Stenhouse rocks O'Reilly USCS Speedweek 2006 at Riverside Speedway
May 27, 2006 West Memphis, AK - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. from Olive Branch, MS won the 30-lap O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series www.uscsracing.com Speedweek 2006 Round Two Saturday night at Riverside Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas. Stenhouse who graduated from high school with honors Saturday afternoon put his education to work Saturday night and charged from a ninth place starting position in the A-Main into the lead on lap thirteen and lead the rest of the way. The win came over a field of 32 cars from five states for the talented eighteen year-old who was the 2003 National Sprint Car Hall of Fame 360 sprint car Rookie of the Year.
Hoosier Tire Young Gun points-leader Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida lead the first four laps after starting on the pole, then gave the lead up to Raymond Stull from Coldwater, Mississippi who raced past him and appeared to have the winning hand. But, Stenhouse used the high side of the race track to his advantage to tear through the field and was able to pass Stull on lap thirteen for the lead. Track champion Eddie Gallagher from Collierville, Tennessee moved steadily through the field and got close enough to challenge the teenager. But, when the field restarted after a red flag on lap twenty-three with one lapped car between Stenhouse and Gallagher, Stenhouse pulled away and raced the last seven laps home with the veteran just out of reach.
Stull who has had two great Speedweeks runs finished in the third position. Defending O'Reilly USCS National Champion, Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida charged from his eleventh place start into a fourth finish and was followed by 1999 O'Reilly USCS Dirt Cup titlist Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas in fifth.
Danny Martin, Jr. lead the second five drivers in sixth place. Earle, Arkansas' Josh Baker was seventh, Ernie Ainsworth from Memphis, Tennessee was eighth. The B-Main winner, Mike Ward from Memphis was ninth after starting seventeenth and Tom Winegardner, Jr. from Pierson, Florida rounded out the top ten.
The race had only two caution periods. One on lap two for Lee Sowell's flat tire relegating him to a last place re-start. The second was a red flag brought out on lap twenty-three by Brad Bowden's flip in turn three. Bowden was okay but the accident spoiled a great run by the rookie driver who won a heat race and was fifth in the feature at the time.
Jerrod Hull won the Lucas Oil Power Dash. Stull won the Engler Tool and Machine First Heat Race. Skinner won the Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race. Josh Baker captured the FSR Racing Products Third Heat and the JE Pistons Fourth Heat Race went to rookie Brad Bowden from Hernando, MS.
Ward won the 12 lap B-Main. In addition to his feature win Stenhouse garnered the events Huggins Cams Hard Charger award for his charge from ninth place. Bowden was the Robison Racing Products Rookie of the Race. Danny Martin, Jr. snagged the K&N Filters Pole Award. Stenhouse was also recognized as the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race, which is awarded to the top-finishing driver under twenty-five years old. The Weld Racing Hard Luck award went to Bryn Gohn from Malabar, Florida.
The next O'Reilly USCS National points event and O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder points event is the Speedweek 2006 Round #3 at Clarksville Speedway www.clarksvillespeedway.com in Clarksville, TN on Sunday night. The O'Reilly USCS Speedweek 2006 continues on with events Monday night at Clayhill Motorsports www.clayhillmotorsports.com in Atwood, TN. Then after two days off the schedule picks back up at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL on Thursday night, June 1. Then the tour visits North Alabama Speedway in Tuscumbia, AL on Friday night June 2nd before the grand finale in the "Columbus Clash" at Columbus Speedway in Columbus, MS on Saturday night June 3rd.
OFFICIAL RESULTS - ROUND TWO - O'REILLY USCS SPEEDWEEK 2006
AT RIVERSIDE SPEEDWAY IN WEST MEMPHIS, AR. ON 5/27//06:
POS ST CR# DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS
1 9 40A Ricky Stenhouse,Jr Olive Branch, MS 30
2 7 1 Eddie Gallagher Collierville, TN 30
3 6 21 Raymond Stull Coldwater, MS 30
4 11 4a Kenny Adams Malabar, FL 30
5 5 26 Marshall Skinner W. Memphis, AR 30
6 1 00 Danny Martin, Jr. Sarasota, FL 30
7 4 42s Josh Baker Earle, AR 30
8 15 40A Ernie Ainsworth Memphis, TN 30
9 17 88 Mike Ward Memphis, TN 30
10 2 11T Tom Winegardner,Jr Pierson, FL 30
11 18 24w Kenny Coke Olive Branch, MS 30
12 1 051 Lee Sowell Nesbit, MS 30
13 8 94 Jerrod Hull Siketon, MO 30
14 14 78 Henry Gustavus West Memphis, AR 30
15 22 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN 30
16 19 44 Ronny Howard Southaven, MS 30
17 23 19T Matt Tiffany Daytona Beach,FL 29
18 20 17 Phillip Faulkner Atoka, TN 28
19 12 22 Travis Senter Osceola, AR 28
20 13 22 Dustin Barks - R Farmington, MO 24
21 3 15B Brad Bowden Hernando, MS 23
22 24 14x Eric White Horn Lake, MS 23
23 16 9jr Derek Hagar - R Marion, AR 23
24 21 12m Greg Merritt Nesbit, MS 20
DID NOT START:
3 - A.G.Rains
4b - Bryn Gohn
17 - Jeff Leach, Memphis, TN
4 - Donnie Howard, Southaven, MS
11 - Tom Winegardner, Sr.
7x - Kenny Pope, Dexter, MO
18c Scott Bolden, West Mempis, AR
D 12 - Chris "Doc" Sloan
LUCAS OIL POWER DASH WINNER: Jerrod Hull
K & N FILTERS POLE AWARD: Danny Martin, Jr.
HUGGINS CAMS HARD CHARGER: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
(started 9th and passed 8 cars)
HOOSIER TIRE YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE:
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
ROBISON RACING PRODUCTS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:
Brad Bowden
JE PISTONS TOP GUNS AWARD:
Eddie Gallagher (2nd place)
K&N FILTERS 3RD-PLACE AWARD:
Raymond Stull
BUTLERBUILT 4TH-PLACE AWARD:
Kenny Adams
OUTLAW DISC BRAKES TOP FIVE AWARD:
Marshall Skinner
SIMPSON SAFETY PRODUCTS 6TH-PLACE AWARD:
Danny Martin, Jr.
FSR RACING PRODUCTS-7 TH-PLACE AWARD:
Josh Baker
AIR FLOW RESEARCH 9TH-PLACE AWARD:
Mike Ward
FSR TOP 10 AWARD :
Tom Winegardner, Jr.
WELD RACING HARD LUCK AWARD:
Bryn Gohn
ENTRIES: 32
PROVISIONAL: two
LEAD CHANGES: One
LAP LEADERS: Martin, Jr. 1-4, Stull 5-12,
Stenhouse, Jr. 13-30
CAUTIONS: 2
LUCAS OIL POWER DASH - 6 Laps: 1. Jerrod Hull; 2. Raymond Stull; 3. Mike Ward;; 4. Marshall Skinner; 5. Terry Gray; 6. Kenny Adams.
B - MAIN EVENT - 10 Laps - 1. Ward; 2. Coke; 3 R. Howard;. 4. Faulkner; 5. Merritt; Eric White; 6. Gray; 7. Rains; 8.Tiffany; 9. D. Hward; 10. Leach; 11. Gohn; 12. White; 13. Winegardner, Sr,; 14. Pope; 15. Bolden; 16. Sloan.
HEAT RACES:
ENGLER TOOL AND MACHINE 1ST HEAT: 1. Stull; Adams; 2. Winegarner, Jr.; 3. Stenhouse; 4. Barks; 5. Ward; 6. Bolden; 7. D.Howard 8. Sloan.
BUTLERBUILT 2ND HEAT: 1.Skinner; 2. Martin; 3. Sowell; 4. Gustavus; 5. Coke; 6. White; 7. Gray; 8. Gohn.
JE PISTONS 3RD HEAT: 1. Baker; 2. Gallagher; 3. Adams; 4. Ainsworth; 5. Merritt; 6.Faulkner; 7. Leach; 8. Pope.
FSR RACING PRODUCTS 4TH HEAT: 1. Bowden; 2. Hull; 3. Senter; 4. Hagar; 5. R. Howard; 6. Rains; 7. Tiffany; 8. Winegardner, Sr.
