HEADLINES RACING NIGHT (6/14/14)
Atlanta, GA – June 7, 2014 – Wild and exciting winged outlaw sprint car racing headlines the racing program at East Alabama Motor Speedway on Saturday June 14th. The K&N Filters sponsored United Sprint Car Series “Outlaw Thunder” Tour www.uscsracing.com winged sprint cars roar into the fast 4/10-mile high-banked clay oval for the 17th Annual “Alabama Outlaw Sprint Car Nationals”, a yearly tradition at the World famous speedway. This event is race number fourteen on the 18th Anniversary schedule for the Nationally touring USCS sprint car drivers.
This event will be the one and only visit scheduled during the 2014 season for the USCS winged sprint cars to East Alabama Motor Speedway. This race will award National points as well as points in the USCS Southern Thunder regional series Championship to the drivers. The race is also a bonus point’s opportunity for drivers competing in the USCS Mid South Thunder regional series standings. The USCS Southern Thunder regional series consists of races in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Eastern Tennessee and both Carolinas. The Mid-South region contests events in Western Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and West Tennessee.
This special event is expected to bring top winged outlaw sprint car drivers from at least six states to the track. The exotic fire breathing, alcohol burning, 700 horsepower open wheel 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 racing tires.
Saturday night’s USCS presented by K&N Filters Outlaw Thunder Tour winged sprint car program will feature a full program of racing in the USCS Outlaw Thunder sprint cars that includes test and tune hot laps followed by the Hoosier Speed Dash that showcases the top six cars from the previous USCS main event in an edge-of-your-seat six-lap shootout followed by qualifying heat races and a Last Chance/B-Main race. The evening’s grand finale will be the 30-lap 7th annual Randy Helton Memorial Race A-main event. The Limited Late Models and three other EAMS weekly racing divisions will join two winged sprint cars on the action-packed racing program. The additional racing divisions on the card include the Hobby, Bombers and Road Warriors plus the popular www.rockauto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series winged mini sprints with a full program of racing action in each division.
Ten-time USCS National Champion and the current National point’s leader, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee heads the entry list for the East Alabama Motor Speedway USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour event. Gray is among the top twenty-five drivers in the Nation in feature wins over the past 7 years with over 60 feature wins.
Additionally entered is the 2011 USCS Sprint Car Nationals and Randy Helton Memorial Race champion, Morgan Turpen from Cordova, Tennessee. Turpen, who is only the second woman to ever reach the www.rockauto.com USCS victory lane in the eighteen year history of USCS competition, was the runner-up for the USCS National Championship in the 2010 and 2011 title chases and is currently in second place in the 2014 USCS National standings. Turpen has fond memories of the high-speed 4/10 mile East Alabama Motor Speedway oval, where she captured her career first USCS feature win during that 2011 Randy Helton Memorial Race event. She is the Nation’s top-ranked female sprint car driver and is a five-time USCS feature winner
Turpen is expected to be joined by another talented young driver who is entered. That is nineteen-year-old 2010 USCS Southern Thunder regional series Rookie of the Year and another five-time USCS feature winner, Eric Riggins, Jr. from Charlotte, North Carolina. Also on the entry list with hopes to be the 2014 Randy Helton Memorial Race Champion are several notable USCS entries including: The 2012 USCS Rookie of the Year, Jeff Willingham from Ripley. Mississippi and 1998 USCS Rookie of the Year Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina. Bridges who has two USCS feature winners already in 2014, was also a 2004 USCS regional series Champion. Bridges who is always a threat to win, will bring his rare (to sprint car racing) Ford powered car to East Alabama.
Expected entries include veteran drivers Lance Moss from Cherryville, North Carolina who won on April 12th at Lancaster Motor Speedway (SC) plus Brandon McLain from Indian Trail, North Carolina. Both drivers rank in the top five of the Southern Thunder regional series standings. Veterans David Thorman from Greenville, South Carolina and Georgia driver entries include: Joe Larkin from Suwannee, Brian Thomas from Pendergrass and Late Model veteran, but, sprint car rookie Jay Dunham, from Grovetown, Georgia are all entered.
Also expected are 20 12 Randy Helton Memorial Race Champion and 2000 USCS Rookie of the Year, Michael Miller from Ocean Springs, Mississippi plus sprint car veterans Bob Auld from Largo, Florida and Terry Witherspoon from Jacksonville, Florida. Rookie sprint car racer, Kyle Amerson from Matthews, Alabama and the 2007 Southern Thunder regional series USCS Rookie of the Year, Lee Moore from Tuscaloosa and US Army soldier Clint Weiss from Seale, Alabama are expected to represent “Alabama the Beautiful”.
East Alabama Motor Speedway is located just six miles West of Phenix City, Alabama 4238 US Highway 80 West. The track’s phone number is 334-297-2594 and the website is www.eamsdirt.com For USCS rules and info, please visit the Official USCS web site at www.uscsracing.com or call 770-865-6097.