FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
ATWOOD, TN –March 23, 2024 -
Dale Howard of Byhalia, MS won the United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters Winter Heat Series finale on Saturday night at Clayhill Motorsports Park. Howard led all 25 laps of the Main Event to pick up his 25th USCS career win and move him into the tenth spot in all-time career series victories.
Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC finished second, and while he lost the battle, he won the war, taking the 2024 USCS Winter Heat Series Championship. Moss edged out National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN for the Championship. Another National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee, Danny Smith of Chillicothe, OH was third in the Feature Race.
Carson McCarl of Altoona, IA took the fourth spot, and the 15-time and defending USCS National Champion Gray came home in the fifth position.
National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Sammy Swindell of Germantown, TN finished sixth, and Lane Warner of Bloomfield, MO started 17th and finished seventh to earn the Wilwood Brakes Hard Charger Award.
Adyn Schmidt of Haubstadt, IN took the eighth spot, and Brianna Lawson of Southern Pines, NC was ninth. Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS rounded out the top ten. The 20-car field was represented by drivers from eight different states.
In preliminary action, Dale Howard won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the pole position for the Main Event, and the three eight-lap Heat Races were won by Moss in the Engler Machine & Tool first Heat, Chase Howard of Nesbit, MS in the Butlerbuilt Racing Products second Heat, and Gray in the Wilbanks Heating and Air third Heat.
Dale Howard took the lead at the start of the race from the pole position followed by Chase Howard, Moss, Gray, and Smith. On lap two, Smith made an inside move on Gray down the front straightaway to take over the fourth spot. Chase Howard fell off the pace on lap nine, which moved Moss, Smith, and Gray up into the second through fourth spots respectively, and McCarl moved up into the top five.
The first of two caution flags came out on lap 13 when Zach Pringle stalled on the backstretch. When the field went back to green flag action, McCarl passed Gray for the fourth position with an inside move in turn three on lap 14. Carbin Gurley of Hebron, IN moved into the top five on lap 19, and soon found himself in a four-way battle for the position,
Landon Britt of Memphis, TN passed Gurley for fifth on lap 22, but on lap 23, Britt, Gurley and Swindell, who was running eighth, tangled in turn two to bring out the second caution flag of the race. Gray, who was running seventh, escaped the melee, and lined up fifth for the restart behind Dale Howard, Moss, Smith, and McCarl.
When the green flag came out for the three lap dash to the finish, the top five held position, while Swindell charged up from the tail of the field to salvage a sixth-place finish. Dale Howard took the checkered flag with a .528 second margin of victory over Moss. The 25-lap Main Event took 20 minutes and 58.324 seconds to complete.
The next two races for the United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters will be Friday, April 5 at Carolina Speedway in Gastonia, NC, and on Saturday, April 6 at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC. For more information visit the USCS website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page, or call the series office at 770-865-6097.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are K&N Filters, Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huggins Cams, Hero Graphics, DMI/Bulldog, J&J Supply of NC, Racing Electronics, JE Pistons, DHR Suspension, Wilwood Disc Brakes, KSE Racing Products, PRO Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, and Arizona Sport Shirts.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES WINTER HEAT SERIES ROUND 9 EVENT AT CLAYHILL MOTORSPORTS PARK IN ATWOOD, TN ON 3/23/24:
FEATURE RACE – 30 Laps:
- 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (1);
- 23 Lance Moss (4);
- 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (5);
- 27 Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (9);
- 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (3);
- 47s Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (8);
- 122 Lane Warner, Bloomfield, MO (17);
- 12s Adyn Schmidt, Haubstadt, IN (14);
- B5 Brianna Lawson, Southern Pines, NC (13);
- 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (19);
- 10L Landon Britt, Memphis, TN (11);
- 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (12);
- 83 Curt Schumacher, Caledonia, MS (20);
- 55 Zach Pringle, Benton, AR (10);
- 13 Chase Howard, Nesbit, MS (2);
- 5 Max Stambaugh, Lima, OH (6);
- 4x Brad Bowden, Hernando, MS DNS;
- 22 Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA DNS;
- 8 Tony Higgins, Lake Comorant, MS DNS;
- 15 Noah Collier, Hernando, MS DNS.
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps:
- D. Howard; 2. C. Howard; 3. Gray; 4. Moss; 5. Smith; 6. Stambaugh.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1:
- Moss; 2. Stambaugh; 3. Smith; 4. Lawson; 5. Bowden; 6. Higgins; 7. Willingham.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 2:
- C. Howard; 2. D. Howard; 3. Swindell; 4. McCarl; 5. Schmidt; 6. Collier.
WILBANKS HEATING & AIR HEAT 3:
- Gray; 2. Goodno; 3. Pringle; 4. Britt; 5. Gurley; 6. Warner; 7. Schumacher.
Submitted by ROBY HELM – Helm Communications – 865-207-4157
United Sprint Car Series News Release: Contact: PETE WALTON – 770-865-6097 peteuscs@att.net