By Pete Walton
Maryville, TN – May 3, 2014 – The Bartlett, Tennessee native and 2008 United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters Rookie of the Year, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee also nicknamed “The Shark”, stormed by early race leader and eight-time World of Outlaws feature winner and Midwest veteran racer, Danny Smith from Chillicothe, Ohio on Lap 3 of Saturday night’s 30-lap USCS main event and took command of the race from there, driving away to his first win of the 2014 season despite a late-race caution with five laps to go. It was Nicholson’s career fourth USCDS feature win.
“Man, this means a lot,” Nicholson said in www.rockauto.com USCS Victory Lane after the race. “We had an awesome race car tonight, and once we got by Danny there right before the caution, we were cooking. The car was so good out front that I could work through traffic well. What an awesome night.”
Danny Smith survived a ten lap duel with ten-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray, also out of Bartlett, Tennessee, just past halfway to claim the runner-up spot after finishing fourth in Friday night’s main event. Gray completed the podium in third place and notched the K&N Filters Podium Award.
Cordova, Tennessee’s Morgan Turpen, the only female racer in Saturday night’s field, charged from a 12th place starting position to finish fourth in the main event after her car was nearly destroyed in an opening lap crash on Friday night at the 411 Motor Speedway. Lance Moss, out of Cherryville, North Carolina who was in the same crash, completed the top five drivers at the finish.
The “Carolina Kid”, Eric Riggins Jr. (Charlotte, NC), charged from the back of the field to finish sixth after having a flat tire on lap 3 of the feature. Indian Trail, North Carolina’s Brandon McLain raced home in seventh, with veteran USCS Mid-South region competitor Greg Merritt from Nesbit, MS coming home in eighth. K&N Filter’s Pole Award winner Terry Witherspoon, from Jacksonville, Florida, finished ninth and Largo, Florida veteran driver Bob Auld rounded out the top ten finishers.
The feature was slowed early by a handful of caution periods, with Terry Witherspoon losing the lead to Danny Smith on lap 2 before looping the car in Turn 4 and stalling at the base of the corner. On the ensuing restart, Nicholson surged into the lead on the high side of Turn 2 before the caution flew for Riggins’ stopped his car on the front straightaway. Riggins’ flat tire came while the Charlotte native was running fifth.
Once Riggins’ car was re-fired after a tire change, the field formed up again and the race’s most serious accident occurred on the backstretch when Morgan Turpen and the #1 of Freddie McCall Jr. made slight contact which sent McCall flipping violently down the backstretch and into the entrance of Turn 3. The force of the crash dislodged the motor from the car, but McCall climbed out of the car under his own power with no injury.
From there, Nicholson blasted away from the field and was unchallenged the rest of the night despite the late-race caution for the stalled car of Shawn Murray in Turn 4.
Danny Smith kicked off the evening’s action by winning the six car, six-lap Hoosier Speed Dash. Anthony place the Nicholson then came from sixth to win the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat, while Terry Gray took the checkered flag in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat. After first heat winner Anthony Nicholson pulled a four in the inversion draw, Terry Witherspoon grabbed the K&N Filters Pole Position. Morgan Turpen advanced the most positions (eight) in the A-Main to earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award.
The next event for the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour is the kickoff for the 9th Annual USCS Sprint Speedweek at Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday, May 24th. The event will be the first of a string of six races in eight days for the cars and stars of the USCS as they hunt for the championship trophy and a $1,000 top prize for winning the 2014 USCS Sprint Speedweek points championship.
For rules, schedules and more information on the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour, please visit www.uscsracing.com or call 770-460-7223 or 770-865-6097.
RESULTS: ]USCS Outlaw Thunder presented by K&N Filters at Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday, May , 2014:
Hoosier Speed Dash: Danny Smith, Anthony Nicholson, Terry Gray, Johnny Bridges, Brandon McLain, Bob Auld.
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Anthony Nicholson, Terry Witherspoon, Lance Moss, Shawn Murray, Johnny Bridges, Nicholas Snyder, Aubrey Black, Lukas Smith, Don Smith, Don Ryder
Butlerbuilt Second Heat: Terry Gray, Brandon McLain, Greg Merritt, Danny Smith, Morgan Turpen, Eric Riggins Jr., Bob Auld, Freddie McCall Jr., Jeff Willingham, Joe Larkin (DNS)
United Sprint Car Series “Thunder in the Smokies” at Smoky Mountain Speedway Main Event: 30-laps
- #16 – Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN
- #4 – Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH
- #10 – Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN
- #10M – Morgan Turpen, Cordova, TN
- #23 – Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC
- #47 – Eric Riggins Jr., Charlotte, NC
- #21B – Brandon McLain, Indian Trail, NC
- #12M – Greg Merritt, Nesbit, MS
- #43 – Terry Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL
- #83 – Bob Auld, Largo, FL
- #21 – Aubrey Black, Lookout Mountain, GA
- #26 – Lukas Smith, Lebanon, IN
- #28 – Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS
- #61 – Don Smith, Lebanon, IN
- #22 – Shawn Murray, Jacksonville, FL
- #15 – Nicholas Snyder, Marco Island, FL
- #33 – Johnny Bridges, Cherryville, NC
- #1 – Freddie McCall Jr., Brewton, AL
- #12B – Don Ryder, Knoxville, TN (DNS)
- #07 – Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (DNS)
USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters Race Awards:
USCS Sprint Hoosier Speed Dash: #4 – Danny Smith
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: #16 – Anthony Nicholson
Butlerbuilt Second Heat Award: #10 – Terry Gray
K&N Filters Pole Award: #43 – Terry Witherspoon
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: #10M – Morgan Turpen (4th place)
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: #10 – Terry Gray
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: #10M – Morgan Turpen
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: #23 – Lance Moss
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: #47 – Eric Riggins Jr.
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: #21B – Brandon McLain
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: #83 – Bob Auld
The United Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters would like to gratefully thank its sponsoring partners for their involvement in the 2014 and 18th anniversary USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour: K&N Filters, www.rockauto.com, Engler Machine and Tool, Butlerbuilt, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Saldana Racing Products, Pyrotect Racing Cells, DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends. KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, DSR Fuel Systems, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions and Safety-Kleen.