HAGAR RACES TO SEVENTH USCS WINS OF THE SEASON AT CLAYHILL MOTORSPORTS

By Pete Walton

ATWOOD, TN – August 27, 2016 – USCS Mid-South Thunder Tour regional series points leader Derek Hagar of Marion, AR raced to his seventh United Sprint Car Series 20^th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented by K&N Filters win of the 2016 season on Saturday night at Clayhill Motorsports. Hagar battled for the lead with Jan Howard of Marion, AR in the 25-lap feature race before taking the lead for good on lap 19.

Following Hagar under the checkered flag was 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN and third went to another past Champion, Marshall Skinner of Marion, AR. Brandon Hanks of Burlison, TN finished fourth, and the defending USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen of Cordova, TN was fifth.

Justin Webb of Drummonds, TN took the sixth spot, and 2012 USCS Rookie of the Year Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS came home in the seventh position. After giving up the lead to Hagar, Howard fell off the pace with a deflating left rear tire, but hung on during the last seven laps of the race to salvage an eighth-place finish. Donny Goodwin of Nashville, TN started 13^th and finished ninth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award. Tenth went to the Ageless Wonder 78-year-old Ray Bugg of Iuka, MS.

In preliminary action, Skinner won the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash. In the two eight lap Heat Races, Hagar won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat and Gray was the winner of the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat.

K&N Filters Pole Award winner Hagar took the lead at the start of the race followed by Howard, Skinner, Gray, and Turpin. Hanks passed Turpen for the fifth spot on the second lap, and then went after Skinner to challenge for the fourth position. The only caution flag of the race slowed the field on lap four when Wesley Shepherd of Nesbit, MS stalled out.

When the green flag came out for the restart, drivers got busy battling for position throughout the field. The scorers got busy on lap six, as Howard got by Hagar to take the lead, and Hanks made the pass on Skinner for the fourth spot. Skinner was able to come back and reclaim fourth on lap seven.

The top six of Howard, Hagar, Gray, Skinner, Hanks and Turpen settled into a race pace until lap 19, when Howard had a slowly deflating tire and gave up the lead to Hagar. Gray tried to close on Hagar to challenge for the lead in the closing laps, but ran out of laps without getting to make a bid for the win.

It was Hagar leading the final seven laps of the race to pick up his seventh 20^th Anniversary United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented by K&N Filters checkered flag of the 2016 season. He is the series wins leader on the season as well.

The next three events for the 20^th Anniversary USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented by K&N Filters will take place during a busy Labor Day Holiday Weekend. The first race will be at Lavonia Speedway in Lavonia, GA on Friday night, September 2. Race two will be at Laurens Speedway in Laurens, SC on Saturday night, September 3. The weekend finale will be on Monday night, September 5 at Ray Cook’s Tri-County Race Track in Brasstown, NC.

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. It you tweet, you may also follow the series @Uscsracing.

FEATURE RACE – 25 LAPS:

POS        STRT     CAR #   DRIVER                              HOMETOWN
1.            1             9jr          Derek Hagar                       Marion, AR
2.            3             10           Terry Gray                          Bartlett, TN
3.            4             26           Marshall Skinner                Marion, AR
4.            6             84           Brandon Hanks                  Burlison, TN
5.            5             10m       Morgan Turpen                  Cordova, TN
6.            7             31           Justin Webb                        Drummonds, TN
7.            9             28           Jeff Willingham                 Ripley, MS
8.            2             5             Jan Howard                        Marion, AR
9.            13           7d           Donnie Goodwin                Nashville, TN
10.          8             25           Ray Bugg                            Iuka, MS
11.          10           12m       Greg Merritt                       Nesbit, MS
12.          11           44c         Wesley Shepherd                Nesbit, MS
13.          12           44           Ronny Howard                   Olive Branch, MS DNS

UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE AWARDS:
Hoosier Tire Speed Dash: Skinner
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Hagar
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Gray
K&N Filters Pole Award: Hagar

K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Skinner
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (4th place) Hanks
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Goodwin (started 13^th and finished 9^th)
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: Turpen
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Webb
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Willingham
DHR Suspension 8^th-Place Award: J. Howard
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: Bugg

USCS SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY K&N FILTERS PRELIMINARY RACE RESULTS:

USCS Hoosier Speed Dash – (6 Laps): 1. Skinner; Turpen; 3. Gray; 4. Hagar; 5. Willingham; 6. R. Howard DNS.

Engler Machine & Tool Heat 1 – (8 Laps): 1. Hagar; 2. Turpen; 3. J. Howard; 4. Webb; 5. Willingham; 6. Shepherd; 7. Goodwin.

Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Heat 2- (8 Laps): 1. Gray; 2. Skinner; 3. Hanks; 4. Bugg; 5. Merritt; 6. R. Howard.

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The United Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters would like to gratefully thank its sponsoring partners for their involvement in the 2016 and 20th anniversary USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour: K&N Filters,www.rockauto.com, Hoosier Race Tires, Engler Machine and Tool, Butlerbuilt, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Saldana Racing Products, Pyrotect Racing Cells, DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends. Hero Graphics, KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, DSR Fuel Systems, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions and DHR Suspensions.