Terry Gray by 10 points over Danny Martin for 2006 O'Reilly USCS "Southern Thunder" regional series title
11/26/06
Atlanta, GA - Veteran Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee and 20 year old Hoosier Tire Young Guns points leader, Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida went in to the final weekend of racing for points in the O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series Southern Thunder just four points apart with the veteran Gray leading. The two nights at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida on November 3rd and 4th would determine the title. Martin who was on a five race O'Reilly USCS winning streak was going home to the track where he started his career. Gray had never performed his best at the "Clay by the Bay". Martin had twice won the Fall Brawl preliminary night features. After the two night event Gray held on for the title with a third place finish on Friday and fifth place finish on Saturday night.. Martin had a fourth place run on Friday night and finished seventh on Saturday night. Gray left the 1/3 mile oval with a twelve point lead and the regional series championship.
Gray garnered two wins one at Golden Isles Speedway on April 21st and one at Swainsboro Raceway on May 20th and twelve top fives in his title run. In addition all seventeen of his finishes were in the top ten. He finished with a total of 2606 O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder points. Martin who was the series top feature winner in 2006 with eight feature wins, had an outstanding Southern Thunder season winning six times with fourteen top ten finishes in the regional series, but had three finishes out of the top ten that were enough to cost him the title. He finished with 2596 points.
1999 O'Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas finished in the third position with 2558 points just 48 points out of first place and only 38 points behind the runner-up Martin. Possibly the series most improved driver of the season, 21 year-old T.J. Winegardner, Jr. from Pierson, Florida who ranks third in the 2006 National standings followed Skinner in fourth place with 2426 points after a second place finish at East Bay on the final night. Nineteen year-old Stephen Darvalics from Venice, Florida rounded out the top five in the standings with 1848 points. The second year driver had seven top ten finishes.
Seventeen year-old second-year O'Reilly USCS hot-shoe Matt Tiffany, from Daytona Beach, Florida finished in the sixth position with 1810 points. Tiffany missed the final two nights due to an injury. T.J. Winegardner's team-mate Tom Winegardner from Pierson, Florida who missed the last four events due to a back injury at Dixie Speedway on September 9th followed in seventh. 2005 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, Bryn Gohn from Malabar, Florida was eighth in the standings.
2005 O'Reilly USCS National Champion, Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida who won the regional series finale at East Bay raceway Park was ninth in the regional standings. 2004 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, R.J. Johnson from Decatur, Tennessee rounded out the top ten in the regional point standings.
Brian Eckley from Tampa, Florida is the O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder Tour regional series Rookie of the Year after finishing with the most points of any rookie driver that competed in the series.
Ninety-one different drivers competed in the eighteen O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder events held at eleven different tracks in five states that kicked off on Monday, February 6th at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Florida and concluded at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa on Saturday, November 4th.
There were nine different winners. Hoosier tire Young Gun Champion, Danny Martin found victory lane six times four times more than any other driver. The 2006 champion, Gray won two events, as did 2005 National Champion Kenny Adams. 2005 and 2006 URC Champion Curt Micheal from Ocean Springs, Delaware won two times in July's USCS/URC South vs. North Challenge event. 2006 O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder and 2006 Speedweek Champion Mike Ward also won twice. 1999 O'reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner won one event as did Jason Sides from Bartlett, TN and Michigan hot-shoe Dustin Daggett who both won in February at Volusia.
The O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder Tour regional series competes in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas. For complete and archived results from these events please visit the series Official website at www.uscsracing.com . For series info call 404-886-5913.
2006 O'Reilly USCS Southern Thunder Tour Final standings
(top 25 after 18 events).
Ps Cr# Driver Hometown Points
1 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, Tennessee 2606 2 wins
2 00 Danny Martin, Jr., Sarasota, FL 2596 6 wins
3 26 Skinner, Marshall, W. Memphis, AR 2558 1 win
4 11T Winegardner, Tom Jr., Pierson, FL 2426
5 32 Stephen Darvalics, Venice, FL 1848
6 19T Matt Tiffany, Daytona Beach, FL 1810
7 11 Tom Winegardner, Pierson, FL 1788
8 4A Kenny Adams, Malabar, FL 1782 2 wins
9 4B Bryn Gohn, Malabar, FL 1758
10 1X Matt Linder, Hoschton, GA 1590
11 71 R.J. Johnson, Decatur, TN 1510
12 1B Brian Maddox, Brandon, FL 1162
13 12B Brian Eckley, Tampa, FL ( ROY ) 1070 Rookie of Year
14 19 Jerry Jones, Clermont, FL 1046
15 43 Terry Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL 1006
16 59 Dan Statter, Deltona, FL 936
17 67 Brian Thomas, Auburn, GA 792
18 42x Sport Allen, Pinellas Park, FL 774 1 win
19 56R Ryan Myers, Eaton, OH 752
20 88 Mike Ward, Memphis, TN 726 2 wins
21 20 Frank Carlsson, Oxford, FL 684
22 2D Doug Day, Winder, GA 640
23 88Z Shane Nelson, Chattanooga, TN 610
24 6 Mike Schroeder, SW Ranches, FL 550
25 15 Sam Hafertepe, Sunnyvale, FL 528
Additional 2006 winners
Jason Sides 2/6/06 - Voluisa
Dustin Daggett 2/7/06 - Volusia
Curt Michael 7/7/06 - Riverside, SC
Curt Micheal 7/8/06 - I-20 Speedway
