USCS ASPHALT THUNDER TOUR MAKES SECOND VISIT TO LANIER NATIONAL SPEEDWAY ON SEPTEMBER 4
August 27, 2004
FAYETTEVILLE, GA - The United Sprint Car Series Asphalt Thunder Tour will return to Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, GA on Saturday night, September 4 for 700 horsepower winged outlaw sprint car action. Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN and Kenny Adams of Malabar, FL are locked in a tight battle for the 2004 USCS Asphalt Thunder championship.
Gray currently leads Adams in the points chase, but Adams is looking forward to making his second visit to LNS to get the one that got away earlier in the year. The "Malabar Missile" has won four of seven USCS Asphalt Thunder races this season, plus a second-place finish, and a third place effort. Adams is the defending USCS Asphalt Thunder Champion.
The main difference between Adams and Gray in the point standings was the 21st-place finish Adams recorded during his first visit to LNS on March 27 when he crashed into the first turn wall on the opening lap of the 40-lap main event.
Gray is the defending and three-time USCS National Champion, and in seven Asphalt Thunder events, the "Bartlett Bullet" has one win, three seconds, two thirds, and a fourth-place finish. USCS is the only winged outlaw sprint car series in the country that runs both dirt and asphalt, and Gray also leads the USCS National, Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour, and Sunbelt Tour points.
The "Buckeye Bandits" of Mansfield, OH drivers Doug Berryman and Joe Rebman are expected to return to LNS on September 4. Berryman took the win at LNS in the USCS Asphalt Thunder season opener on March 27, and Rebman finished seventh. Berryman is fourth in USCS Asphalt Thunder points with four top five finishes and six top ten efforts in six starts.
The "Carolina Cruisers" will be led by Will Ragsdale of Easley, SC, who is third in Asphalt Thunder points. He will be joined by Doug "Solid" Gold of Concord, NC who rides fifth in Asphalt Thunder points. Other "Carolina Cruiser" drivers expected include Jimmy Taylor of Green Pond, SC, Butch Pendergrass of Winston-Salem, NC and Chad Allum of Kannapolis, NC.
The USCS "youth movement" will be led by 18-year-old Danny "The Hammer" Martin of Sarasota, FL. Martin is second overall in the USCS National points, and sixth in Asphalt Thunder points. Martin has three USCS
Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour wins, and has now become a front-runner on the asphalt tracks.
R.J. Johnson of Decatur, TN is the leading USCS Rookie of the Year Candidate, and the 17-year-old "Decatur Raider" is fourth in National points, and eighth in Asphalt Thunder points. Also look for 19-year-old Tom Winegardner Jr. of Pierson, FL.
The USCS Asphalt Thunder machines will compete in time trials, the Air Flow Research Power Dash, heat races, and a 40-lap main event at LNS on September 4.
For race day and ticket information call Lanier National Speedway at (770) 967-8600, or visit the track's web site at www.laniernationalspeedway.com. Lanier National Speedway is located on State Road 53 four miles north of I-85 at exit 129, or five miles south of I-985 at exit 16. For more information about the USCS, visit their web site at www.uscsracing.com.
