Cordele, GA - March 15, 2008 – 2005 O’Reilly United Sprint Car Series Asphalt Thunder Tour Champion, Wayne Reutimann, Jr. from Zephyrhills, Florida won the 35-Lap O’Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder Tour season-opener at Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia on Saturday night. The win was his sixth career O’Reilly USCS feature win.
Reutimann, Jr. started the evening by qualifying second fastest in the CnB Mushroom Farms Time Trials after Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida set fast time of 14.04 seconds around high-banked 4/10ths mile paved D Shaped tri-oval. After the qualifying heat races, Martin drew a zero inversion in the K&N Filters pole Award drawing place himself and Wayne Reutimann, Jr. on the front row for the start of the main event.
When the green flag flew for the start of the 35-lap feature, Martin led the pack down to turn one with Reutimann, Jr. beside him battling for supremacy through the first turn. As the pair exited turn two Reutimann, Jr. grabbed the lead and charged ahead. At the same time, Keith Butler from Riverview, Florida, who started sixth, charged past the first two rows into the second position on lap-one with Martin, open-wheel legend Wayne Reutimann, Sr. from Zephyrhills, Florida, Terry Gray, Shane Butler, English road-racing transplant Adam Jackson from Timmonsville, South Carolina and Wendy Mathis from Tampa, Florida behind them in the lead pack.
The race went green at a torrid pace for the first twenty-six laps before the first of two caution flags flew for Keith Butler’s spin-out when his left rear tire went down. This bunched the field with Martin, Jr. behind Reutimann, Jr. When the starter waved the green again, Reutimann, Jr. once again was in control with Martin chasing him hard from the runner-up spot followed by the senior Reutimann in third place. Gray and Shane Butler were waging a torrid battle for the fourth position with nine laps to go.
On the final lap Shane Butler looped his car in turn three. The field restarted with Reutimann, Jr. on the point for a green-white-checkered finish. For the third time the Reutimann, Jr. held off Martin and Reutimann, Sr. for the win racing the final two laps into victory lane. Martin collected the runner-pay followed by Wayne Reutimann, Sr. in the second Team Reutimann entry. Terry Gray drove home fourth and Wendy Mathis rounded out the top five positions. Rookie driver Adam Jackson crossed the finish-line in the fifth position and then failed to report to the scales before going to his pits first and suffered a penalty for it.
Defending series champion Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee who qualified fourth fastest and started fourth in the Lucas Oil Power Dash raced to victory in that six car shootout. Shane Butler from Bushnell, Florida raced from outside the front row in the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race to the win. Keith Butler, from Riverview, Florida then also raced from outside the front row the front row in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race to the victory 8 laps later as well.
The Huggins Cams Hardcharger Award went to Wendy Mathis. Danny Martin, Jr. was awarded the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race (for the highest finishing driver under 25 years old). Wayne Reutimann, Jr. additionally earned the JE Pistons Top Guns award. Danny Martin, Jr. was also the K&N Filters Pole Award recipient. Adam Jackson garnered the FSR Products Rookie of the Race award.
The O'Reilly USCS www.uscsracing.com returns to action on dirt Greenville Speedway www.greenvillespeedway.net next Saturday March 22nd with an O’Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder regional point’s event. The O’Reilly USCS is the only winged sprint car series in the World that races on both dirt and paved ovals. The next O'Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder Tour event is scheduled for Saturday April 19th at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, South Carolina.