From Pete Walton
Meridian, MS — (July 9, 2016) — Derek Hagar of Marion, AR found the “House of Hook” to his liking as he captured his sixth United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters win of the season on Saturday night at Whynot Motorsports Park. Hagar has been red hot in USCS action, as he has three wins and two second-place finishes in his last five starts. It was Hagar’s 41st trip to the www.rockauto.com USCS Victory Lane in a USCS career that goes back to his 2006 USCS Rookie of the Year season.
As a part of their 20th Anniversary Tour, the USCS Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars made their first visit since 1998 to Whynot Motorsports Park a memorable one by turning the fastest lap times ever seen at the Action Track of the South. The Whynot Motorsports Park race could very well be remembered as a turning point in the 2016 USCS National Championship battle.
The wire-to-wire win by Hagar in the 30-lap main event moved him into contention for the 2016 USCS National Championship. Hagar is now third in the points chase behind the defending USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen of Cordova, TN and 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN. Hagar also leads the USCS Mid-South Region point standings.
A second-place finish by Gray moved him to within two points of his teammate Morgan Turpen in his quest for a 12th USCS National Championship. Turpen ran in the top three early in the race, but her car suffered from fuel system trouble, and she ended up finishing 11th.
Former USCS National Champion Marshall Skinner of Marion, AR took the third spot and 2013 USCS Rookie of the Year, Curt Terrell from Bartlett, TN was fourth. Lee Moore of Tuscaloosa, AL finished fifth and Tristan Lee of Biloxi, MS came home in the sixth spot.
Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS took the seventh spot, Danny Sams III of Englewood, FL finished eighth and Joe Larkin of Suwanee, GA started 14th and finished ninth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Cody Kahl of Gulfport, MS rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary race action, Skinner won the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, In the eight-lap heat race action, Hagar won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race and Gray won the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat.
Hagar took the lead at the start of the 30-lap main event after earning the K&N Filters Pole Award followed by Gray, Turpen, Moore, and Skinner. Skinner and Terrell got by Moore on lap three to take over the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
The race leader was setting a fast pace around Whynot Motorsports Park, as Hagar caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap on lap four. The first of three caution flags came out on lap eight when Don Warren of Oak Grove, KY spun in turn three. Hagar led Gray, Turpen, Skinner, Terrell, Moore, Willingham, Lee, Sams, and Larkin down for the restart.
Skinner was able to pass Turpen for the third spot on the ninth lap, and Turpen began to slow on the race track. Turpen’s car stalled in turn four on lap ten to bring out the second caution flag. Turpen restarted and took the green flag in ninth as the last car on the lead lap
Hagar once again pulled away from Gray on the restart followed by Skinner, Terrell, Moore, Lee, Willingham, Sams and Turpen. Lap 10 saw Turpen get by Sams to move up to the eighth spot, and she passed Willingham for seventh on lap 11. Turpen moved up to the sixth spot on lap 14 by passing Lee.
The race pace was slowed for the third and final time on lap 22 when Warren spun for a second time in the event, this time in turn two. Hagar lined up as the leader for the restart followed by Gray, Skinner, Terrell, Moore, Turpen, and Lee on the lead lap. Turpen’s engine began to stumble on the restart, and she gave up the sixth spot to Lee.
Turpen dropped out of the race on lap 24, and ended up finishing 11th. Hagar went on to post the win, while Gray’s second-place effort and Turpen’s misfortune moved him to within two points of the lead in the championship battle. Turpen, looking for her second straight National title has 2,627 points, and Gray has 2,625 points.
Hagar’s win put him on the National Championship horizon, as he moved up to third behind the two teammates Turpen and Gray with 2,035 points. Hagar is also the USCS Mid-South Region point leader with 1,880 points. Skinner is second in the USCS Mid-South Region standings with 1,764 points and Gray is third with 1,738 points.
The next two events on the 2016 schedule for the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour will be a Georgia double racing weekend. The action begins on Friday night, July 15 at Lavonia Speedway in Lavonia, GA, and the finale will be on Saturday night, July 16 at Dixie Speedway in Woodstock, GA.
For rules and updated schedule information about the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour, please visit www.uscsracing.com or call the series office at 770-460-7223 or 770-865-6097. You can also like the United Sprint Car Series Facebook page at USCS Racing.
FEATURE RACE – 30 LAPS:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 1 9jr Derek Hagar Marion, AR
2. 2 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
3. 6 26 Marshall Skinner Marion, AR
4. 5 27 Curt Terrell Bartlett, TN
5. 3 1a Lee Moore Tuscaloosa, AL
6. 8 00 Tristan Lee Biloxi, MS
7. 7 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, MS
8. 9 24d Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
9. 14 33 Joe Larkin Suwanee, GA
10. 13 20 Cody Kahl Gulfport, MS
11. 4 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
12. 10 99 Dan Warren Oak Grove, KY
13. 11 12m Greg Merritt Nesbit, MS
14. 12 25 Ray Bugg Iuka, MS