July 10, 2008 - West Memphis, AR- O’Reilly United Sprint Car Series Mid-South Thunder point’s leader, Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas got two-thirds of the way to the $10,000 top prize in the Lucas Oil Triple Crown Challenge event at Riverside Speedway on Thursday night. Crawley won the Riverside Stock Cars first heat race and dominated the 15-lap feature race in that event. After winning the Lucas Oil Power Dash for the O’Reilly United Sprint Car Series sprint cars Crawley finished fifth in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat race. This made the task of winning three features in three classes much more daunting.
Crawley then finished in the runner-up spot in the 12-lap sprint car B-Main event behind past O’Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas. Crawley would then start eighteenth in the O’Reilly USCS main event. He then put on one of the most impressive driving shows anyone had ever seen, through one of the toughest field of competitors assembled for an O’Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder event this season. He passed race leader and ARCA REMax Series point’s leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. from Olive Branch, Mississippi on lap twenty-six. Stenhouse had led the first twenty-five circuits around the smooth and extremely tacky ¼ mile Gumbo clay oval. Crawley then raced the final five laps to the checkered flag for his sixth O’Reilly USCS win of the season. The huge week-night crowd went wild.
Only a win in the Rislone USCS Modified Series feature stood in the way of the $10,000 paycheck that Crawley came seeking on this humid and rain-delayed evening. Crawley started fourth in the Modified main event. On lap four after racing as high up on the first three laps as third place, Crawley’s luck ran out. While trying to make up ground in the tough field lost the previous lap, he spun exiting turn four and was hit by several cars. His car badly damaged and Crawley himself shaken, his gallant and exciting run came to an end. But, not before the talented oval ace had thrilled every single observer with his bravery and driving skills on a night to be remembered. It was past 1:00am and not a single soul had left the facility until Crawley’s run was done. All were enthralled by what they had witnessed.
Stenhouse, who was making one of his rare recent winged sprint car appearances, came home in the runner-up spot in the 30-lap O’Reilly USCS main event followed by six-time and defending series Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee in third place. Past O’Reilly USCS and ten-time speedway Champion, Eddie Gallagher from Piperton, Tennessee crossed in the fourth position. Past series Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas rounded at the top five after starting seventeenth.
Two-time 2008 Riverside International Speedway feature winner, Ernie Ainsworth from Bartlett, Tennessee finished in sixth place followed by O’Reilly USCS rookie point’s leader Anthony Nicholson also from Bartlett, Tennessee in seventh. Veteran Kenny Coke from Olive Branch, Mississippi finished in the eighth position and Jeff Swindell from Bartlett, Tennessee followed in ninth place. May 24th Riverside Speedway O’Reilly USCS Speedweek Round One feature winner Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi who also transferred from the B-Main and started nineteenth in the field rounded out the top ten drivers.
Tim Crawley won the evening’s 6-cars, 6-laps Lucas Oil Power Dash. Terry Gray won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Henry Gustavus from Marion, Arkansas got the victory in the 8-lap Butlerbuilt Second Heat. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. won the Bar’s Leaks Third Heat Race and O’Reilly USCS Rookie point’s leader; Anthony Nicholson won the FSR Racing Products Fourth Heat Race. The Hoosier Tire Young Guns award went to Stenhouse. Anthony Nicholson garnered the Rookie of the Race honors.