By Roby Helm
GASTONIA, NC – Friday, 24, 2026 – Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC drove to his second Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By XC Gear win of the season on Friday night at Carolina Speedway. The 15-year-old 2025 USCS Rookie of the Year led all 25 laps in the Feature Race for the victory, his second National win to go with a Winter Heat Serieswin.
Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC finished second and Tyler Blankenship of Bakersfield, CA took the third spot. Jadan Bowling of Holden Beach, NC was fourth, and Justin Barger of Cornelius, NC drove to a fifth-place finish. Fourth generation driver P.J. Reutimann of Zephyrhills, FL came home in the sixth spot and Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS took the seventh position.
Eric Riggins Jr. of Charlotte, NC finished eighth and Preston Carr of Cottonwood, CA was ninth. Randy Wilbert of Lititz, PA rounded out the top ten, while Adrian Tetreault of, Horn Lake, MS started 17th and finished 11th to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award.
In preliminary action, McDaniel 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 Riggins in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Terry Witherspoon of Jacksonville, FL in the XC Gear Second Heat, and Blankenship in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat.
The start of the race was red flagged for a multi-car tangle on the opening lap that delayed the complete restart by 14 minutes. When the field took the green flag for the second time, McDaniel took the lead followed by Moss, Riggins, Blankenship and Witherspoon. By the fifth lap, McDaniel opened up a two second advantage over Moss, and Reutimann got by Witherspoon, who dropped out of the race running fifth.
The only caution flag of the feature race came out on lap 11 for Carr, who dropped out of the eighth position. McDaniel led Moss, Riggins, Blankenship, and Reutimann down for the restart in the top five. Bowling passed Reutimann on the restart to move up to the fifth spot. McDaniel stretched his lead over Moss out to 1.7 seconds with ten laps to go.
Riggins dropped out of the race on lap 18 while running third, and Barger moved up to the top five. With five laps to go, McDaniel had checked out to a 3.1 second lead over Moss. McDaniel took a 4.936 second margin of victory over Moss under the checkered flag in a race that took 22 minutes and 56.234 seconds to complete the 25 tours around Carolina Speedway.
The Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour travels to McDaniels’ home track, Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC, on Saturday night for a 30-lap Feature Race. 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 CAROLINA SPEEDWAY IN GASTONIA, NC ON 4/24/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (1); 2. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (3); 3. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (4); 4. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (5); 5. 5 Justin Barger, Cornelius, NC (8); 6. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (7); 7. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (12); 8. 24 Eric Riggins, Jr., Charlotte, NC (2); 9. 7 Preston Carr, Cottonwood, CA (9); 10. 55w Randy Wilbert, Lititz, PA (14); 11. 52x Adrian Tetreault (17); 12. 43 Terry Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL (6); 13. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (16); 14. 75x Brian Tyler, Parma, MI (18); 15. 15 Steve Gilroy, Cherryville, NC (15); 16. 11j Wyatt Miller, Statesville, NC (10); 17. 75 Robert Tyler Mount Pleasant, NC (11); 18. 5m Shawn Mott, Rockwell, NC (13).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. McDaniel; 2. Riggins; 3. Blankenship; 4. Witherspoon; 5. Bowling; 6. Moss.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Riggins; 2. Reutimann; 3. Barger; 4. Miller; 5. Wellman; 6. Allen DNS.
XC GEAR HEAT 2: 1. Witherspoon; 2. Moss; 3. Carr; 4. Willingham; 5. Gilroy; 6. B. Tyler DNS.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT 3: 1. Blankenship; 2. McDaniel; 3. Bowling; 4. R. Tyler; 5. Mott; 6. Wilbert.