From Pete Walton
ATLANTA, Ga. (April 10, 2018) – The Fayetteville, Georgia based United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters winged sprint cars make their spring 2018 visit to Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida on Friday, April 13th and Saturday April 14th . The event is entitled the USCS Spring Speed Xplosion. The series’ 130 mile-per-hour USCS winged Outlaw type sprint cars headline the two-day weekend of racing action at the semi-banked three-eighths mile D-shaped oval track. The racing card also includes the 100 mile per hour www.rockauto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series winged mini sprints and Florida Mini Sprint Action series on both nights in a head to head duel.
The United Sprint Car Series portion of the event will give a driver who can sweep the weekend’s elements an opportunity to pick up $3500 in cash prize winnings plus contingency awards including Friday night’s 20-lap preliminary USCS sprint car main event win and by arriving first in the www.rockauto.com USCS Victory Lane after Saturday night’s 30-lap Championship final as well.
The event is expected to draw winged sprint car drivers from at least seven states including several of the series 2017 feature winners. Heading the entry list is the 2017 and defending series Champion, Jordon Mallett from Greenbrier, Arkansas. The 2015 and 2016 USCS National Champion, Morgan Turpen from Cordova, Tennessee who wa the 2017 wins s leader with nine victories s also entered..
Turpen is an twenty plus-time USCS feature winner and the top ranked female sprint car driver in the country. Turpen’s team-mate is 11-time USCS series Champion Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee who is in runner-up spot in the National point standings behund Mallett coming into this weekend. Gray, who is also at the top of the talented entry list and has a 2018 USCS feature win and has 90 career USCS feature wins.
An impressive list of top drivers from the Southeastern United States are entered including 2016 USCS Florida State Champion Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida. Martin stormed to a win on both nights of that USCS stop at Bubba Raceway Park to sweep the event.in 2016 Martin also won five times in USCS competition in 2016 while running a limited schedule.
Another challenge for all these drivers will be to beat track favorite 16-year-old Tyler Clem from Tampa, Florida who is returning to action this Friday night after missing being able to race for two-months after an injury suffered during the USAC Non-Wing competition in February. Clem has won in three different type race cars at the track. (Sprint Car, Late Model and Modified). Clem won the Friday night portion of this event on March 31, 2017. Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart from Columbus, Indian won last year’s Saturday night final.
Other expected USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour entries for the USCS Spring Speed Xplosion include: 16-year-old, Joey Schmidt from Ellisville, Mississippi who is sixth in the USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters National point standings and looking to move up at BRP. Also expected are the 2015 USCS Rookie of the Year, Nick Snyder from Marco Island, Florida and 2016 USCS Rookie of the Year, 16-year-old Danny Sams III from Englewood, Florida as well. The 2017 USCS Rookie of the Year, Brandon Taylor from Cumming, Georgia is also entered and possibly will compete in both USCS divisions.
Brandon McLain, who was the 2014 USCS Rookie of the Year from Indian Trail, North Carolina are entered as well. Other past series Rookie of the Year drivers joining the Carolina duo on the entry list will be 2012 USCS Rookie of the Year, Jeff Willingham from Ripley, Mississippi
Other veteran sprint car drivers expected to enter include Joe Larkin from Suwannee, Georgia and Brian Thomas from Pendergrass, Georgia. A first-time USCS competitor from the State of California is Jeff Oliver who is now a resident of Georgia and will enter both nights as will Joe Larkin from Suwannee, Georgia..
Tony Agin from Fort Myers who finished in the top five of the USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour National standings in 2017 leads a group of at least seven drivers who hail from the state of Florida that are USCS regulars are also entered including Terry and Tanner Witherspoon, Shawn Murray and Darren Orth all from Jacksonville, Florida and Bob Auld from Largo are pre-entered as well.
Other expected Florida entries include Matt Kurtz and Mark Ruel, Jr. from Jacksonville, Florida plus A.J. Maddox from Tampa, Florida. Expected entries also include Newcomer to the series Garrett Green from Valrico, Florida who is quite accomplished as an eighteen-year-old sprint car driver and has wins on both paved and dirt ovals. Green was the Anderson Speedway (Indiana) Little 500 Rookie of the Year” in the famed 500-lap race held on Memorial Day weekend h year at age thirteen.
The showdown between the Florida based Florida Mini Sprint Action series and the www.rockauto.com USCS 600 Sprint Car Series winged mini sprint series is also expected to draw entries from as far away as North Carolina and Mississippi. Those USCS entries include Two-time Champion, Bobby Zaiontz from Columbus, Mississippi and 2015 and 2016 series Champion Remeno Loyal from Powder Springs, Georgia. Also entered is young gun Conner Morrell from who was the 2017 www.rockauto.com USCS 600 Sprint series Champion..
Also, entered in the USCS mini sprint division is 2016 title runner-up David Hall from Tampa, Florida. Hall’s team-mates, Dirk Miller, and Robby Hoffman also from Tampa, Florida and who were all three 2016 feature race winners in the series are entered. FMSA 2016 Champion, Robbie Smith and the whole contingent of FMSA regulars are expected to be at Bubba Raceway Park to defend their home turf against the invaders from the North.
For event info please visit www.bubbaracewaypark.com or the speedway’s Facebook page at Bubba Raceway Park. The USCS series Official website is located at www.uscsracing.com The USCS phone numbers are Office at 770-460-7223 or Mobile at 770-865-6097.