May 30, 2008 Tuscumbia - In what was possibly the most exciting final 10 laps of an O’Reilly United Sprint Car main event or in all of sprint car racing ever, Benton, Arkansas’ fastest citizen, Tim Crawley charged to his third O’Reilly USCS Speedweek 2008 feature win on Friday night at North Alabama Speedway. Crawley, who started ninth in the field made contact with the wall early in the race on lap four and spun out. He then charged from the rear of the talented field back to the front to pass six-time series Champion, Terry Gray in the final corner for the win.
The 2007 O’Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, Don Young from Bartlett, Tennessee lead the first 22 laps of the race around Jeff Greer’s perfectly manicured high-speed one-third-mile red clay oval. Wade Oliver from Southaven, Mississippi chased the twenty year-old for the first fourteen-laps before Terry Gray who started twelfth in the field moved into the runner-up spot. The hard-charging Crawley got past Oliver on lap sixteen for third place. On lap nineteen “Wild Wade” (Oliver) went to the high-side of the speedway that has no outside guard-railing or retaining wall and rim-rode his way past Crawley back into the Show position. On lap 21 Oliver charged around Gray who seemed committed to the line around the bottom of the racing surface that brought him to the front. On lap twenty-three Gray’s strategy seemed to be working, as, he passed Oliver back , then drove past Young to grab the lead.
Gray lead laps 23 through 29 while a five-car pack including Oliver, Crawley, past champions Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas and Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida and Don Young diced for the runner-up position over the final six laps. The five cars changed positions in a wild “you’ve got to see-it-to-believe it!” charge. It appeared with 5 laps to go, that any one of the top 6 cars could have landed in victory lane. Crawley, who was scored in the runner-up spot on the 28th and 29th laps, dispensed of Oliver entering turn three of the final lap and raced around Gray through the final corner to beat the Speedweek points leader to the finish-line by a car length. Kenny Adams who started seventh and then went to the rear after hitting the rear of Independence, Mississippi’s car on lap 5, got past Oliver for the third position on the final turn as well. Oliver who was had his best run of the young season came home fourth and Marshall Skinner rounded out the top five after racing as high as third in the order.
Matt Linder from Hoschton, Georgia charged from eighteenth to finish sixth, early race-leader, Don Young was seventh . Danny Marin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida starte tenth and finished eighth. Raymond Stull who entered race in fifth place in the Speedweek 2008 point standings followed in ninth place and Speedweek Round one winner at Riverside Speedway Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi rounded out the top ten finishers.
The race had five caution flags and two red flags. Chris Williams took a scary tumble down the font stretch on lap 12 after contacting the front-stretch wall. Then on lap 13 while the caution was out for a car tossing the re-start cone into turn one, the red flag was waved for the #9Jr. car of Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas when a fire broke out in his car and on Hagar’s uniform and back when Methanol on his uniform caused by a lost fuel tank lid. Scarily, the seventeen year-old Hagar did his best stop, drop and roll in turn one to get the fire out. He suffered slight burns to his back, but was not transported to the hospital. Hagar started in the fourteenth position was running in sixth place at the time of the fire.
Marshall Skinner won the evening’s Lucas Oil Power Dash. 2008 Rookie of the Year points leader, Anthony Nicholson from Bartlett, Tennessee won the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat. Skinner also won the Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race and Bryce Vowan from Forrest City, Arkansas capped the qualifying rounds with a win in the Bar’s Leaks Third Heat. Second generation sprint car driver, Matt Linder garnered the Huggins Cams Hard Charger Award for his charge from the rear past twelve cars. Don Young garnered the Hoosier Tire Young Guns award, while Anthony Nicholson added to his Rookie of the Race pile.
The third annual O’Reilly USCS Speedweek 2008 concludes with Round Seven at Columbus Speedway ( www.columbusspeedway.net ) in Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday, May 31. For more information, please call (404) 886.5913 or visit www.uscsracing.com