From Pete Walton
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (November 12, 2016) – There was a lot of business to be taken care of in the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Tour Presented by K&N Filters 2016 season finale with two main events making up the Flip Flop 50 and a National Championship to be decided on Saturday night at Riverside International Speedway.
The 2013 USCS National Champion, Derek Hagar of Marion, AR took the Flip and past USCS Rookie of the Year, Jordon Mallet of Greenbrier, AR won the Flop portions of the unique Flip Flop 50 twin-25 lap format of main events.. It appears that 2015 USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen of Cordova, TN won her second straight USCS National Championship after a hard fought battle during the entire 20th Anniversary Season for the series with her mentor and teammate, 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN by only tw points. An audit of the points awarded at each event during the 2016 season will later in the week confirm the Championship before an official announcement is made.
Neither Turpen nor Gray had a great night of competition, but it was good enough for Turpen to appear to have doubled up as the series champion. Turpen, who won the 12-lap B-Main Race, finished 17th in the first 25-lap feature race and 22nd in the second feature race. Gray finished 14th in the first feature race, and took the 23rd spot in the nightcap.
Hagar led all but one lap in the first feature race to pick up his eighth USCS win of the 2016 season. Spencer Bayston of Lebanon, IN led one lap and took the second spot, while National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Sammy Swindell of Germantown, TN finished third. Tim Crawley of Benton, AR was fourth and fifth went to Andy McElhannon of Hernando, MS.
Brad Bowden of Hernando, MS finished sixth and Marshall Skinner of Marion, AR was seventh. Howard Moore of Memphis, TN started 18th and finished eighth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Joe B. Miller of Millersville, MO was ninth and Brandon Hanks of Burlison, TN rounded out the top ten of the first or Flip Race.
It was called the Flip Race because the starting line-up for the second 25-lap Flop Race would be totally inverted. That would put the last place finisher in the Flip Race, Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS starting on the K&N Filters Pole Position, and Flip Race winner Hagar starting at the tail of the 24-car starting field for the Flop Race. If Hagar could charge through the field for the win, he would pick up a $1,000 bonus.
While Hagar led 24 of the 25 laps in the first race, the nightcap was an action-packed affair with wholesale position changes taking place throughout the field for the entire 25-lap distance. Mallet took the lead on lap 24 after early race leader and 2016 USCSS Rookie of the Year, 14-year old teenager Danny Sams III of Englewood, FL and one of the Masters of the Ditch, Swindell, tangled while battling for the win.
Ernie Ainsworth of Bartlett, TN finished second and third went to Cody Gardner of Benton, AR. Skinner had his second top ten finish with a fourth-place effort and Dustin Holman of Manquan, MO took the fifth spot. Hagar charged from the 23rd starting spot to finish sixth and earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Crawley was another top ten double dipper with a seventh-place finish in the nightcap and Bayston was also a double top ten finisher with an eighth-place effort in the second feature race. Joe B. Miller made it a pair of ninth-place finishes at Riverside International Speedway, and Eddie Gallagher of Olive Branch, MS rounded out the top ten.
The only caution or red flag of the second feature was when Swindell slammed into Danny Sams III while he was exiting turn two coming to the white flag and caused Sams to flip into the fence and Swindell to suffer some damage. Sams car was too badly damaged , but, Swindell .
In Friday night preliminary action, Moore won the six lap Hoosier Speed Dash, and the winners of the four eight-lap heat racers were Swindell in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Hagar in the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat, Bayston in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat, and Crawley in the K&N Filters Fourth Heat. Hagar won the 12-lap Pole Scramble to earn the K&N Filters Pole Award for the first feature race.
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.
USCS OUTLAW THUNDER PRESENTED BY K&N FILTERS OFFICIAL RESULTS FROM THE USCS FALL NATIONALS AT RIVERIDE INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ON NOVEMBER 11TH AND 12TH – 2016:
FIRST 25 LAP FLIP FLOP FEATURE RACE:
POS START CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 1 9jr Derek Hagar Marion, AR
2. 2 39 Spencer Bayston Lebanon, IN
3. 5 3 Sammy Swindell Germantown, TN
4. 7 12 Tim Crawley Benton, AR
5. 8 42 Andy McElhannon Hernando, MS
6. 9 59 Brad Bowden Hernando, MS
7. 10 26 Marshall Skinner Marion, AR
8. 18 40 Howard Moore Memphis, TN
9. 11 22B Joe B. Miller Millersville, MO
10. 16 84 Brandon Hanks Burlison, TN
11. 13 4 Casey Rowland Nesbitt, MS
12. 20 88R Cody Gardner Benton, AR
13. 6 1 Eddie Gallagher Olive Branch, MS
14. 19 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
15. 14 29 Chad Jones Sanath, MO
16. 3 14 Jordon Mallett Greenbrier, AR
17. 15 10M Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
18. 4 91 Ernie Ainsworth Bartlett, TN
19. 21 27 Curt Terrell Bartlett, TN
20. 22 10H Dustin Homan Marquan, MO
21. 17 44 Ronny Howard Olive Branch, MS
22. 23 24D Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
23. 24 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, MS
24. 12 22 Travis Senter Osceola, AR
DID NOT START:
10K Dewayne White Byhalia, MS
25 Ray Bugg Iuka, MS
19 T.J. Hughes Hernando, MS
44c Tyler Vaughn Memphis, TN
USCS SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE AWARDS:
Hoosier Speed Dash: Moore
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Swindell
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Hagar
Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat: Bayston
K&N Filters Fourth Heat: Crawley
K&N Filters Pole Award: Hagar
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (5th place) McElhannon
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Swindell
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Moore (started 18th and finished 8th)
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: McElhannon
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Bowden
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Skinner
DHR Suspension 8th-Place Award: Moore
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: Hanks
SECOND 25 LAP FLIP FLOP FEATURE RACE:
POS START CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 8 14 Jordon Mallett Greenbrier, AR
2. 6 91 Ernie Ainsworth Bartlett, TN
3. 12 88R Cody Gardner Benton, AR
4. 17 26 Marshall Skinner Marion, AR
5. 4 10HH
H Dustin Homan Marquan, MO
6. 23 9jr Derek Hagar Marion, AR
7. 20 12 Tim Crawley Benton, AR
8. 22 39 Spencer Bayston Lebanon, IN
9. 15 22B Joe Miller Millersville, MO
10. 11 1 Eddie Gallagher Olive Branch, MS
11. 14 84 Brandon Hanks Burlison, TN
12. 16 40 Howard Moore Memphis, TN
13. 13 4 Casey Rowland Nesbitt, MS
14. 19 42 Andy McElhannon Hernando, MS
15. 24 22 Travis Senter Osceola, AR
16. 21 3 Sammy Swindell Germantown, TN
17. 3 44 Ronny Howard Olive Branch, MS
18. 18 59 Brad Bowden Hernando, MS
19. 2 24D Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
20. 9 29 Chad Jones Sanath, MO
21. 1 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, MS
22. 7 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
23. 10 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
24. 5 27 Curt Terrell Bartlett, TN DNS
USCS SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE AWARDS:
Hoosier Speed Dash: Moore
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Swindell
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Hagar
Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat: Bayston
K&N Filters Fourth Heat: Crawley
K&N Filters Pole Award: Willingham
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (1st place) Mallett
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Gardner
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Hagar (started 23rd and finished 6th)
Keizer Aluminum Wheels Top Five Award: Homan
Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Hagar
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Crawley
DHR Suspension 8th-Place Award: Bayston
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: Gallagher
B-MAIN – 12 LAPS: 1. Turpen; 2. Hanks; 3. Howard; 4. Moore; 5. Gray; 6. Gardner; 7. Terrell; 8. Homan; 9. Sams; 10. White; 11. Hughes; 12. Bugg; 13. Willingham; 14. Vaughn.
PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF THE FLIP FLOP 50 FOR THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES AT RIVERSIDE INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY IN WEST MEMPHIS, AR ON 11/11/16:
Hoosier Tire Speed Dash – (6 Laps): 1. Moore; 2. Skinner; 3. Gray; 4. Crawley; 5. Homan; 6. Turpen.
Engler Machine & Tool Heat 1 – (8 Laps): 1. Swindell; 2. Mallett; 3. Senter; 4. Jones; 5. Bugg; 6. Sams; 7. Gardner.
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Heat 2- (8 Laps): 1. Hagar; 2. Skinner; 3. Bowden; 4. Hanks; 5. Rowland; 6. White; 7. Terrell.
Schoenfeld Headers Heat 3 – (8 Laps): 1. Bayston; 2. Ainsworth; 3. Gallagher; 4. Howard; 5. Hughes; 6. Willingham; 7. Vaughn.
K&N Filters Heat 4 – (8 Laps): 1. Crawley; 2. McElhannon; 3. Miller; 4. Turpen; 5. Gray; 6. Moore; 7. Homan.
Pole Scramble – (12 Laps – Finish determines A-Main starting spot on Saturday): 1. Hagar; 2. Swindell; 3. Ainsworth; 4. Crawley; 5. Bayston; 6. Gallagher; 7. McElhannon 8. Mallett..