By Roby Helm
HATTIESBURG, MS – March 1, 2025 – Mark Smith of Sunbury, PA took his second United Sprint Car Series Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire win of the season in the 30-lap Hub City Sprint Car Shootout, Round 8 of the Winter Heat Series, on Saturday night at Hattiesburg Speedway. Smith took the lead from Jason Martin of Lincoln, NE on lap 16 and pulled away for the victory.
Martin had to settle for the second spot and USCS points leader, Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS finished third. 2023 USCS Winter Heat Series Champion Davie Franek of Wantage, NJ drove to a fourth-place finish and Hall of Famer, Terry McCarl of Altoona, IA was fifth. Brad Bowden of Hernando, MS took the sixth spot, and seventh went to Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC.
Joe B. Miller of Millersville, MO finished eighth and Austyn Gossel of Fort Collins, CO was ninth, National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee and 16-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN rounded out the top ten. Hayden Martin of Olive Branch, MS started 24th and finished 14th to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award.
In preliminary action, Jason Martin 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 Mark Smith in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Jason Martin in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat, and Moss in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat.
The Feature Race got off to a wild start before completing the first lap when Lane Whittington of Denham Springs, LA flipped in turn three, collecting Friday night’s winner Matt Covington of Glenpool, OK and Corbin Gurley of Hebron, IN. All drivers were O.K., and Gurley was able to continue after a wing change.
Whittington and Covington were done for the evening. For Covington, it was the penthouse to the outhouse, as he was credited with a 24th and last-place finish after winning Friday night’s prelim. On the complete restart, Jason Martin took the lead from the pole position, followed by McCarl, Smith, Moss, and Howard.
Smith got by McCarl on lap three for second, and Howard passed Moss for fourth. Howard drove up to the third spot, passing McCarl on lap seven, as Jason Martin caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap. Bowden moved up to the top five on lap ten by getting around Moss for fifth.
Smith was able to chase down the leader in lapped traffic, and set up for a slide job pass on Jason Martin to challenge for the lead in turns one and two. Smith dove to the inside of Martin in turn one, and slide up in front of him coming off turn two to take the lead on lap 16.
“It’s fun when you can race like that when the track slicks over and is racey,” Smith said. “I just had to time the pass right in lapped traffic to make sure I had plenty of room to clear Jason coming off the second turn.”
The caution flag came out on lap 21 when Harli White of Lindsay, OK spun in turn four. Smith gave up a two second lead over Jason Martin for the restart with Howard, McCarl, and Bowden in third through fifth respectively. Franek got busy when the green flag came out as he raced his way into the top five after restarting in sixth.
Franek drove by Bowden for the fifth position on lap 22 and then passed McCarl for fourth on lap 25. Smith took a 2.138 second margin of victory over Jason Martin at the checkered flag in a race that featured 24 drivers from 14 different states and took 20 minutes and 23.205 seconds to complete.
The next two USCS Winter Heat events will be the War of the Wings, Rounds 9 and 10, on Friday Night, March 7 and Saturday night, March 8 at Deep South Speedway in Loxley, AL. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch it live at www.thecushion.com. 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 7 FOR THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY HOOSIER RACING TIRE AT HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY IN HATTIESBURG, MS ON 3/1/2025:
FEATURE RACE – 30 Laps: 1. 43 Mark Smith, Sunbury, PA (4); 2. 36 Jason Martin, Liberal, KS (1); 3. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (5); 4. 28f Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (10); 5. 24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (2); 6. 8x Brad Bowden, Hernando, MS (6); 7. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (3); 8. 51b Joe B. Miller, Millersville, MO (11); 9. 16g Austyn Gossel, Fort Collins, CO (7); 10. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (13); 11. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (16); 12. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (17); 13. 01 Shane Morgan, Gulfport, MS (8); 14. 67 Hayden Martin, Olive Branch, MS (24); 15. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (15); 16. 13x Jake Brashier, Denham Springs, LA (14); 17. 122 Lane Warner, Bloomfield, MO (19); 18. 21 Butch David, Geismar, LA (20); 19. 83 Blake Carrier, Amite, LA (23); 20. 94 Parker Davis, Mobile, AL (22); 21 5h Harli White, Lindsay, OK (18); 22. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (21); 23. 9 Lane Whittington, Denham Springs, LA (9); 24. 95 Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (12).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. J. Martin; 2. McCarl; 3. Moss; 4. M. Smith; 5. Howard; 6. Bowden.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. M. Smith; 2. McCarl; 3. Franek; 4. Morgan; 5. Covington; 6. D. Smith; 7. Carrier; 8. David.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 2: 1. J. Martin; 2. Gossel; 3. Howard; 4. Gray; 5. C. Gurley; 6. V. Gurley; 7. Warner; 8. H. Martin.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT 3: 1. Moss; 2. Bowden; 3. Miller; 4. Brashier; 5. Whittington; 6. White; 7. Willingham; 8. Davis.