2.9.19 USCS Sprints Results
Ocala, FL – February 9, 2019 – Mark Smith from Sunbury, Pennsylvania raced to a career-fifth United Sprint Car Series (USCS) Outlaw Thunder Tour presented by K&N Filters win in the USCS Winter Heat Series Round #4 main event at Bubba Raceway Park on Saturday night. Smith who had three previous USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour wins at Bubba Raceway Park during 2017 and 2018 was the evening’s best from an international field of 42 drivers from 16 United States, Canada and England for his first win of the 2019 season.
Smith started the FireAde sponsored 30-lap A-main contest from the fourth position, then raced past K&N Filters Pole Position starter and Jacksonville, Florida driver, Mark Ruel, Jr. for the lead spot on lap three of the 30-lap speed contest.
Smith continued to build on his lead until lap 15 when a red flag brought out by Old Chatham, New York’s Bret Wright when he rolled over in turn three. This bunched the field with Ruel, Jr. and fifth starting Sam Hafertepe, Jr. from Rock Wall, Texas, Wayne Johnson of Liberal, Kansas and the previous night’s winner, Davie Franek from Sussex, New Jersey behind Smith for the re-start.
The race went green again until lap 20 when the car of Cherryville, North Carolina’s Johnny Bridges stopped on the track to bring out the yellow flag and bunch the field once again behind the fleeting Mark Smith who had stretched his lead to nearly a straightaway. At this point Mark Ruel, Jr. held on to the runner-up spot with Hapertepe, Jr., Wayne Johnson and now thirteenth starting Tony Stewart from Brownsburg, Indiana comprising the top five.
Over the final ten laps Sam Hapertepe, Jr. passed Mark Ruel, Jr. whose car seemed to be getting loose from tire wear on lap 26. Stewart pushed Ruel’s gallant defense of the invaders farther back on lap with two to go and moved into the third spot. On the 28th lap, Larry Wight from Fulton, New York charged all the way from his eighteenth starting spot into fourth place. Mark Ruel, Jr. rounded out the top five finishers.
DHR Suspensions Heat Six winner, Wayne Johnson led the next group to the finish line in sixth place followed by Seth Bergman from Owasso, Oklahoma, who won the evening’s Hero Graphics Fifth heat in seventh place. The previous night’s main event winner, Davie Franek finished in eighth place in the Saturday night contest after winning the Engler Machine and Tool First heat race. Carson Short from Marion, Illinois followed in ninth place after starting seventeenth and passing eight cars. Talented Canadian racer, Thomas Kennedy from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada rounded out the top ten finishers.
Davie Franek was the passing points leader after qualifying heat race action. Mark Ruel, Jr. who was sixth in passing points was awarded the K&N Filters Pole Position after Engler Machine and Tool First Heat winner Davie Franek drew a six inversion in the pole award drawing.
Justin Barger from Cornelius, North Carolina kicked off the evening’s action by winning the USCS Hoosier Tire 6-lap Speed Dash. As mentioned, Davie Franek won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. won the Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat and eleven-time USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee won the Butlerbuilt Third Heat. Three-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Tony Stewart won the FireAde 2000 Fourth Heat. Seth Bergman captured the victory in the Hero Graphics Fifth Heat and Wayne Johnson concluded the preliminary heats by winning the DHR Suspensions Sixth Heat.
Larry Wight was awarded the evening’s Wilwood Disc Brakes “Hard Charger” after passing fourteen cars in the main event. Shelby Brown from Marks, Mississippi was awarded the Radical Race Gear Rookie of the Race.
The United Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters would like to gratefully thank its sponsoring partners for their involvement in the 2019 and 23rd USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour: K&N Filters, www.rockauto.com, Hoosier Racing Tire, Engler Machine and Tool, FireAde, Butlerbuilt, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Saldana Racing Products, DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends. PRO Shocks, KSE Racing Products, DHR Suspensions, Radical Race Gear, Schoenfeld Headers, Bell Helmets, DSR Fuel Systems, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Arizona Sport Shirts and Hero Graphics.
USCS presented by K&N Filters Outlaw Thunder Tour Winged Sprint Cars Winter Heat Series Round #4 at bubba Raceway Park on Saturday, February 9, 2019 results:
USCS Hoosier Speed DASH – (6 Laps)
1. 5-Justin Barger[2] ; 2. 14-Tony Stewart[4] ; 3. 47x-Dylan Westbrook[1] ; 4. 21k-Thomas Kennedy[6] ; 5. 99L-Larry Wight[3] ; 6. 28f-Davie Franek[5]
Heat 1 – Engler Machine & Tool (8 Laps)
1. 28f-Davie Franek[4] ; 2. 24-Danny Martin Jr[2] ; 3. 82-Garrett Green[6] ; 4. 21k-Thomas Kennedy[7] ; 5. 116-Nick Snyder[1] ; 6. 47x-Dylan Westbrook[5] ; 7. 13-Cory Turner[3]
Heat 2 – Brown and Miller Racing Solutions (8 Laps)
1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe[4] ; 2. m1-Mark Smith[6] ; 3. 21-Carson Short[5] ; 4. 8-Adam Pierson[7] ; 5. 11-Jim Shuster[2] ; 6. 17b-Shelby Brown[1] ; 7. 22-Connor Leoffler[3]
Heat 3 – FireAde (8 Laps)
1. 10-Terry Gray[1] ; 2. 14b-Brett Wright[4] ; 3. 22G-Johnny Gilbertson[7] ; 4. 28-Jeff Willingham[2] ; 5. 99-Tanner Witherspoon[5] ; 6. 49-Mallie Shuster[6] ; 7. 77x-Alex Hill[3]
Heat 4 – Schoenfeld Headers (8 Laps)
1. 14-Tony Stewart[1] ; 2. 22m-Shawn Murray[4] ; 3. 38-Tony Agin[2] ; 4. 99L-Larry Wight[5] ; 5. 5-Justin Barger[3] ; 6. 4-Danny Smith[6] ; 7. 197-Ryan Harrison[7]
Heat 5 – Hero Graphics (8 Laps)
1. 23-Seth Bergman[2] ; 2. 91-Ryan Turner[3] ; 3. 83-Mark Ruel Jr[7] ; 4. 92-Matt Kurtz[6] ; 5. 43-Terry Witherspoon[1] ; 6. 51-Bobby Tersillo[4] ; 7. 18j-RJ Jacobs[5]
Heat 6 – DHR Suspension (8 Laps)
1. 2c-Wayne Johnson[3] ; 2. 3-Todd Gracey[4] ; 3. 51x-Max Stambaugh[2] ; 4. 61-Parker Evans[5] ; 5. 16 B-Ricky Peterson[6] ; 6. 15-Dan Nanticoke[1] ; 7. 07-Johnny Bridges[7]
B-Main 1 – (12 Laps)
1. 8-Adam Pierson[2] ; 2. 21-Carson Short[1] ; 3. 116-Nick Snyder[8] ; 4. 47x-Dylan Westbrook[10] ; 5. 51x-Max Stambaugh[4] ; 6. 61-Parker Evans[5] ; 7. 92-Matt Kurtz[3] ; 8. 5-Justin Barger[7] ; 9. 197-Ryan Harrison[11] ; 10. 49-Mallie Shuster[9] ; 11. 18j-RJ Jacobs[13] ; 12. 28-Jeff Willingham[6] ; 13. 17b-Shelby Brown[12]
B-Main 2 – (12 Laps)
1. 21k-Thomas Kennedy[1] ; 2. 99L-Larry Wight[4] ; 3. 24-Danny Martin Jr[2] ; 4. 38-Tony Agin[3] ; 5. 4-Danny Smith[8] ; 6. 16 B-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 7. 13-Cory Turner[12] ; 8. 11-Jim Shuster[7] ; 9. 07-Johnny Bridges[10] ; 10. 51-Bobby Tersillo[9] ; 11. 99-Tanner Witherspoon[6] ; 12. 77x-Alex Hill[13] ; 13. 15-Dan Nanticoke[11]
A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. m1-Mark Smith[4] ; Sunbury, PA
2. 15h-Sam Hafertepe[5] ; Rock Wall, TX
3. 14-Tony Stewart[13] ; Brownsburg, IN
4. 99L-Larry Wight[18] ; Futon, NY
5. 83-Mark Ruel Jr[1] ; Jacksonville, FL
6. 2c-Wayne Johnson[3] ; Liberal, KS
7. 23-Seth Bergman[7] ; Owasso, OK
8. 28f-Davie Franek[6] ; Sussex, NJ
9. 21-Carson Short[17] ; Marion, IL
10. 21k-Thomas Kennedy[16] ; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN
11. 47x-Dylan Westbrook[21] ; Scotland, Ontario, CAN
12. 91-Ryan Turner[14] ; Caistor Centre, Ontario, CAN
13. 22G-Johnny Gilbertson[2] ; Dover, FL
14. 24-Danny Martin Jr[20] ; Sarasota, FL
15. 82-Garrett Green[11] ; Valrico, FL
16. 22m-Shawn Murray[9] ; Jacksonville, FL
17. 116-Nick Snyder[19] ; Marco Island, FL
18. 38-Tony Agin[22] ; Fort Myers, FL
19. 8-Adam Pierson[15] ; East Cornth, VT
20. 07-Johnny Bridges[24] ; Cherryville, NC
21. 14b-Brett Wright[8] ; Old Chatham, NY
22. 3-Todd Gracey[10] ; Glenville, PA
23. 4-Danny Smith[23] ; Chillicothe, OH
24. 10-Terry Gray[12] Bartlett, TN
Did Not Start
51x-Max Stambaugh, Lima, OH
61-Parker Evans, Owego, NY
82-Matt Kurtz , Jacksonville, FL
5-Justin Barger, Cornelius, NC
197-Ryan Harrison, North Hamptonshire, England
49-Mallie Shuster, Newville, PA
18j-RJ Jacobs , Dover, OH
28-Jeff Willingham , Ripley, MS
17b-Shelby Brown, Marks, MS
16 B-Ricky Peterson, Rawson, OH
13 Cory Turner, Caistor Centre, Ontario, CAN
11-Jim Shuster, Newville, PA
51-Bobby Tersillo, Campbell Hall, NY
99-Tanner Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL
77x-Alex Hill, Six Nations, Ontario, CAN
15-Dan Nanticoke, Ohsweken, Ontario, CAN
22-Conner Leoffler, Myrtle Beach, SC
USCS Sprint Car Series Race Awards on Friday 2/9/18:
Hoosier Tire Speed Dash: 5 Justin Barger
Engler Machine and Tool First Heat: 28F Davie Franek
Brown and Miller Racing Solutions Second Heat: 15 Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
K&N Filters Pole Award: 83 Mark Ruel, Jr.
JE Pistons Top Guns Award: (3rd Place) 14 Tony Stewart
PRO Shocks Champion Choice Award: (4th Place) 99L Larry Wight
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: (5th Place) 83 Mark Ruel, Jr.
Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award: 99L Larry Wight (started 18th and finished 4th)
DHR Suspension Eighth Place Award: 28F Davie Franek
DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends Top Ten Award: 21k Thomas Kennedy
Radical Racegear Rookie of the Race: 17B Shelby Brown