By Roby Helm
EASTABOGA, AL – August 31, 2025 – Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS only led one lap the 30-lap Feature Race Sunday night for the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire at Talladega Short Track, but it was the one that counted. Howard passed Derek Hagar of Marion, AR on the last lap to pick up his eighth USCS win of the 2025 season.
In addition to his 34 USCS career wins, Howard started tenth and the USCS point leader earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Howard didn’t arrive into the top five until lap 18, but he put on a passing clinic in the final 12 laps of the race.
Hagar led laps three through 29, but had to settle for second. That’s an outstanding performance considering his A.G. Raines Racing Team lost their entire trailer with parts and a race car on an Trezevant , TN railroad crossing two weeks ago. Mark Ruel Jr. of Jacksonville, FL led the first two laps of the race and finished third.
Tucker Boulton of Brighton, TN took the fourth spot and fifth went to 16-time USCS National Champion and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN. Dewayne White of Byhalia, MS was sixth and Tyler Blankenship of Bakersfield, CA came home in seventh. Terry Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL finished eighth and Hayden Martin of Olive Branch, MS took the ninth spot. Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, Ruel won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the 30-lap Feature Race. The three eight-lap Heat Races were won by Blankenship in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Moss in the Schoenfeld Headers Second Heat, and Boulton in the Hero Graphics Third Heat.
Ruel took the lead from the pole position at the start of the race followed by Hagar, Boulton, White, and Blankenship. Hagar passed Ruel on lap three to take the lead and by the halfway point in the race held a 1.103 second lead on Ruel. Lap 15 also saw Gray get a two for one, as he passed both Blankenship and White to move up to the fourth spot.
Howard moved into the top five after starting tenth when he passed White for fifth on lap 18. The race was clean and green through the first 20 laps with Hagar leading Ruel, Boulton, Gray and Howard. Lap 22 saw Howard pass Gray for the fourth spot, and two laps later he got by Boulton for third.
On lap 26, Howard passed Ruel for the second spot and began to chase down Hager to challenge for the lead. Howard closed to within a car length of Hagar on lap 27, but the only caution flag of the race came out on lap 27 when Hannah Merritt of Nesbit, MS spun in turn one. Hagar led Howard, Ruel, Boulton and Gray down for the four lap dash to the finish.
Howard once again put pressure on Hager to challenge for the lead. On the last turn of the last lap, Hagar went to the inside and Howard ripped the lip on the outside to pass Hagar for the win. Howard took a .260 second margin of victory under the checkered flag in a race that took 12 minutes and 19.243 seconds to complete.
The next two events for the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire will be at Southern Raceway in Milton, FL on Friday night, September 19 and Saturday night, September 20. 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 Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huggins Cams, Hero Graphics, DMI/Bulldog, Racing Electronics, JE Pistons, DHR Suspension, Wilwood Disc Brakes, AR Dyno Specialties, KSE Racing Products, PRO Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, and Arizona Sport Shirts.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR PRESENTED BY HOOSIER RACING TIRE EVENT AT TALLADEGA SHORT TRACK IN EASTABOGA, AL ON 8/31/25:
FEATURE RACE – 30 Laps: 1. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (10); 2. 3 Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (3); 3. 83 Mark Ruel Jr., Jacksonville, FL (1); 4. 901 Tucker Boulton, Brighton, TN (2); 5. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (7); 6. 10k Dewayne White, Byhalia, MS (4); 7. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (6); 8. 43 Terry Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL (15); 9. 67 Hayden Martin, Olive Branch, MS (12); 10. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (5); 11. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (9); 12. G6 Brandon Grubaugh, Ocala, FL (14); 13. 91 Kyle Connery, Vero Beach, FL (8); 14. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (17); 15. 1a Lee Moore, Moundville, AL (11); 16. 33 Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (18); 17. 9k Keith Graham, Coldwater, MS (13); 18. 83b Blake Carrier, Amite, LA (16); 19. 16 Hannah Merritt, Nesbit, MS (19); 20. 47s Jan Howard, Marion, AR (20); 21. 8x Brad Bowden, Hernando, MS (22); 22. 61 Sean Wimpee, Mobile, AL (21).