August 8, 2008 - Tuscumbia, AL - Current O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series Mid-South Thunder regional series points leader, Tim Crawley from Benton Arkansas won the 30-lap O’Reilly USCS feature at North Alabama Speedway on Friday night before a capacity crowd. Crawley ran his win streak in the tough regional series to two-in-a-row by besting a talented field of drivers from six states. Crawley won the previous O’Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder event during the O’Reilly USCS “Triple Crown Challenge” presented by Lucas Oil on Thursday, July 10th at Riverside International Speedway.
Crawley, who started the race in the third position, battled first past Ronny Howard from Southaven, Mississippi who started in the K&N Filters Pole Position for the runner-up spot on lap one. Crawley then worked his way underneath race-leader Marshall Skinner on lap three to take command of the race and led the final twenty-eight laps to the checkered flag. Skinner battled with Howard for the runner-up spot with Howard regaining the position on laps ten through thirteen before retiring with steering problems.
Skinner raced home in the runner-up spot followed by Mid-West All Star series point’s leader Jerrod Hull from Sikeston, Missouri in the third position. O’Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year point’s leader, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee had an impressive performance on the evening and finished in the fourth position. Another Hoosier Tire Young Gun, Buster Dickerson from Caledonia, Mississippi rounded out the top five positions.
Defending O’Reilly USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee finished in the sixth position. Sixteen year-old rookie driver, Justin Carver from Drummonds, Tennessee finished seventh followed by 2007 O’Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder Rookie of the Year, Chris Williams from Cordova, Tennessee. Clint Weiss from Phenix City, Alabama who works as a U.S. Army tank gunner in his day job, finished ninth in the main event. O’Reilly USCS veteran driver, Doug Day from Winder, Georgia rounded out the top ten.
On lap one of the main event, Henry Gustavus from Marion, Arkansas broke his rear-end leaving debris on the racing surface. Gray and Justin Carver ran over the parts and both cut tires. Carver who originally started sixth and Gray who began the race in the ninth position, had to re-start at the rear of the field after going to the work area for a tire change. Gustavus was done for the night.
Marshall Skinner won the evening’s 6-cars, 6-laps Lucas Oil Power Dash. Ronny Howard won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Skinner also picked up a win in the 10-lap Butlerbuilt Second Heat. The Hoosier Tire Young Guns award went to Anthony Nicholson who also garnered the Rookie of the Race honors. Jerrod Hull passed the most cars in the main event to earn the Huggins Cams Hard-Charger Award.