By Roby Helm
GAFFNEY, SC – September 26, 2026 – Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC swept the Palmetto State Fall Brawl Series Weekend with a hometown win in the 25-lap Feature Race on Saturday night for the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour at Cherokee Speedway. It was the 15-year-old’s second win of the weekend, and his sixth of the season.
After leading the first eight laps of the race, McDaniel fell back to second when Jadan Bowling of Holden Beach, NC took the lead on lap nine. With three laps to go, Bowling had misfortune, and McDaniel reclaimed the lead for the lap 23 restart.
Eric Riggins Jr. of Charlotte, NC finished second and third went to Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC. The USCS point leader, 16-time USCS National Champion, and National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN was fourth and Tyler Blankenship of Bakersfield, CA took the fifth spot.
Van Gurley Jr. of Valparaiso, IN finished sixth and Tityn Roberts of Bennet, NE came home in seventh. Hayden Wise of Huntersville, NC was eighth, and Bowling was credited with the ninth spot. Scott Hunter of Concord, NC rounded out the top ten.
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 two eight-lap Heat Races were won by Gurley in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, and Bowling in the XC Gear Second Heat.
McDaniel picked things up where he left off after winning the USCS Fall Brawl Race on Friday night at Travelers Rest (SC) Speedway. The 2025 USCS Southern Thunder Tour regional series Rookie of the Year took the lead at the start of the race followed by Bowling, Moss, Riggins, and Gray. Riggins got by Moss for the third spot on lap seven, and Bowling got by McDaniel in lapped traffic to take the lead on lap nine.
Bowling had stretched out to a 1.352 second lead over McDaniel by the halfway point in the race. McDaniel had closed to within .595 seconds with five laps to go, and then moved in to challenge Bowling for the point on lap 22.
On lap 23, Bowling ran into trouble when he flipped several times down the backstretch to bring out the red flag while battling for the lead. Bowling was shaken up, but told officials he was O.K. McDaniel inherited the lead for the restart, followed by Riggins, Moss, Gray and Gurley. McDaniel pulled away on the restart and took a 1.3 second margin of victory under the checkered flag.
The next race for the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour Fall Brawl will be on Saturday night, October 3 at Pine Ridge Speedway in Guntown, MS. 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, XC Geae, 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 CHEROKEE SPEEDWAY IN GAFFNEY, SC ON 9/26/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (1); 2. 24 Eric Riggins Jr., Charlotte, NC (4); 3. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (3); 4. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (5); 5. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (7); 6. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (6); 7. 18 Tityn Roberts, Bennet, NE (9); 8. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (10); 9. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (2); 10. 1x Scott Hunter, Concord, NC (12); 11. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (8); 12. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (11); 13. Johnny Bridges, Cherryville, NC DNS.
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. McDaniel; 2. Bowling; 3. Moss; 4. Riggins; 5. Gray; 6. Gurley.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Gurley; 2. Riggins; 3. Moss; 4. Willingham; 5. Wise; 6. Roberts; 7. Hunter.
BUTLERBUILT HEAT 2: 1. Bowling; 2. Gray; 3. McDaniel; 4. Blankenship; 5. Wellman; 6. Bridges DNS.