Ringold, GA - In front of a capacity crowd on Friday night, six-time and defending O’Reilly United Sprint Car Series Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee raced from his K&N Filters pole position start into victory lane at Boyd’s Speedway in the O’Reilly USCS “Outlaw Thunder” Tour presented by Lucas Oil 30-lap main event. Only young gun T.J. Winegardner’s win in the evening’s Lucas Oil Power Dash prevented a clean sweep for the cagey veteran in his familiar #10 Rislone, CnB Mushroom Farms, Wesmar powered J & J Auto Racing car.
Gray won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race. He drew a zero from the K&N Filters Pole Award draw in front of the huge crowd. The luck of the draw placed Gray in the number one starting position for the main-event at the newly remodeled and refined 3/8 mile Georgia red clay oval just across the line from Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He then took full advantage of his good fortunes by wiring the field in his first-ever visit to the track.
Butlerbuilt Second Heat winner, Brian Thomas from Pendergrass, Georgia started next to Gray on the outside of the front row. At the drop of the initial green flag, Gray won the drag race to turn one and accelerated away from the field down the back stretch with Thomas in the runner-up spot and O’Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year point’s leader Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee was in third place. T.J. Winegardner from Pierson, Florida was in the fourth slot and Matt Linder from Hoschton, Georgia rounded out the top five on lap one.
On lap two, Linder charged past Nicholson for third place. On lap three, Linder overtook Thomas for the runner-up spot. Winegardner moved up two places by lap four and was battling with Linder for second place by lap five. On lap six Thomas spun while running fifth behind the previous night’s winner Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina who had advanced into fourth place from his seventh starting position. Thomas’ incident collected Ryan Devitt from Capistrano Beach, California and the damage to both cars ended the evening for them. This bunched the field behind Gray for the restart with Linder, Winegardner, Bridges and Nicholson in-tow.
Gray charged off to victory lane once again and the pack was left to battle for the runner-up spot. Bridges slipped underneath Winegardner on lap nine before a caution for Largo, Florida veteran Bob Auld’s loop on lap twelve slowed the field again. This gave Linder and Bridges another shot at overcoming the fleeting Gray. When the green flag flew once again, Gray showed his superiority on the night and charged hard in front until, Linder spun exiting turn two on lap twenty-three, bunching the field behind Gray on the final caution period and sending Linder to the rear for the restart.
Bridges chased Gray for the final seven laps from the runner position, but the four-time 2008 O’Reilly USCS feature winner couldn’t take advantage of the restart and settled for second place on the evening. Winegardner who won an O’Reilly USCS feature earlier in the season at Sugar Creek Raceway had a steady performance all evening and finished third in the main-event. Linder charged back through the field to claim the fourth place paycheck and Anthony Nicholson rounded out the top five.
Improving rookie driver and O’Reilly USCS Southern Thunder regional series Rookie of the Year point’s leader, Jake McLain from Indian Trail, North Carolina led the next group of finishers in sixth place in the final running order followed by Clint Weiss from Fort Knox, Kentucky in seventh place. Veteran Mike Partin from Bunnell, Florida started eleventh and finished in eighth place. Bob Auld from Largo, Florida finished in the ninth position in the main event and Danny Statter from Deltona, Florida rounded out the top ten.
Pierson, Florida young gun T.J. Winegardner won the 6-lap Lucas Oil Power Dash. Terry Gray garnered the win in the 10-lap Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Brian Thomas from Pendergrass, Georgia won the Butlerbuilt Second Heat. Gray received the K&N Pole award after winning the first heat race and then drawing a zero inversion for the top six qualifiers.
The JE Pistons Top Guns Award, which rotates from first through third positions in the A-Main, went to the feature race runner-up Johnny Bridges. T.J. Winegardner was awarded the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race (for the highest finishing driver under 25 years old.) after his third place finish.