By Roby Helm
CLEWISTON, FL – Tyler Clem of St. Petersburg, FL edged Colby Thornhill of Enumclaw, WA at the checkered flag to win the 25-lap Prelude To The King of the 360s event co-sanctioned by the United Sprint Car Series presented by Hoosier Race Tire and the Top Gun Sprints series on Friday night at Hendry County Motorsports Park. A wide racing surface made for multiple grooves that lent itself to several lead changes.
Mark Smith of Sunbury, PA finished third and fourth went to Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS. Mark Ruel Jr. of Jacksonville, FL started 13th and drove to a fifth-place finish to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, TX took the sixth spot and polesitter Phil Gressman of Fremont, OH was seventh.
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee and former USCS National Champion Danny Smith of Chillicothe, OH finished eighth and the ninth spot went to Kyler Johnson of Quinter, KS. Blake Hahn of Sapulpa, OK rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, the four ten-lap heat races went to Gressman in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Thornhill in the Butlerbuilt Racing Products Second Heat, Hahn in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat, and Mark Smith in the Hero Graphics Fourth Heat. Bradley Fezard of Bonnerdale, AR won the 15-lap Huggins Cams B-Main Race.
Clem took the lead at the start of the race from his outside front row starting spot followed by Gressman, Danny Smith, Mark Smith, and Thornhill. On lap two, Mark Smith and Thornhill stepped to the outside and drove by Danny Smith to take over the third and fourth spots respectively.
The only caution flag of the race came out on lap five when Davie Franek of Wantage, NJ performed a 360-degree spin in turn two. Clem led Gressman, Mark Smith, Thornhill, and Danny Smith down for the restart. Mark Smith used the high side of the track to pass Gressman for second on the restart. Thornhill was able to move up to third by passing Gressman on lap eight.
Mark Smith caught Clem on lap ten and threw a successful slider in turn one by diving low and sliding up in front of Clem to take the lead. The slider fest was on as Clem crossed over in turn two to reclaim the lead, but Mark Smith slid Clem in turn three to grab the point. Thornhill was able to pass Clem for the second spot on lap 13.
The leaders caught the cars on the tail of the lead lap by the 15th circuit, and that made for a three-way battle for the lead. Thornhill drove around the outside of Mark Smith coming off the fourth turn on lap 18 to take the lead. Clem worked the bottom of the track from the third spot and scored a two for one pass coming off the fourth turn to take the lead on lap 22.
The last lap saw Clem and Thornhill split lapped cars coming off the fourth turn to the checkered flag. Clem came off the bottom groove to edge the high riding Thornhill by .105 seconds at the checkered flag in a race that took eight minutes and 57. 841 seconds to complete.
The United Sprint Car Series Presented By Hoosier Race Tire and Top Gun Sprints event with 35 drivers representing 16 different states returns to Hendry County Motorsports Park on Saturday night for the $10,000-to-win King of the 360s A-Main Event. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page, or call the USCS office at 770-865-6097.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are Hoosier Racing Tire,, Engler Machine & Tool, 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 WINTER HEAT SERIES RACE 1, PRELUDE TO THE KING OF THE 360s, FOR THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES AND TOP GUN SPRINTS AT HENDRY COUNTY MOTORSPORTS PARK IN CLEWISTON, FL ON 2/7/2025:
PRELUDE TO THE KING OF THE 360s FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 6s Tyler Clem, St. Petersburg, FL (2); 2. 5h Colby Thornhill, Enumclaw, WA (5); 3. 43 Mark Smith, Sunbury, PA (4); 4. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (8); 5. 83 Mark Ruel Jr,, Jacksonville, FL (13); 6. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (10); 7. 7c Phil Gressman, Fremont, OH (1); 8. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (3); 9. 45x Kyler Johnson, Quinter, KS (7); 10. 52 Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (6); 11. 4p Chase Moran, Fultonville, NY (11); 12. 51t Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (15); 13. 95 Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (14); 14. G6 Brandon Grubaugh, Ocala, FL (18); 15. 116 Nick Snyder, Marco Island, FL (9); 16. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (21); 17. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (23); 18. 51 Dustin Burton, Seminole, FL (19); 19. 9w Lane Whittington, Denham Springs, LA (20); 20. 96s Brandon Sampson, Mesa, AZ (22); 21. 28f Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (12); 22. 41 Luke Hill, Odessa, FL (16); 23. 938 Bradley Fezard, Bonnerdale, AR (17); 24. 82 Garrett Green, Dade City, FL (24).
B-MAIN – 15 Laps (Top 6 Transfer To Feature Race): 1. Fezard; 2. Grubaugh; 3. Burton; 4. Whittington; 5. Moss; 6. Sampson; 7. Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL; 8. Gray; 9. Austin Martin, Sarasota, FL; 10. Brett Wright, East Chatham, NY; 11. Green; 12. Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS; 13. John Crowder, Summerfield, FL; 14. Austin Rice, Venice, FL; 15. Cheyenne Potter, Lake Helen, FL; 16. Tyler Porter, Pinellas Park, FL; 17. Jeff Bye, West Palm Beach, FL; 18. 71 Robbie Smith, Ocala, FL DNS; 19. Elijah Gile, Phoenix, AZ DNS.
HEAT RACES – 10 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Gressman; 2. D. Smith; 3. Clem; 4. Fezard; 5. Thiel; 6. Meredith; 7. Green; 8. Wright; 9. Willingham.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 2: 1. Thornhill; 2. Hafertepe; 3. Ruel; 4. Sampson; 5. Franek; 6. Crowder; 7. Potter; 8. Porter; 9. Gray DNS.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT 3: 1. Hahn; 2. Howard; 3. Covington; 4. Snyder; 5. Whittington; 6. Grubaugh; 7. Moss; 8. Gile; 9. Rice.
HEAT 4: 1. M. Smith; 2. Moran; 3. Hill; 4. Johnson; 5. Burton; 6. R. Smith; 7. Martin; 8. Bye.