Ward streaks to O'Reilly USCS Firecracker 100 win at Garnertown on Monday
July 3, 2006 Luray, TN - Mike Ward from Memphis, Tennessee won his third O'Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series www.uscsracing.com feature of the season at Garnertown Speedway in Luray, Tennessee on Monday night, matching the most features won by any driver in the series this season. The win in the combined O'Reilly USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour and Mid-South Thunder Tour points event was also Ward's third win in the series' last four races on dirt. It was also Ward's second O'Reilly USCS victory lane visit of the holiday weekend. Ward started on the pole after first heat race winner, Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi drew a four in the K&N Pole Award inversion draw. Four red flags and a total of seven caution periods including four for drivers upside down and one for an off-track incident plagued the race. Ward won by holding off his front row companion, Danny Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida and current O'Reilly USCS National points leader Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee for the distance. The twenty-two car field included at number of the Nation's top-ranked drivers from six states.
#88 - Recent O'Reilly USCS Speedweek 2006 Champion, Mike Ward from Memphis, Tennessee won the O'Reilly USCS 25 lap A-Main event at Garnertown Speedway on Saturday night. It was Ward's second win of the weekend and third O'Reilly USCS win of the season.
Ward who won features twice previously at Garnertown ( both in 2001) picked up where he left off at Moulton Speedway on Saturday night by leading every lap around the fast 4/10 mile high-banked oval. He took the lead on the initial start but that one was called off when Eric White from Hrn Lake, Mississippi flipped hard down the front stretch to bring out the red flag. White was okay. Then before the re-start while driving down the backstretch to catch up for the second attempt to start the race, Brian Bell sailed off the top of turn three and down the embankment bringing out the second red flag before one lap had even been completed. After this clean-up, the race went green for seven laps before Tom Winegardner, Sr. from Pierson, Florida crashed hard into the front stretch wall and rolled several times ending his night as well.
On lap eleven sensational fifteen year-old rookie driver Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas lost a left rear wheel and flipped while running in the fourth position. Hagar collected three-time 2006 O'Reilly USCS winner Ricky Stenhouse from Olive Branch, Mississippi in his tumble. Stenhouse, who won the April 15th Hooker Hood Sprint Car Shootout at Garnertown Speedway had initially started thirteenth and was battling for the fourth position with Hagar when te incident happened. The race went green the rest of the way except for a short caution period for a spin by Tony Wilson from Paris, Tennessee on lap twenty-two.
The race finished with Martin, who is in second place in National standings, in the runner-up spot. followed by the veteran Gray in the third position. Former World of Outlaws veteran racer Jeff Swindell from Bartlett, Tennessee followed in fourth place and twenty year-old Hoosier Tire Young Gun Tom "T.J." Winegardner, Jr. from Pierson, Florida rounded out the top five after starting ninth.
Nineteen year-old Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi who won the evening's Lucas Oil power Dash and the Engler Tool and Machine First Heat finished in the sixth spot. Ninteen year-old Ryan Myers from Eaton, Ohio followed Sowell in seventh position. Another teenager, Matt Tiffany from Daytona Beach, Florida was eighth with the eighteen year-old Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ninth after re-starting at the back of the field on lap eleven of twenty-five. Ronny Howard fom Southaven, Mississippi advanced from a sixteenth place start to round out the top ten.
Sowell started the night's racing action off by winning the six-lap Lucas Oil Power Dash from the outside front row and driving away fom the field. Sowell won the 8-lap Engler Tool and Machine First Heat Race in the same fashion from the pole position. Rookie of the year candidate, Derek Hagar won the 8-lap Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race. Danny Martin, Jr. captured the FSR Racing Products Third Heat. Rookie driver Andy McElhannon from Hernando, Mississippi garnered the events Huggins Cams Hard Charger award for his charge past eight cars in the main event. McElhannon was also awarded the Robison Racing Products Rookie of the Race. Ward collected the K&N Filters Pole Award after being drawn to the pole by Sowell in the inversion draw.
Danny Martin was 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 Raymond Stull who was involved in two serious crashes on the night.
The next O'Reilly USCS National points event is on Friday night July 7th at Riverside Speedway in Travelers Rest, SC. The event pits the O"Reilly USCS against the stars of the URC Sprint Car Series in the 1st Annual South vs. North Showdown Round One . The South vs. North Showdown continues with Round Two on Saturday night at I-20 Speedway in Batesburg, SC For more info visit www.riversidespeedway.net For O'Reilly USCS info visit www.uscsracing.com
OFFICIAL RESULTS - O'REILLY USCS OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR
ROUND TWENTY-FIVE AT GARNERTOWN SPEEDWAY
PS ST CR# DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS
1 1 88 Mike Ward Memphis, TN 25
2 2 00 Danny Martin, Jr. Sarasota, FL 25
3 5 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN 25
4 7 14 Jeff Swindell Bartlett, TN 25
5 9 11T Tom Winegardner, Jr Pierson, FL 25
6 4 4A Lee Sowell Nesbit, MS 25
7 8 56R Ryan Myers Eaton, OH 25
8 12 19T Matt Tiffany Daytona Beach,FL 25
9 13 40R Ricky Stenhouse,Jr Olive Branch,MS 25
10 16 44 Ronny Howard Southaven, MS 25
11 19 0 Andy McElhannon Hernando, MS 25
12 17 10w Tony Wilson Paris, TN 22
13 6 15B Brad Bowden Hernando, MS 22
14 8 9jr Derek Hagar Marion, AR 11
15 11 58 Mike McElya Bartlett, TN 7
16 22 3d Marion Jacobs Tuscumbia, AL 7
17 15 11 Tom Winegardner Pierson, FL 7
18 20 26 Marshall Skinner W. Memphis, AR 4
19 10 23 Brian Bell Memphis, TN 0
20 18 12m Greg Merritt Nesbit, MS 0
21 14 14x Eric White Horn Lake, MS 0
22 DNS 18c Scott Bolden West Memphis,AR DNS
LUCAS OIL POWER DASH WINNER: Sowell
K&N FILTERS POLE AWARD: Ward
HUGGINS CAMS HARD CHARGER: McElhannon
(started 19th and passed 8 cars)
HOOSIER TIRE YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE: Martin
ROBISON RACING PRODUCTS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:
McElhannon
JE PISTONS TOP GUNS AWARD: Gray(3nd place)
K&N FILTERS 3RD-PLACE AWARD: Terry Gray
BUTLERBUILT 4TH-PLACE AWARD: Jeff Swindell
OUTLAW DISC BRAKES TOP FIVE AWARD:
TJ Winegardner
SIMPSON SAFETY PRODUCTS 6TH-PLACE AWARD:
Sowell
FSR RACING PRODUCTS-7 TH-PLACE AWARD:
Myers
AIR FLOW RESEARCH 9TH-PLACE AWARD:
Stenhouse
FSR TOP 10 AWARD : Howard
WELD RACING HARD LUCK AWARD: Skinner
ENTRIES: 22
PROVISIONAL: none
LEAD CHANGES: none
LAP LEADERS: Ward. 1-25
CAUTIONS: seven
