NORMAN PARK, GA (May 20, 2017) – Jordan Mallett of Greenbrier, AR made his longest tow of any other of his competitors this weekend payoff on Saturday night, as he drove to his first United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By K&N Filters win of the 2017 season at Needmore Speedway. Mallett who was the 2011 USCS Rookie of the Year and the 2016 NSL 360 National Champion has attended every 2017 UCS Outlaw Thunder Tour event said in post-race comments that” I am glad to finally get the monkey off my back by winning this one tonight” after a string of solid performances.
Mallett, who came into the event as the USCS Southern Thunder regional series points leader, took the lead at the drop of the green flag from his outside front row starting spot to open up as much as a full straightaway lead. Two restarts after red flag periods didn’t phase Mallett, as even a four-lap dash to the finish showed him with a half straightaway margin of victory. Mallett opened the night with the win in the six-lap Hoosier Tire USCS Speed Dash.
The 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN finished second after winning the eight-lap Butlerbuilt Third Heat Race earlier in the evening. The defending and two-time USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen took the third spot, as her winning streak came to an end on Saturday night after five straight wins.
The K&N Filters Pole Award recipient Brian Thomas of Pendergrass, GA was fourth, and Brown and Miller Racing Solutions eight-lap Second Heat Race winner Danny Martin Jr. of Sarasota, FL drove to a fifth-place finish. Shawn Murray of Jacksonville, FL finished sixth and Terry Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL took the seventh spot.
Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC came back from being burned in two separate incidents on Friday night to drive to an eighth-place finish, and a win in the eight-lap Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race. Tanner Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL took the ninth spot, and Rookie of the Year points leader Scott Hunter of Concord, NC rounded out the top ten.
Danny Sams III of Englewood, FL started 21st and finished 13th to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award, and in other preliminary action, Joey Schmidt of Ellisville, MS won the second six-lap Dash For Cash Sponsored By Tom Selhorst.
Mallett took command of the race at the drop of the green flag, but that quickly gave way to the red light for a three-car tangle in turn two that saw the car of Darren Orth of Jacksonville, FL get on its side. All drivers were O.K. when the dust settled. Mallett led Thomas, Brandon McLain of Indian Trail, NC, Gray and Moss back to the green flag for the restart.
While Mallett pulled away from the field, Gray moved up to third on the restart, and Turpen passed Moss for fifth on lap three. Turpen was on a mission trying to win her sixth-straight race of the 2017 season, as she got by McLain for fourth on lap four, bringing Moss with her up into the fifth spot.
Gray began to reel in Thomas to battle for second, and took the position on lap 12. By the halfway point in the race, Mallett was in heavy lapped traffic with a full straightaway lead over Gray, Thomas, Turpen, and Terry Witherspoon.
Mallett clicked off the laps running the high side of the track, but his big lead was erased on lap 26 when the red flag came out after Brandon Grubaugh of Ocala, FL flipped in turn four. Grubaugh was uninjured. There was plenty of action on the four-lap dash to the checkered flag, as Turpen got by Thomas for third, and Martin drove around the outside groove to go from eighth to fifth.
Jordan Mallett Donna Lee photo
In the RockAuto.com USCS 600 Mini Sprint action, Gregg Jones of Navarre, FL has found Needmore Speedway to his liking. Jones started the evening where he left off on Friday night, in Victory Lane after winning the six-lap USCS 600 Hoosier Speed Dash, and returned to that piece of real estate to end the evening after a wire-to-wire win in the 20-lap main event, his second in as many nights.
Robby Hoffman of Lithia, FL finished second, and John Craddock of Orlando, FL took the third spot with each driver repeating their finishes from Friday night. Bobby Zaiontz of Columbus, MS drove to a fourth-place finish and fifth went to the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Dirk Miller of Sanford, FL, who started eighth.
David Hall of Casselberry, FL finished sixth and A.J. Parrish of Jacksonville, FL took the seventh spot. Jim McNulty of Navarre, FL was eighth, ninth went to Trynt Lloyd of Jacksonville, FL, and the series 2016 Rookie of the Year, Conner Morrell of Palmetto, FL rounded out the top ten. In preliminary action, Hoffman won the Engler Machine and Tool eight-lap Heat Race.
Next up for the USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By K&N Filters drivers is 12th annual USCS Sprint Speedweek 2017 that consists of seven races in nine days. It begins on Friday night, May 26 at Hattiesburg Speedway in Hattiesburg, MS and ends on Saturday night, June 3 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, AR.
In between the USCS Sprint Cars will visit Jackson Motor Speedway in Jackson, MS on Saturday night, May 27, Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS on Sunday night, May 28, Clayhill Motorsports in Atwood, TN on Monday night, May 29, Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, AL on Thursday night, June 1, and Magnolia Motor Speedway in Columbus, MS on Friday night, June 2.
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.
A-MAIN: 30 LAPS:
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER HOMETOWN
1. 2 14 Jordon Mallet Greenbrier, AR 2. 4 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN 3. 5 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN 4. 1 67 Brian Thomas Pendergrass, GA 5. 7 24 Danny Martin Jr. Sarasota, FL 6. 10 22 Shawn Murray Jacksonville, FL 7. 8 43 Terry Witherspoon Jacksonville, FL 8. 6 23 Lance Moss Cherryville, NC 9. 9 99 Tanner Witherspoon Jacksonville, FL 10. 11 1x Scott Hunter Concord, NC 11. 3 21b Brandon McLain Indian Trail, NC 12. 18 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, NC 13. 21 24d Danny Sams III Englewood, FL 14. 14 67m Jake McLain Matthews, NC 15. 20 38 Tony Agin Fort Myers, FL 16. 15 07 Brandon Taylor Cumming, GA 17. 17 83r Mark Ruel Jr. Jacksonville, FL 18. 13 g6 Brandon Grubaugh Ocala, FL 19. 22 43m A.J. Parrish Jacksonville, FL 20. 19 92 Matt Kurtz Jacksonville, FL 21. 12 1s Joey Schmidt Ellisville, MS 22. 16 34 Darren Orth Jacksonville, FL 23. 23 83 Bob Auld Largo, FL DNS
USCS Sprint Car Series Race Awards: Hoosier Tire Speed Dash: Mallett Hoosier Tire Dash For Cash Sponsored By Tom Selhorst: Schmidt
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: Moss Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: Martin Butlerbuilt Third Heat: Gray
K&N Filters Pole Award: Thomas JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (2nd Place): Gray
PRO Shocks Champion Choice Award (3rd Place): Turpen K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: Turpen Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: Sams (started 21st and finished 13th) Saldana Racing Products Super Sixth Award: Murray Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: Tanner Witherspoon
DHR Suspension Eighth Place Award: Moss DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: Hunter
USCS Dash For Cash Sponsored By Tom Selhorst (6 Laps): 1. Schmidt; 2. Taylor; 3. Auld; 4. Agin; 5. Tanner Witherspoon.
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat (8 Laps): 1. Moss; 2. Terry Witherspoon; 3. Thomas; 4. Tanner Witherspoon; 5. Taylor; 6. Ruel; 7. Auld; 8. Sams DNS.
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat (8 Laps): 1. Martin; 2. B. McLain; 3. Hunter; 4. Murray; 5. Schmidt; 6. Willingham; 7. Agin; 8. Parrish DNS.
Butlerbuilt Third Heat (8 Laps): 1. Gray; 2. Mallett; 3. Turpen; 4. Grubaugh; 5. J. McLain; 6. Orth; 7. Kurtz.
