By Roby Helm
HATTIESBURG, MS – June 5, 2026 – Brad Bowden of Hattiesburg, MS took the lead on lap six and then held off Hayden Martin of Olive Branch, MS to win the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour 25-lap Feature Race on Friday night at Hattiesburg Speedway.
Martin finished second and the defending USCS National Champion Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS started seventh and finished third to earn the Wildwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award.
The 16-time USCS National Champion and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN took the fourth spot and Wesley Shepard of Coldwater, MS was fifth, Brandon Blenden of Gulfport, MS finished sixth and Rusty Sanford of Seminary, MS came home in the seventh spot. USCS National point leader Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS finished eighth and ninth went to Aaron Smith of Gulfport, MS. Lee Moore of Moundville, AL rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, Blenden won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the 25-lap Feature Race. The two eight-lap Heat Races were won by Martin in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, and Bowden in the XC Gear Second Heat.
Blenden took the lead from the pole position at the start of the Feature Race followed by Bowden, Sanford, Gray and Martin. The only caution flag of the race came out on lap two when Evan McElhaney of Hernando, MS spun in turn two. When the field went back to green flag action, Gray got by Sanford on the restart to move up to the third spot.
Martin passed Sanford for the fourth spot on lap three and on lap five, Bowden moved up to challenge Blenden for the lead. Bowden passed Blenden for the point on lap six, and Gray passed Blenden for second on lap seven. The leaders caught the cars on the tail end of the lead lap on the eighth circuit, and Martin passed Blenden for third.
The ninth lap saw Martin pass Gray for the second spot, 1.6 seconds behind the leader Bowden. At the halfway point, the top five was Bowden, Martin, Gray, Howard and Blenden. Martin closed to within six tenths of a second of Bowden with five laps to go, while Howard passed Gray for third on lap 22.
Bowden held off all challengers in the closing laps to take a .806 second margin of victory under the checkered flag. With only one caution flag to slow the field, the 25 laps around Hattiesburg Speedway were completed in 9 minutes and 4.430 seconds.
The next two races for the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour will be on Friday night, June 19 at Needmore Speedway in Norman Park , GA and on Saturday night, June 20 at All Tech Raceway in Lake City, FL. 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 HOOSIER TIRE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY XC GEAR 30TH ANNIVERSARY OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR EVENT AT HATTIESBURG SPEEDWAY IN HATTIESBURG, MS ON 6/5/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 8x Brad Bowden, Hernando, MS (3); 2. 67 Hayden Martin, Olive Branch, MS (5); 3. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (7); 4. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (4); 5. 5b Wesley Shepard, Coldwater, MS (6); 6. 88 Brandon Blenden, Gulfport, MS (1); 7. 28s Rusty Sanford, Seminary, MS (2); 8. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (8); 9. 29 Arron Smith, Gulfport, MS (10); 10. 1a Lee Moore, Moundville, AL (13); 11. 16 Evan McElhaney, Hernando, MS (12); 12. 88 Trent Moss, Medon, TN (11); 13. 01h Hadley Morgan, Beaumont, TX (14); 14. 52 Adrian Tetreault, Horn Lake, MS (9).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Blenden; 2. Sanford; 3. Bowden; 4. Gray; 5. Martin; 6. Shepard.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Martin; 2. Shepard; 3. Sanford; 4. Tetreault; 5. Willingham; 6. Moss; 7. Morgan.
XC GEAR HEAT 2: 1. Bowden; 2. Blenden; 3. Gray; 4. Howard; 5. Smith; 6. McElhaney; 7. Moore.