• O'Reilly USCS "ASPHALT THUNDER" SPRINT CARS HEADLINE RACING at SGMP THIS SATURDAY NIGHT (May 13th)

May 8, 2006 - For immediate release:



Braselton, GA - Wild and exciting winged Outlaw sprint car racing returns to South Georgia Motorsports Park to headline the racing program this Saturday night, May 13th. The O'Reilly Auto Parts sponsored United Sprint Car Series "Asphalt Thunder" Tour will roar into the one half mile paved oval for the series' fourth asphalt event of the season. This will be event number ten on the season for the O'Reilly USCS National touring drivers who also race on dirt ovals. The O'Reilly USCS is the only winged outlaw style sprint car series in the World that races on both dirt and paved surfaces.

The event is expected to bring top winged Outlaw sprint car drivers from at least five states to the Speedway. Their exotic fire breathing, alcohol burning, 700 horsepower open wheel cars weight just 1,300 pounds, and will literally fly around the track surface at speeds in excess of 140 miles per hour. It is not uncommon to see these cars popping "wheelies" or doing wheel stands because of the brute force of their engines and their huge 18 inch wide rear tires. Saturday night's Outlaw sprint car action will feature a full program that will include time trials, qualifying heat races and a 33 lap A-main event. During the time trials on their first visit to SGMP on April 9, 2005, eighteen year-old Ryan Myers from Eldorado, Ohio set an all time one-lap track record of 15.030 seconds for an average speed of an amazing 119.760 miles per hour. O'Reilly USCS Founder and President, Pete Walton said,' we may see qualifying laps in the sub-fifteen second range this time around. The track probably faster now and the O'Reilly USCDS drivers learned from last year's event. It would not be surprising to me to see the record lowered."

The evening's first sprint car race will be the Lucas Oil Power Dash that showcases the top cars from the previous O'Reilly USCS main event in an edge-of-your-seat six-car shootout. Also on the bill will be racing action in South Georgia Motorsports Park's Pro Late Model division featuring cars with rules similar to the Georgia Asphalt Series GAS Late Models.

Heavy hitter O'Reilly USCS entries include a number of the nation's top ranked winged sprint car drivers including two of the currently hottest. The first is Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida, who the defending National champion and Adams was the 2000 O'Reilly USCS champion. He is the series all-time leading career feature winner. He has been one of the winningest sprint car drivers in the country over the past six seasons. "The Malabar Missile" has over 120 wins since the beginning of the 2000 season. He scored 18 O'Reilly USCS feature wins last season and has two wins so far this season. Adams was also named 2000's National Sprint Car Driver of the Year by the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame pollsters. He finished second in the 2005 poll. Adams will have his hands full with a host of challengers from across the nation including:



Another is four-time O'Reilly USCS National Champion and current National points leader Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee. Gray also leads the O'Reilly USCS Asphalt Thunder point standings. Gray has eleven national sprint car championships with three different series to his credit, and over 300 feature wins. He has ten O'Reilly USCS wins over the past two years and finished in the number eight spot at the end of last season in the final Sprint Car Hall of Fame poll. He has one O'Reilly USCS series wins so far this season. He is also among the top 25 win leaders in the nation over the last four seasons with over 60 main event wins.



Several Hoosier Tire Young Guns will make the veterans work for their money, including, twenty-year old Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida who was the runner-up for both the 2004 and 2005 Championships. He is currently in second place in the 2006 National point standings. The talented young gun won twice on asphalt last season and is a potent competitor. He will be joined by several other youthful but talented Hoosier Tire Young Guns include now nineteen year old track record holder Ryan Myers who is currently sixteen points out of first place in those standings behind points leader Terry Gray in second place.

Those two will be joined by several other talented under 25 drivers in the Asphalt Thunder top ten including sixteen-year old Matt Tiffany from Daytona Beach, Florida who won an Asphalt Thunder feature as a rookie at Lanier National Speedway on September 3rd, 2005. Tiffany is tied with Martin for fourth in the standings. 2005 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, twenty-year old Bryn Gohn from Malabar, Florida who is sixth in the standings is entered as is twenty year-old Tom Winegardner, Jr. from Pierson, Florida is seventh in the Asphalt Thunder standings. Another expected entry is 19 year-old Stephen Darvalics from Venice, Florida who is ninth in the National standings and tenth in the O'Reilly USCS.

Other entries include Winegardner's team-mate, Tom Winegardner, Sr. from Pierson, Florida who is eighth in the standings. Veteran sprint car driver Skeeter Falcouner from Lutz, Florida who was seventh in the 2005 O'Reilly USCS National standings is entered and team-mate Robbie Skidmore a rookie of the year candidiate from Tampa will join him. Charlie Ladner who is ninth in the current O'Reilly USCS Asphalt thunder standings is an entry for the event as is veteran Florida sprint car driver Nick Manikis. Both are from Tampa. Aubrey Black of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, who finished fourth in the 2003 O'Reilly USCS National standings is entered as is 2003 TBARA sprint car series Champion, Shane Butler from Bushnell, Florida.

South Georgia Motorsports Park www.sgmpracing.com is located just off Interstate 75 at Exit 32 in Cecil, Georgia. The phone number is 229-896-7000. For O'Reilly USCS "Outlaw Thunder" info visit the official O'Reilly www.oreillyauto.com USCS web site at www.uscsracing.com.

Media Contact: PETE WALTON, O'Reilly USCS President (404) 886-5913 petewalton@bellsouth.net