DANNY MARTIN IS TWO FOR TWO IN BUBBA RACEWAY PARK USCS WEEKEND ACTION

By Pete Walton

OCALA, FL – September 17, 2016 – Danny Martin Jr. of Sarasota, FL swept the weekend at Bubba Raceway Park by winning the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By K&N Filters Florida Sprint Car State Championship 30-lap final on Saturday night. He collected a $2000 paycheck for his efforts in the main event. It was Martin’s fifth trip to the www.rockauto.com USCS Victory Lane of the 2016 season.

For the second straight night, Martin’s main competitor was 14-year-old Tyler Clem of St. Petersburg, FL. Martin opened the evening by winning the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash with Clem taking second. In heat race action, Clem took the victory over Martin in the Engler Machine and Tool First eight-lap First Heat Race. In the main event, it was the veteran Martin over the teenager Clem, who finished second

Teenagers racing in the USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour is nothing new, as Martin began his Sprint Car racing career with USCS in 2002 at the age of 16 and was a regular competitor with USCS or many years. Martin was a part of a group of teenagers racing with USCS during that time called “The USCS Young Guns.”

That elite group of teenage drivers included Martin and second-generation drivers R.J. Johnson of Tampa, FL, Bryn Gohn of Malabar, FL, Tom Winegardner Jr. of Pierson, FL, Kevin Swindell of Bartlett, TN, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of Olive Branch, MS. As it has for these drivers, being a teenager racing with USCS can lead to big things.

Johnson is now a race car chassis fabricator in Knoxville, IA, Gohn still competes weekly in Central Pennsylvania. Sadly, Winegardner recently passed away. Swindell became one of the top open-wheel drivers in the country before suffering serious injuries in a crash in Knoxville, IA that he is still recovering from.

Stenhouse is the most successful USCS Young Gun graduate. Today, Stenhouse competes in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition driving a Roush Racing Ford after winning a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship for Roush, and has a girlfriend named Danica Patrick.

Following Martin and Clem under the checkered flag on Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park was the current point leader and defending USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen of Cordova, TN. Turpen also started out a few years ago as a teenager, who has since graduated from college with a degree in education, and is now a teacher looking for her Master’s Degree.

Obviously, there is also no Glass Ceiling in the Untied Sprint Car Series with Turpen’s success. Turpen has proven year after year that she is the real deal – a female sprint car driver that can not only run up front in the race – she can win them!

Another pair of talented teenagers followed Turpen. Seventeen-year-old Nick Snyder of Marco Island, FL who was the 2015 USCS Rookie of the Year, finished fourth, and fifth-place went to this seasons current Rookie point leader, fourteen year-old Danny Sams III of Englewood, FL. The 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN was sixth and Shawn Murray of Jacksonville, FL took the seventh spot. Johnny Petrozelle of Denton, NC finished eighth and Tanner Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL was ninth. Jake McLain of Indian Trail, NC rounded out the top ten.

Morgan Turpen won the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second eight-lap Heat Race, and Nick Snyder took the $100 K&N Filters Pole Award. Martin started his trip to the winner’s circle from the fourth starting spot, and shared the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award with Gray, who started ninth and finished sixth, and Joe Larkin of Suwanee, GA, who started 15^th and finished 12^th.

One of the highlights of the evening involved Larkin, who won the Mystery Sponsor Dash, as an anonymous donor put up $100 to the winner of the race. You would have thought Larkin just won the Indianapolis 500!

“I just do this for fun, and when I started racing with USCS, I knew I would never lead a single lap,” Larkin said. “This is just unbelievable and I wish I knew who put up the money because I really want to thank them for this!”

Dreams can come true racing with the USCS whether you’re a young teenager, a seasoned veteran, a young lady, or a guy racing just for fun with no expectations of running up front. It all can happen with USCS.

The next two events for the 2016 United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder 20^th Anniversary Tour Presented By K&N Filters will be on Friday night September 30 at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, NC, and on Saturday night, October 1 at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC.

In RockAuto.com USCS 600 Mini Sprint vs. Florida Mini Sprint Action series action on Saturday night at Bubba Raceway Park, Robbie Smith of Ocala, FL topped a tough 20-car field to take the win. Brandon Taylor of Cumming, GA finished second and third-place went to Tony Senquefield of Orange Springs, FL. Robbie Hoffman of Tampa, FL took the fourth spot, and David Hall of Tampa, FL was fifth.

Russ Heider of Ocala, FL finished sixth and Dirk Miller of Tampa, FL came home in the seventh spot. Zach Gorski of Ocala, FL was eighth and ninth went to Remeno Loyal of Snellville, GA. John Kahl of Orange Springs, FL rounded out the top ten.

In preliminary action for the RockAuto.com USCS 600 Mini Sprints, the five-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash was won by Smith, and the three six-lap heat races were won by John Craddock of Orlando, FL, Miller, and Kenny Brewer of St. Petersburg, FL.

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.            4             24           Danny Martin Jr. Sarasota, FL
2.            3             14           Tyler Clem                          St. Petersburg, FL
3.            2             10m       Morgan Turpen                  Cordova, TN
4.            1             116        Nick Snyder                       Marco Island, FL
5.            5             24d        Danny Sams III                   Englewood, FL
6.            9             10           Terry Gray                          Bartlett, TN
7.            8             22           Shawn Murray                   Jacksonville, FL
8.            6             59           John Petrozelle                   Dentah, NC
9.            11           99           Tanner Witherspoon          Jacksonville, FL
10.          10           67           Jake McLain                       Indian Trail, NC
11.          7             38           Tony Agin                           Fort Myers, FL
12.          15           33           Joe Larkin                           Suwanee, GA
13.          12           43           Terry Witherspoon            Jacksonville, FL
14.          13           83           Bob Auld                            Largo, FL
15.          14           20           Frank Carlsson                   Orlando, FL

USCS SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE AWARDS:
Hoosier Tire Speed Dash: Martin
Mystery Sponsor Dash: Larkin
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Clem
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Turpen
K&N Filters Pole Award: Snyder
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (5^th– place) Sams
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Turpen
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Martin (started 4^th and finished 1^st),

Gray (started 9^th and finished 6^th); Larkin (started 15^th and finished 12^th)
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: Sams
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Gray
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Murray
DHR Suspension 8^th-Place Award: Petrozelle
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: McLain

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

USCS Hoosier Speed Dash – (6 Laps): 1. Martin; 2. Clem; 3. Snyder; 4. Turpen; 5. Gray; 6. Murray.

Mystery Sponsor Dash (6 Laps): 1. Larkin; 2. Tanner Witherspoon; 3. McLain; 4. Sams; 5. Agin; 6. Auld.

Engler Machine & Tool Heat 1 – (8 Laps): 1. Clem; 2. Martin; 3. Agin; 4. Gray; 5. Murray; 6. Terry Witherspoon; 7. Auld; 8. Larkin

Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Heat 2- (8 Laps): 1. Turpen; 2. Sams; 3. Snyder; 4. Petrozelle; 5. McLain; 6. Tanner Witherspoon; 7. Carlsson.