Columbus, MS - April 3, 2009 – Defending Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series Mid-South Thunder Tour Champion, Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas battled past early race-leaders, Gary Taylor from Seattle, Washington and Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi into the lead on lap thirteen of the twenty-lap preliminary night main event at Magnolia Motor Speedway on Friday night. It was Crawley’s seventh Parts Plus USCS feature win-in-a-row going back to last season when he won eleven times. Crawley bested a talented field of thirty-three sprint car drivers from ten states for the win.
Sprint car veteran Jeff Swindell from Bartlett, Tennessee raced from outside the second row into second place and Gary Taylor finished third in Bobby Sparks #91. Lee Sowell who started sixth chased Taylor down and briefly grabbed the lead from Taylor before a lapped car slowed him so Taylor could get back by. Sowell finished fourth and past Parts Plus USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas rounded out the top five finishers.
The defending series national Champion Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee led the next group in sixth. Paul McMahan from Nashville, Tennessee followed Gray in seventh after starting thirteenth. Bar’s Leaks Third Heat winner, Raymond Stull from Independence, Mississippi finished eighth. Young gun Tyler Godwin from Plant City, Florida finished ninth in the stellar field and Buster Dickerson from nearby Caledonia, Mississippi rounded out the top ten finishers. But,
2007 Parts Plus USCS Rookie of the Year, Don Young from Bartlett, Tennessee won the Parts Plus Power Dash. Marshall Skinner won the the 10-lap Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race. He then drew a zero inversion in the K&N Filters Pole Award drawing to start in the pole position for the 20-lap contest. Taylor strolled to the win in the 10-lap Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race to garner the outside front row starting position next to Skinner. Raymond Stull from Independence, Mississippi raced his Team Absolute #6 to victory in the Bar’s Leaks Third Heat Race and started third in the main event. The Lunati Cranks Fourth Heat Race was won by Swindell.
DainNaida from Belleville, Michigan garnered the Lunati “Crank It Up” Award for his charge past ten cars in the main event. RE Technologies Rookie of race honors went to the DynoTech Second B-Main winner Justin Carver from Drummonds, Tennessee. 2008 Parts Plus USCS Rookie of the Year, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee won the RE Technologies B-Main Number One. Taylor also received the K&N Gold Oil Filters third place award for his position. Sowell captured the JE Pistons Top Guns award that rotates from 1st through 5th positions in the main event.
The next Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series racing event is Round Two of the “Magnolia Spring Xplosion” Smorgasbord of Speed on Saturday, April 4th at Magnolia Motor Speedway.