Over $75,000 in cash and contingencies were awarded as the O'Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series ( www.uscsracing.com ) honored drivers from seven states during its recent 11th Anniversary O'Reilly USCS Champions Awards Banquet held at the Hilton Memphis Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. A gathering of nearly 150 people honored seventeen sprint car drivers including Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee who captured his sixth O'Reilly USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour National Championship. Fifteen year-old Trey Robb from Newcastle, Oklahoma was honored for winning his first O'Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder series title. Along with Gray and Robb, the top ten drivers from each of four O'Reilly USCS racing divisions were recognized.
In addition to his sixth National Championship in seven seasons, Gray drove his Rislone Engine Treatment /Wendy’s Of Lexington/CnB Mushroom Farms /B& W Enterprises sponsored black #10 /Wesmar Racing Engines powered J&JAuto Racing car to three out of the four O'Reilly USCS division titles. Those other two Championships were in the O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder and the O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder which included both dirt and asphalt its schedule. Gray also grabbed the O’Reilly USCS Speedweek 2007 title.
The phenomenal fifteen year-old Trey Robb raced to five wins in eight events in the O’Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder division. Robb garnered his first series win on March 30th at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida while still fourteen years old to become the youngest driver to ever win a United Sprint Car Series main event. He then raced to four more wins including races at Senoia Raceway ( June 30th ), Greenville-Pickens Speedway on ( July 6th ), Watermelon Capital Speedway (July 8th) and Lanier National Speedway ( September 1st ).
Gray also garnered the series 2007 Ironman Award for completing the most laps of any driver during the season. Gray finished the season ranked sixth in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame North American 360 winged sprint car driver of the year poll that ranks drivers from the over 3000 competitors in winged 360 sprint cars.
Gray said," We had just had another great year in the O'Reilly USCS this season because of the help I got from my sponsors, my Mom and Dad and the help I received from the people involved on my team like Donnie ( “Red” ) Taylor and from my friends at the track. It was a much better year than we had in 2006. First of all we didn’t miss any races due to an injury like we did last year and we finished every race and won nine times in the USCS.”
Gray was the only driver who made it to all 30 National points events and amassed a wide margin for the championship. A past O’Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas totaled enough points to follow Gray in the national standings in second place. Skinner was followed by the 2006 Rookie of the Year, sixteen year-old Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas who finished in the third slot. The 2007 “Rookie of the Year”, eighteen year-old Don Young from Bartlett, Tennessee finished in the fourth position and twenty year-old R.J. Johnson from Land-O-Lakes, Florida who was the series 2004 O’Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, rounded out the top five positions in the standings.
O’Reilly USCS Hoosier Tire Young Gun Ryan Myers from Eaton, Ohio finished in the sixth position in the National standings followed by Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas who got a late start on the season in seventh place driving Mike Ward’s famed #88. Raymond Stull from Coldwater, Mississippi gathered enough points to finish eighth. Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida who was the runner-up in the National title chase for the past three seasons finished in the ninth position. Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi rounded out the top ten.
Derek Hagar also claimed the 2007 Hoosier Tire Young Guns championship that recognizes the series top drivers less than twenty-five years of age. The talented sixteen year-old driver had two wins on the season with the series at East Alabama Motor Speedway and Central Mississippi Speedway. 2007 Rookie of the Year Don Young from Bartlett, Tennessee finished in the runner-up spot followed by current East Bay Raceway track champion, R.J. Johnson from Land-O-Lakes, Florida in third place. Ryan Myers from Eaton, Ohio was fourth in the Young Gun standings and last year’s Hoosier Tire Young Gun Champion twenty-one year-old Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida rounded out the top five.
Donnie “Red’ Taylor who works with Gray on the Rislone Oil Stabilizer #10 car garnered the 2007 National Championship Crew Chief of the Year Award. Texan Paul Cook was awarded the O’Reilly USCS Crew Chief of the Year honors for his work with Trey Robb on the Aduddell Motorsports #12.
Don Young garnered the coveted 2007 O’Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year National Championship award after finishing fourth in the National standings. Nick DeFeo from Marietta, Georgia garnered the O’Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder Tour 2007 Rookie of the Year award. Chris Williams from Memphis, Tennessee took home the 2007 O’Reilly USCS Mid South Thunder Rookie of the Year award after finishing in the top ten of the standings. Lee Moore from Moundville, Alabama was named as the 2007 O’Reilly USCS Southern Thunder Rookie of the Year after finishing in the top ten positions in the series that competes on both Asphalt and Dirt ovals.
The Huggins Cams Hard Charger of the Year award went to Tim Crawley and R.J. Johnson was awarded the Most Improved Driver award after finishing in the top five in the National standings and in the runner-up position in the O’Reilly Southern thunder Tour regional standings. The complete and final point standings for all four series are posted at www.uscsracing.com