By Roby Helm
MILTON, FL – Davie Franek of Wantage, NJ came from the seventh starting spot to take the lead on a lap four restart and cruised to victory on Night 1 of the Battle At The Beach on Friday night at Southern Raceway. The 25-lap Feature Race was Round 3 of the United Sprint Car Series Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire Winter Heat Series.
Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC finished second, and third sent to Jacob Allen of Hanover, PA. National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee and 2021 USCS National Champion Danny Smith of Chillicothe, OH took the fourth spot, and Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS was fifth.
Jason Martin of Liberal, KS, started 16th and finished sixth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Chris Martin of Ankeny, IA, drove to a seventh-place finish, and Austyn Gossel of Windsor, CO took the eighth spot. Matt Covington of Glenpool, OK was ninth and Max Stanbaugh of Lima, OH rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, Corbin Gurley of Hebron IN won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the Feature Race. The three eight-lap Heat Races were won by Van Gurley Jr. of Valparaiso, IN in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Moss in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat, and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee and 16-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat. Trey Meredith of Dade City, FL won the 12-lap B-Main race.
Corbin Gurley took the lead at the start of the race from the Pole Position followed by Moss, Franek, Smith and Allen. Franek passed Moss for the second spot on lap three, and the first of four caution flags came out on lap four when Sterling Cling of Tempe, AZ slowed on the front straightaway.
Franek tried to slide Corbin Gurley for the lead on turn one on the restart, but was unsuccessful. Franek regrouped and dove under Gurley in turn three, and completed the pass for the lead by sliding up in front of Gurley in turn four. Allen was able to pass Smith for the fourth spot on the restart.
Bryan Gossel of Windsor, CO spun in turn four on lap six and collected Tyeller Powless of Ohsweken, ON CAN, Blake Bowen of Dothan, AL, and Brogan Carder of Sioux Falls, SD to bring out the second caution flag. The field was red flagged, and the water truck came out as a safety precaution to knock down the dust. The red flag was lifted 20 minutes later.
Franek led Corbin Gurley, Moss, Allen and Smith down for the restart. By the tenth lap, Franek had opened up a 1.286 second lead over Gurley. The top four cars encountered the cars at the tail end of the lead lap by lap 15 and had a five second advantage over Smith in fifth.
Gurley was able to shave off two tenths of a second on the leader by lap 16, but the field was slowed by the third yellow flag of the race when Corbin Gurley spun out of the second spot in turn three. Franek now had Moss, Allen, Smith and Van Gurley Jr. lined up behind him for the restart. Van Gurley’s stay in the top five ended on lap 23 when he spun on the front stretch.
Franek gave up a two second advantage when he saw the caution flag instead of the white flag. But Franek didn’t panic, as he pulled away for the green-white-checkered finish with a 2.727 second margin of victory over Moss at the checkered flag.
The 27 drivers from 19 different states and Canada will return to Southern Raceway on Saturday night for Night 2 of the Battle At The Beach and Round 4 of the 2025 United Sprint Car Series Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire Winter Heat Series. 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 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 WINTER HEAT SERIES RACE 3, NIGHT 1 OF THE BATTLE AT THE BEACH, FOR THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY HOOSIER RACING TIRE AT SOUTHERN RACEWAY IN MILTON, FL ON 2/14/2025:
BATTLE AT THE BEACH FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 28f Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (7); 2. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (3); 3. 1a Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (8); 4. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (4); 5. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (11); 6. 36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS (16); 7. 44 Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (9); 8. 16g Austyn Gossel, Windsor, CO (6); 9. 95 Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (10); 10. 5m Max Stanbaugh, Lima, OH (17); 11. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (15); 12. 9 Lane Whittington, Denham Springs, LA (12); 13. 13v Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (5); 14. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (1); 15. 5h Carson Bolden, Quinlan, TX (19); 16. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (23); 17. 13 Elijah Gile, Phoenix, AZ (18); 18. 6g Bryan Gossel, Windsor, CO (14); 19. 77t Tyeller Powless, Ohsweken, ON CAN (20); 20. 12b Blake Bowen, Dothan, AL (22); 21. 88 Brogan Carder, Sioux Falls, SD (21); 22. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (2); 23. 34 Sterling Cling, Tempe. AZ (13).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. C. Gurley; 2. Gray; 3. Moss; 4. Smith; 5. V. Gurley; 6. A. Gossel.
B-MAIN (Top 8 Transfer To Main Event) – 12 Laps: 1. Merdith; 2. J. Martin; 3. Stambaugh; 4. Gile; 5. Bolden; 6. Powless; 7. Carder; 8. Bowen; 9. Willingham; 10. 10vc Vince Chicklets, Constantia, NY; 11. 51 Shelby Kelly, Runnemede, NJ; 12. 77 Kyle Mabry, Cottondale, FL; 13. 94 Parker Davis, Mobile, AL DNS.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. V. Gurley; 2. C. Martin; 3. Howard; 4. Whittington; 5. Cling; 6. Bolden; 7. Carder; 8. Chicklets; 9. Davis DNS.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 2: 1. Moss; 2. Covington; 3. A. Gossel; 4. Franek; 5. Meredith; 6. Powless; 7. Bowen; 8. Willingham; 9. Kelly.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT 3: 1. Gray; 2. C. Gurley; 3. Smith; 4. Allen; 5. B. Gossel; 6. Stambaugh; 7. J. Martin; 8. Gile; 9. Mabry.