By Pete Walton OCALA, FL – September 16, 2016 – Danny Martin Jr. of Sarasota, FL took the lead on lap nine and never looked back to win the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented by K&N Filters 20-lap prelim main event on Friday night at Bubba Raceway Park. In the first of two nights for the Florida State Championship Races on the egg-shaped 3/8-mile clay oval, all of the USCS events went caution-free. It was Martin’s fourth stop in the www.rockauto.com USCS Victory Lane this season.
Martin started on the outside of row one for the start of the race, and fell back to the third spot. Martin went to work on lap eight when he passed early race leader 14-year-old Tyler Clem of St. Petersburg, FL for the second spot, and then got around veteran racer Johnny Gilbertson of Dover, FL for the lead on lap nine.
Gilbertson led laps four through eight and finished second, while Clem finished in the K&N Filters Podium Award third place after leading the first three laps of the race. Clem also earned the K&N Filters Pole Award. The 2015 USCS Rookie of the Year, Nick Snyder of Marco Island, FL took the fourth spot, and Shawn Murray of Jacksonville, FL was fifth. Point leader and defending USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen of Cordova, TN finished sixth.
The 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN captured the seventh spot, Terry Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL finished eighth. Johnny Petrozelle of Dentah, NC took the ninth spot, and current USCS Rookie point leader, 14-year-old Danny Sams III of Englewood, FL rounded out the top ten drivers. Tony Agin of Fort Myers, FL started 15th and finished 11th to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award.
In preliminary action, Terry Gray won the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash. The winners in the two eight lap heat races were Tyler Clem in the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat, and Gilbertson in the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat.
In the Florida Mini Sprint Action (FMSA) series vs. the RockAuto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series winged mini sprint showdown, John Craddock of Orlando, FL took a wire-to-wire win in the 20-lap feature race. Robbie Smith of Ocala, FL finished second and Russ Heider of Ocala, FL was third. The 2015 USCS mini sprint Champion, Remeno Loyal of Snellville, GA took the fourth spot and Kenny Brewer of St. Petersburg, FL finished fifth.
The sixth spot went to Tony Senquefield of Orange Spring, FL and David Hall of Tampa, FL finished seventh. John Kahl of Orange Springs, FL was eighth, Ken Penza of Ocala, FL took the ninth spot, and Bob Trapino of Alpharetta, GA rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action for the FMSA vs. USCS Mini Sprints, Robbie Smith won the five-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, and the two eight-lap heat races were won by Connor Morrell of Bradenton, FL and Heider.
Night two of the Florida Championship Races at Bubba Raceway Park will be on Saturday night for the United Sprint Car Series 20th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented by K&N Filters, and the FMSA vs the www.RockAuto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series Mini Sprint Challenge.
For rules and updated schedule information about the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour and www.rockauto.com USCS Mini Sprints, 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.
OFFICIAL RESULTS AT BUBBA RACEWAY PARK IN OCALA, FL ON 9/16/16:
USS Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters FEATURE RACE – 20 Laps:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 2 24jr Danny Martin Jr. Sarasota, FL
2. 4 22g Johnny Gilbertson Dover, FL
3, 1 14 Tyler Clem St. Petersburg, FL
4. 3 116 N ick Snyder Marco Island, FL
5. 6 22m Shawn Murray Jacksonville, FL
6. 8 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
7. 9 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
8. 5 43 Terry Witherspoon Jacksonville, FL
9. 7 59 Johnny Petrozelle Dentah, NC
10. 10 24d Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
11. 15 38 Tony Agin Fort Myers, FL
12. 14 67 Jake McLain Indian Trail, NC
13. 12 99 Tanner Witherspoon Jacksonville, FL
14. 16 83 Bob Auld Largo, FL
15. 13 33 Joe Larkin Suwanee, GA
16. 11 20 Frank Carlsson Orlando, FL DNS
USCS SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE AWARDS:
Hoosier Tire Speed Dash: Gray
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Clem
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Gilbertson
K&N Filters Pole Award: Clem
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (4th- place) Snyder
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Clem
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Agin (started 15th and finished 11th)
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: Murray
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Turpen
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Gray
DHR Suspension 8th-Place Award: Terry Witherspoon
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: Sams
UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY K&N FILTERS PRELIMINARY RACE RESULTS:
USCS Hoosier Speed Dash – (6 Laps): 1. Gray; 2. Sams 3. Turpen; 4. Snyder; 5. McLain; 6. Larkin.
Engler Machine & Tool Heat 1 – (8 Laps): 1. Clem; 2. Martin; 3. Turpen; 4. Terry Witherspoon; 5. Gray; 6. McLain; 7. Tanner Witherspoon; 8. Agin.
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Heat 2- (8 Laps): 1. Gilbertson; 2. Snyder; 3. Murray; 4. Petrozelle; 5. Sams; 6. Carlsson; 7. Larkin; 8. Auld.
FMSA vs. www.rockauto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series MINI SPRINT RESULTS:
FEATURE RACE – 20 LAPS:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 1 71 John Craddock Orlando, FL
2. 6 77 Robbie Smith Ocala, FL
3. 2 86 Russ Heider Ocala, FL
4. 4 2x Remeno Loyal Snellville, GA
5. 3 45 Kenny Brewer St. Petersburg, FL
6. 8 00 Tony Senquefield Orange Springs, FL
7. 7 67 David Hall Tampa, FL
8. 11 13 John Kahl Orange Springs, FL
9. 14 24 Ken Penza Ocala, FL
10. 10 98 Bob Trapino Alpharetta, GA
11. 13 38 Mike Brewer Leesburg, FL
12. 9 07 Brandon Taylor Cumming, GA
13. 12 27 Lee Gower Dade City, FL
14. 5 28 Connor Morrell Bradenton, FL
15. 15 14 Scott Barberis Ocala, FL DNS
USCS HOOSIER RACE TIRE 600 MINI SPRINT PRELIMINARY RESULTS:
RockAuto.com 600 Mini Sprint Hoosier Tire Speed Dash – 5 Laps: 1. Smith; 2. Brewer; 3. Hall; 4. Morrell; 5. Loyal; 6. Trapino.
RockAuto.com 600 Mini Sprint Heat 1 – (8 Laps): 1. Morrell; 2. Loyal; 3. Craddock; 4. Senquefield; 5. Trapino; 6. Kahl; 7. Gower; 8. Barberis DNS.
RockAuto.com 600 Mini Sprint Heat 2 – (8 Laps): 1. Heider; 2. Smith; 3. Brewer; 4. Hall; 5. Taylor; 6. Brewer; 7. Penza.