By Roby Helm
SWEETWATER, TN – April 19, 2026 – The defending United Sprint Car Series National Champions Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS won Night 1 of the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour North/South Shootout 25-lap Feature Race on Friday night at I-75 Raceway, co-sanctioned by USCS and the Great Lakes Sprint Series.⁵
Howard took the lead on lap ten in heavy lapped traffic from Ryan Turner of Dunnville, ON CAN, and led the rest of the way through three restarts and a red flag period. Kelsey Ivy of Fremont, OH made a late-race pass on Turner to finish second, and Turner came home in the third spot.
“During the red flag, I was concerned that the air pressure bleeder on the right-rear tire would do what it was supposed to do after sitting for a while,” Howard said in Victory Lane. “Gunner Swindell, Sammy Swindell’s grandson, is a young teenager, and he set the bleeder and he knew what he was doing!”
The 16-time USCS National Champion and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN finished fourth and Corbin Gurley of Hebron, IN took the fifth spot. Ryan Coniam of Burlington ON CAN was sixth and seventh went to Kobe Allison of Lima, OH.
Hayden Wise of Huntersville, NC finished eighth, and Devon Dobie of Wapakoneta, OH started 16th and finished ninth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Jac Nickles of Harrod, OH rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, Turner won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the 25-lap Feature Race. The three eight-lap Heat Races were won by Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Allison in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat, and Gray in the XC Gear Third Heat.
Turner took the lead at the start of the race followed by outside front row starter Howard, Ivy, Gray and Allison. Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC brought out the first caution flag on lap two when he clobbered the tractor tire marking the inside of turn four and spun. When the field went back to green flag action, Turner continued to lead with Howard staying within striking distance.
The leader caught the tail of the 25-car starting field on lap seven, and Howard began to set up a move. That move came on lap ten when Howard went into turn one on the high side, and found the room he needed to take the lead coming off the inside of turn two to drive by Turner for the lead.
After Howard established himself as the leader, the second caution flag came out when Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC spun in turn three on lap 11 just after going a lap down. Five laps later, Moss stalled in turn two to light up the yellow caution bulb for the third time.
The red flag came out on the restart when two-time USCS National Champion Morgan Turpen-Havener of Gallatin, TN tangled up with two other cars and flipped in turn four. The “Quenn of the Wings” had her’s bent, but she was uninjured.
Howard got a good restart after the red flag, and he was able to pull away in the nine lap dash to the finish. The leader caught lapped traffic with four laps to go, but Turner was unable to challenge for the lead, as he was challenged for the runner-up spot by Ivy, who took the spot on lap 23. Howard was able to take a 2.419 second margin of victory under the checkered flag.
The Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour returns to I-75 Raceway on Saturday night for Round 2 of the USCS/GLSS North/South Shootout. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are XC Gear, 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 PRESENTED BY XC GEAR OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR EVENT AT I-75 RACEWAY IN SWEETWATER, TN ON 4/11/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (2); 3. 20i Kelsey Ivy, Fremont, OH (3); 3. 15 Ryan Turner, Dunnville, ON CAN (1); 4. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (4); 5. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (7); 6. 6 Ryan Coniam, Burlington ON CAN (9); 7. 24 Kobe Allison, Lima, OH (5); 8. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (10); 9 23 Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH (16); 10. 31 Jac Nickles, Harrod, OH (8); 11. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (6); 12. 87xs Skyler Evans, Scotland, ON CAN (13); 13. 66 Chase Dunham, Leipsic, OH (17); 14. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (20); 15. 16 Ryan Ruhl, Coldwater, MI (11); 16. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (18); 17. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (12); 18. 33 Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (23: 19. 71h Mx Stambaugh, Lima, OH (14); 20. 10m Morgan Turpen-Havener, Gallatin, TN (15); 21. 23m Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (19); 22. 11h Caleb Harmon, Elida, OH (22); 23. 22 Aaron Shaffer, Tekonsha, MI (24); 24. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (25); 25. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (21).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Turner; 2. Howard; 3. Ivy; 4. Gray; 5. Allison; Willingham.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Willingham; 2. Nickles; 3. Wise; 4. Ruhl; 5. Coniam; 6. Blankenship; 7. McDaniel; 8. V. Gurley; 9. Shaffer.
BUTLERBUILT HEAT 2: 1. Allison; 2. Turner; 3. Reutimann; 4. C. Gurley; 5. Dunham; 6. Dobie; 7. Moss; 8. Larkin.
XC GEAR HEAT 3: 1. Gray; 2. Ivy; 3. Howard; 4. Evans; 5. Stambaugh; 6. Turpen-Havener; 7. Harmon; 8. Wellman.