second
Heat and Tim Crawley won the Wilwood Engineering Third Heat. Brian Bell was
awarded the K&N Filters Pole Position after high-point earner Derek Hagar
from Marion, Arkansas drew a four in the K&N Pole Award drawing. Jerrod Hull
was rewarded for his efforts with the Wilwood Hard Charger Award for the
driver who advances the most positions in the main event. Hull pasted twelve
cars to finish fourth after a sixteenth place start.
The next USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour events are on Friday, April 15th at
Carolina Speedway (www.carolinaspeedway.net) in Gastonia, North Carolina and
at Travelers Rest Speedway (www.trspeedway.info ) in Travelers Rest, South
Carolina on the following night (April 16th).
The next Mid-South Thunder Tour presented by Goodyear is a middle Tennessee
double header on Friday, May 13th at Tennessee National
Raceway(www.racetn.com) in Hohenwald, Tennessee and at Thunderhill Raceway
(www.thunderhillracing.com) in Summertown, Tennessee on Saturday, May 14th.
For information on these and other USCS Outlaw Thunder events please call
770-460-7223 or visit www.uscsracing.com
United Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear results – Columbus Speedway
USCS Mid South Thunder – Saturday, April 2, 2011.
Goodyear Speed Dash: winner = Terry Gray, Eric Riggins, Brian Bell, Jerod
Hull, Morgan Turpen and Anthony Nicholson.
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: winner = Derek Hagar, Brian Bell, Todd
Fayard, Jim Perricone, David Clark, Jerrod Hull and Ryan Moore.
Butlerbuilt Second Heat: winner = Lee Sowell, Anthony Nicholson, Morgan
Turpen, Jordan Mallett, Eric Riggins and Darren Clark.
Wilwood Eng. Third Heat: winner = Tim Crawley, Matt Linder, Jerod Roller,
Terry Gray, Aubrey Black and Lance Moss.
Feature 30 laps:
1 – 88 Tim Crawley, Benton, AR
2 – 94 Derek Hagar, Marion, AR
3 – 23 Brian Bell, Cordova, TN
4 – 12 Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO
5 – 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN
6 – 16 Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN
7 – 47 Eric Riggins, Charlotte, NC
8 – 14 Jordan Mallett (R) Greenbriar, AR
9 – 5 Jerod Roller, Olive Branch, MS
10 – 51 Lee Sowell, Nesbit, MS
11 – 13 Todd Fayard, Gulfport, MS
12 – 80 Morgan Turpen, Oakland, TN
13 – 10P Jim Perricone, San Antonio, TX
14 – 1x Matt Linder, Hoschton, GA
15 – 21c David Clark, Huntersville, NC
16 – 23R Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC
17 – 20 Darren Clark, Huntersville, NC
18 – 21B Aubrey Black, Lookout Mtn., GA
19 – 38R Ryan Moore, Moss Point, MS
USCS Sprint Car Race Awards:
Goodyear Speed Dash winner: Terry Gray www.racegoodyear.com
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Award: Derek Hagar
www.englermachine.com
Butlerbuilt Second Heat Award: Lee Sowell www.butlerbuilt.net
K&N Filters Pole Award: Brian Bell www.knfilters.com
Wilwood Eng. Hard Charger Award: Jerrod Hull (started 16th finished 4th)
www.wildwood.com
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: Derek Hagar (2nd place) www.jepistons.com
K&N Filters Podium Award: Brian Bell (3rd place) www.knfilters.com
Keizer Wheels Top Five Award: Terry Gray
www.keizerwheels.com
Diversified Machine Inc: Top Ten Award
www.diversifiedracing.com