From Pete Walton
HOHENWALD, TN – MARCH 16, 2024 – The defending and 15-time United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN drove to his 97th career USCS victory on Saturday night in the 30-lap Feature Race at Tennessee National Raceway. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee led all 30 laps in Round 8 of the USCS Winter Heat Series.
Brad Bowden of Hernando, MS finished second, and Landon Britt of Memphis, TN took the third spot. National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Danny Smith of Chillicothe, OH drove to a fourth-place finish, and Van Gurley Jr. of Valparaiso,⅘⅝ the sixth spot, and seventh went to Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS. Wade Buttrey of Fairview, TN started 14th and finished eighth to earn the Wilwood Brakes Hard Charger Award. Adyn Schmidt of Haubstadt, IN was ninth, and Caleb Thompson of Hohenwald, TN rounded out the top 10.
In preliminary action, Gray made it a Clean Sweep of the USCS event with a win in both the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash, and the eight-lap Engler Machine & Tool 1st Heat Race. Britt won he eight-lap Butlerbuilt Racing Products 2nd Heat Race.
Gray took the lead from his pole position starting spot at the start of the race followed by Bowden, Smith, Britt, and Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS. The caution flag came out on the second lap for Lance Moss of Cherryhill, NC. After the field went back to green flag action, the top five changed shape on lap 12 when Britt got by Smith for the third spot.
Also on lap 12, Howard fell off the pace, and Van Gurley Jr. moved up to fifth. With five laps to go, Gray held a one second lead over Bowden. The last five laps of the race saw Bowden try to close on Gray in lapped traffic, but Gray held on to take a .689 second margin of victory over Bowden under the checkered flag in a race that took 9 minutes and 39.295 second to complete.
The next two races for the United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters will be the Winter Heat Series Finale with Rounds 9 and 10 on Friday night, March 22 and Saturday night, March 23 at Clayhill Motorsports Park in Atwood, TN. For more information visit the USCS website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page, or call the series office at 770-865-6097.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are K&N Filters, Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huggins Cams, Hero Graphics, DMI/Bulldog, J&J Supply of NC, Racing Electronics, JE Pistons, DHR Suspension, Wilwood Disc Brakes, KSE Racing Products, PRO Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, and Arizona Sport Shirts.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY K&N FILTERS WINTER HEAT ROUND 8 AT TENNESSEE NATIONAL RACEWAY IN HOHENWALD, TN ON 3/16/24:
FEATURE RACE – 30 Laps: 1. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (1); 2. 8x Brad Bowden, Hernando, MS (2); 3. 10L Landon Britt, Memphis, TN (6); 4. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (3); 5. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (10); 6. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (9); 7. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (8); 8. Wade Buttrey, Fairview, TN (14); 9. 12 Adyn Schmidt, Haubstadt, IN (12); 10. 7 Caleb Thompson, Hohenwald, TN (13); 11. 16 Evan McElhaney, Hernando, MS (11); 12. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (7); 13. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (5); 14. 47s Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN DNS.
HOOSIER RACING TIRES SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Gray; 2. Bowden; 3. Smith; 4. Swindell; 5. Moss; 6. Britt.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL 1ST HEAT: 1. Gray; 2. Howard; 3. Swindell; 4. Moss; 5. Schmidt; 6. C. Gurley; 7. Buttrey DNS.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS 2ND HEAT: 1. Britt; 2. Smith; 3. Bowden; 4. Willingham; 5. V. Gurley; 6. McElhaney; 7. Thompson.