Altamahaw, NC – April 17, 2009 - Blaze Martin from Brandon, Florida raced to the win in the 35-lap Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series main event on Friday night at Ace Speedway in Altamahaw, North Carolina. The 25-year old Martin got a hand of four aces worth $2200 when he also scored a clean sweep while winning the time trials and seeting a new track record plus the Parts Plus Power Dash and Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race in addition to the main event in his Lee Cipray wrenched #5 Hurricane car.
Martin started from the sixth position after drawing a six in the K&N Filters Pole Award drawing. His draw placed the 2008 USCS Rookie of the Year Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee on the pole with 2008 Asphalt Thunder Rookie of the Year, Adam Jackson from Birmingham, England on the outside of the front row. With David Adkins from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and 2008 Carolina Thunder mini-series Champion Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina in the second row. Defending USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee started inside row three next to Martin.
On lap one the flying Martin streaked past the second row of cars and Nicholson into second place. He then chased second-year racer Jackson for two laps. Jackson then pushed the front end of his #46 Jackson BP J&J Auto Racing car exiting turn four on lap three and Martin hustled past him in the low groove to lead lap three. Fourth starting Johnny Bridges was in third place at this point with Terry Gay in fourth and Nicholson rounding out the top five.
Gray passed Bridges for third place on lap six and set his sights on Adam Jackson then Martin. He rolled past Jackson on lap eleven and took up the chase for the leader (Martin). As Martin worked the lapped traffic, the veteran, Gray closed the leader’s advantage. On lap twenty-eight Gray caught Martin behind several cars he was attempting to lap and closed to within a car length. After a couple of laps of battling with lapped cars with Gray challenging him for the lead, Martin cleared the traffic and pulled out to an eight car advantage at the Ace Speedway finish line.
The Seven-time USCS National Champion, Terry Gray chased Martin across the finish line in the runner-up position. Adam Jackson followed Gray in third place in his season debut. 2008 USCS Rookie of the Year, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee finished fourth. Two-time 2008 Asphalt Thunder feature winner Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina, rounded out the top five finishers.
Current USCS Rookie point’s leader, Justin Carver from Drummonds, Tennessee had another successful paved track finish in sixth place followed by veteran Brad Wickham from Rutherfordton, North Carolina in seventh place. The 2008 USCS Southern Thunder Tour Rookie of the Year, Jake McLain from Indian Trail, North Carolina finished eighth. Brian Carter from Concord, North Carolina finished in the ninth position in his paved track sprint car debut. Veteran sprint car racer, Tom Paterson from Argos, Indiana rounded out the top ten finishers in the series’ sixth race of the season.
Blaze Martin won the Parts Plus Power Dash for the top six finishers from the previous event. He also won the 8-lpa Engler Machine and Tool First Heat race and set the fastest lap of the evening and a new all-time Ace Speedway new track record of 13.22 seconds around the 3/8 mile paved oval. Terry Gray won the Butlerbuilt Second Heat.
Adam Jackson was the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race. Justin Carver was the RE Technologies Rookie of the Race. Blaze Martin additionally garnered the Lunati Cranks "Crank It Up" Award for his charge past five cars in the A-Main to the victory.
The next Parts Plus Outlaw Thunder event is on Saturday April 18th at Florence Motor Speedway in Florence, SC.