From Pete Walton
GASTONIA, NC – July 10, 2026 – Young gun, Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC picked up his fourth Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour win of the 2026 season on Friday night at Carolina Speedway. The 16-year-old reigning USCS Rookie of the Year led all 25 laps for the victory.
Jadan Bowling of Holden Beach, NC challenged for the lead on a lap 15 restart, but had to settle for second. The 16-time USCS National Champion and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN took the third spot and Tyler Blankenship of Bakersfield, CA finished fourth.
Hayden Wise of Huntersville, NC started ninth and the 15-year-old young lady drove to a fifth-place finish to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Scott Hunter of Concord, NC was sixth and seventh went to Tyler Lupton of Clarkston, MI. Johnny Bridges of Cherryville, NC finished eighth and Jackson Wellman of Belmont, NC took the ninth spot. USCS National point leader Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS rounded out the top ten,
In preliminary action, Gray 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 Hunter in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, and Bowling in the XC Gear Second Heat.
McDaniel came from the third starting spot to pass Gray for the lead on the first lap of the race with Tityn Roberts of Bennet, NE, Bowling, and Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC in third through fifth respectively. Bowling passed Roberts on lap three to move up to the third spot. By lap five, McDaniel held a 1.906 second lead on Gray, while Moss passed Roberts for fourth.
Blankenship passed Roberts on lap seven to move up to the top five. McDaniel opened up a 2.334 second lead on Gray by lap ten. Bowling passed Gray for second on lap 12. Moss fell off the pace on lap 15, as Blankenship and Wise moved up to fourth and fifth respectively.
The only caution flag of the race came out on lap 15 when Moss slowed to a stop on the speedway. McDaniel led Bowling, Gray, Blankenship and Wise down for the restart. Bowling tried to get around McDaniel for the lead.
McDaniel pulled away and held a 1.743 second advantage over Bowling with five laps to go. The 16-year-old leader McDaniel took the checkered flag with a 2.940 second margin of victory over Bowling in a race that took just 10 minutes and 46.439 seconds to complete 25 laps.
The Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour will return to Travelers Rest Speedway in Travelers Rest, SC on Saturday night. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page.
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 HOOSIER RACING TIRE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY XC GEAR 30TH ANNIVERSARY OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR EVENT AT CAROLINA SPEEDWAY IN GASTONIA, NC ON 7/10/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (3); 2. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (4); 3. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (1); 4. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (7); 5. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (9); 6. 1x Scott Hunter, Concord, NC (6); 7. 4t Tyler Lupton, Clarkston, MI (10); 8. 07 Johnny Bridges, Cherryhill, NC (11); 9. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (8); 10. 28 Jeff Willinghm, Ripley, MS (13); 11. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (5); 12. 11b Brandon Hughes, Mooresville, NC 12; 13. 75 Robert Tyler, Mount Pleasant, NC (15); 14. 18r Tityn Roberts, Bennet, NE (2); 15. 5m Shawn Mott, Rockwell, NC (14).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Gray; 2. Roberts; 3. McDaniel; 4. Bowling; 5. Moss; 6. Hunter.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Hunter; 2. Roberts; 3. McDaniel; 4. Moss; 5. Wise; 6. Lupton; 7. Bridges; 8. Willingham.
XC GEAR HEAT 2: 1. Bowling; 2. Gray; 3. Wellman; 4. Tyler; 5. Hughes; 6. Blankenship; 7. Mott.