Atlanta, GA – May 16, 2012 – The United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by Goodyear www.uscsracing.com kicks off its USCS Sprint Speed Week 2012 mini-series at historic Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas on Saturday, May 26th at 7:30pm. The race is entitled as the 7th Annual “Rumble at the River” at the 1/4-mile high-banked gumbo clay oval.
The race will be the opening round of a six race over eight day mini-series at tracks located in a close proximity to one another in the Mid-South area. This event is also set to be race number eight on the season for the Nationally touring USCS sprint car drivers. The Riverside International Speedway event is expected to draw a large field of winged sprint car drivers with drivers from eight states pre-entered from as far away as Arizona, North Carolina and Texas.
An action packed program awaits fans as the USCS presented by Goodyear sprint car racing format will include test and tune hot laps followed by the evening’s first sprint car race, the Goodyear Speed Dash that showcases the top six cars from the previous USCS main event in an edge-of-your-seat six-car shootout. Next up will be qualifying heat races followed by Last Chance/B-Main race(s). The evening’s grand finale will be the 7th Annual 30-lap USCS “Rumble at the River” winged sprint car A-main event.
The race will award USCS presented by Goodyear National Championship points as well as USCS Mid-South Thunder regional series Championship points. The USCS Mid-South Thunder regional series primarily consists of races in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and West Tennessee.
Just a few of the noted drivers who are entered include ten-time and defending USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee, the 2008 USCS Mid South Thunder Tour regional series Champion and current National points leader, Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas. Both driver have won one of the seven main events contested in 2012. There have been seven different winners in those seven main events. Terry Gray won at Batesville Motor Speedway on March 30th. Crawley who has won thirty times over the last past four seasons in USCS competition got his first USCS win of the season at Toccoa Speedway (GA) on April14th..
Additional expected entries include: Three other 2012 feature winners. Those are 2011 USCS Rookie of the Year, Jordon Mallett from Greenbrier, Arkansas who won at Carolina Speedway on April 13th and 2006 USCS Rookie of the Year, Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas who won at Smoky Mountain Speedway (TN) on May 4th. The 2010 USCS Mid South Thunder regional series Rookie of the Year, Jerod Roller from Hernando, Mississippi who is the most recent driver to reach the USCS www.RockAuto.com victory lane with a win at 411 Motor Speedway (TN) on May 5th is also entered.
Other entries who are in the top ten of the United Sprint Car Series National point standings are Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee who has used consistent top five and top ten finishes to find himself currently in the runner-up position of the standings. 2010 USCS Rookie of the Year Morgan Turpen from Oakland, Tennessee who is the only woman entered ranks fourth in the National standings. Turpen hasn’t won yet this season but had two USCS wins in 2011. Jordon Mallett is fifth in those standings.
The 2009 USCS Rookie of the Year, Justin Carver from Drummonds, Tennessee ranks sixth. The 2010 USCS Southern Thunder regional series Rookie of the Year and two-time 2011 feature winner Eric Riggins, Jr. from is seventh in the standings. Derek Hagar ranks eighth in the current standings and will be looking for his seventh career USCS win at Riverside. Jerod Roller rounds out the top ten in the National standings and will be trying to go two-in-a-row on May 26th.
Also on the Memorial Day weekend holiday racing program are several of Riverside’s weekly Saturday night racing divisions including the Limited Late Models, Riverside Stock Cars, Open Wheel Modifieds and the popular 305 Winged Sprint Cars.
For more information on Riverside International Speedway visit www.riversideinternationalspeedway.com The office number is 901-840-1970 and the race day phone number is 870-735-8071. For more information on the USCS Speed Week 2012 including the full schedule of six races over eight days please visit www.uscsracing.com . Call the USCS Office at 770-460-7223.