Skinner wins third 2006 O'Reilly USCS feature at Atomic Speedway
August 19, 2006, Lenoir City, TN - 1999 O'Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series www.uscsracing.com Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas won the 25 lap O'Reilly USCS winged sprint car feature at Atomic Speedway on Saturday night. Skinner bested a 20-car field that included many of the Nation's top-ranked sprint car drivers from eight states to capture his third feature win of the season with the series. The race, worth $2300 to Skinner, at the historic high-banked 1/3 clay oval was a combined O'Reilly USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour, Carolina Thunder, Mid-South Thunder and Southern Thunder Tour points event.
Skinner started on the outside front row next to four time O'Reilly USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee and chased Gray for the lead for four laps before fading into third place when Danny "Hammer" Martin from Sarasota, Florida raced past him to take up the chase for the point. On lap five, the caution came when Tom Winegardner, Jr from Pierson, Florida made contact with the turn two wall. On the first attempted lap-five re-start , Matt Linder from Hoschton, Georgia spun and collected 2003 AOAS/USCS Champion Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina ending the race for both drivers.
Photo/Caption:
#26 - Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas won the O'Reilly USCS 25 lap A-Main event at Atomic Speedway on Saturday night. It was Skinner's third O'Reilly USCS win of the 2006 season. (Michael Moates photo)
On the ensuing second lap-five re-start, defending O'Reilly USCS National Champion, Kenny Adams from Malabar, Florida spun in turn one and tried to save it. He then accelerated into a huge and spectacular wheelie that resulted in a back flip. He landed on top of fifteen year-old Rookie sensation, Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas halting Hagar's progress. After some anxious moments when Hagar appeared to be injured, all of these drivers escaped lap five unhurt.
When lap-five finally resumed The running order was Gray leading, Danny Martin in second place, Skinner in third followed by, Mike Ward from Memphis, Tennessee in fourth, Darren Stewart from Bixby, Oklahoma and Jeremy Scott from Franklin, Georgia rounded out the top six cars solidly in the lead pack. Martin followed Gray and applied heavy pressure on the leader until lap eleven when Martin left the track over the third turn wall in a scary crash after launching off lapped-car's right rear tire just as he entered the corner. Although the twenty year-old Martin was deemed okay after the attendants from Motorsports Rescue checked him out it took quite some time to remove the car that was caught in the catch-fence.
When racing resumed, Skinner who was now back in the runner-up spot, chased Gray through additional caution periods brought on by Brian Bell's spin in turn two on lap fourteen and then again for Bryn Gohn's loop in the same corner on the next lap. On lap seventeen Skinner drove past Gray down the front straight-a-way and into the lead. The race was slowed once again on lap eighteen when Chattanooga, Tennessee's second year sprint car driver, Shane Nelson spun in turn two as well.
The excitement was not over. While Skinner seemed to be racing away and gaining momentum, Mike Ward moved in to challenge Gray for the runner-up spot. On lap twenty-one as the pair of sprint car veterans with over 700 sprint car feature wins between them raced hard into turn three side-by-side with Gray inside and Ward on the outside they collided. The collision sent both cars spinning and brought out the caution. Gray would continue, but, Ward could not.
Darren Stewart who stayed trouble-free all night raced home in the runner-up spot behind Skinner with the evenings Huggins Cams Hardcharger, Jeremy Scott who started fourteenth in third place. The 2004 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, R.J. Johnson from Decatur, Tennessee finished in fourth place. Gray who re-started at the rear, raced back to fifth place over the last four caution-free laps
The second five included 2005 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year, Bryn Gohn in sixth, nineteen year-old Stephen Darvalics from Venice, Florida was seventh and veteran Jerry Jones from Clermont, Florida was eighth. Tom Winegardner from Pierson, Florida who is in the fifth position in the National standings was ninth and Shane Nelson from Chattanooga, Tennessee rounded out the top ten.
The O'Reilly USCS Mid-South Thunder regional points leader, Mike Ward, started the night's racing action by winning the six-lap Lucas Oil Power Dash. Terry Gray won the 10- lap Engler Tool and Machine First Heat Race. Marshall Skinner won the 10-lap Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race. Kenny Adams snatched the victory in the 8-lap FSR Racing Products Third Heat Race away from fifteen year-old hot-shoe Derek Hagar on the last lap. Jeremy Scott was awarded the event's Huggins Cams Hardcharger award for his charge from fourteenth starting position into the third place. It was Scott's first race of the season. Derek Hagar was awarded the Robison Racing Products Rookie of the Race after finishing. Gray collected the K&N Filters Pole Award after drawing a zero inversion pill.
Twenty-three year-old Darren Stewart 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 Matt Tiffany from Daytona Beach, Florida who was taken out on a lap one caution.
For more info visit www.atomicspeedway.com. For O'Reilly USCS info visit www.uscsracing.com
OFFICIAL RESULTS - O'REILLY USCS OUTLAW THUNDER
TOUR ROUND THIRTY TWO AT ATOMIC SPEEDWAY ON -
August 19, 2006.
PS ST CAR# DRIVER HOMETOWN LAPS
1 1 26 Marshall Skinner W. Memphis, AR 25
2 18 91 Darren Stewart Bixby, OK 25
3 14 76 Jeremy Scott Franklin, GA 25
4 1 71 RJ Johnson Decatur, TN 25
5 2 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN 25
6 12 4B Bryn Gohn Malabar, FL 25
7 18 32 Stephen Darvalics Venice, FL 25
8 19 19 Jerry Jones Clermont, FL 25
9 16 11 Tom Winegardner Pierson, FL 25
10 15 88Z Shane Nelson Chattanooga, TN 25
11 5 88 Mike Ward Memphis, TN 21
12 17 23 Brian Bell Memphis, TN 15
13 9 9jr Derek Hagar Marion, AR 15
14 4 00 Danny Martin,Jr Sarasota, FL 11
15 3 4A Kenny Adams Malabar, FL 5
16 8 1x Matt Linder Hoschton, GA 5
17 10 07 Johnny Bridges Cherryville, NC 5
18 13 11T Tom Winegardner,Jr Pierson, FL 5
19 9 2d Doug Day Winder, GA 2
20 DNS 19T Matt Tiffany Daytona Beach, FL 0
LUCAS OIL POWER DASH WINNER: Mike Ward
K&N FILTERS POLE AWARD: Terry Gray
HUGGINS CAMS HARD CHARGER: Jeremy Scott
(passed 11 cars - started 14th finished 3rd)
HOOSIER TIRE YOUNG GUN OF THE RACE:
Darren Stewart
ROBISON RACING PRODUCTS ROOKIE OF THE RACE:
Derek Hagar
JE PISTONS TOP GUNS AWARD: Darren Stewart
(2nd place)
K&N FILTERS 3RD-PLACE AWARD: Jeremy Scott
BUTLERBUILT 4TH-PLACE AWARD: RJ Johnson
OUTLAW DISC BRAKES TOP FIVE AWARD: Terry Gray
SIMPSON SAFETY PRODUCTS 6TH-PLACE AWARD:
Bryn Gohn
FSR RACING PRODUCTS-7 TH-PLACE AWARD:
Stephen Darvalics
AIR FLOW RESEARCH 9TH-PLACE AWARD:
Tom Winegardner
FSR TOP 10 AWARD : Shane Nelson
WELD RACING HARD LUCK AWARD:
Matt Tiffany
ENTRIES: 20
PROVISIONAL: none
LEAD CHANGES: one
LAP LEADERS: Gray Laps 1-17, Laps 18-25 Skinner
CAUTIONS: eight (two reds)
LUCAS OIL POWER DASH - 6 Laps: 1. Mike Ward; 2. Terry Gray; 3. Matt Linder; 4. Danny Martin, Jr.; 5. Derek Hagar 6. Matt Tiffany.
HEAT RACES:
ENGLER TOOL AND MACHINE 1ST HEAT: 1 Terry Gray 2. Danny Martin, Jr.; 3. Darren Stewart; 4. Johnny Bridges; 5. T.J. Winegardner; 6. Tom Winegardner.
BUTLERBUILT 2ND HEAT: 1 Marshall Skinner; 2. Mike Ward; 3. Matt Linder; 4. R.J. Johnson; 5. Jeremy Scott; 6. Brian Bell; 7. Matt Tiffany DNS
FSR RACING PRODUCTS 3rd HEAT: 1. Kenny Adams; 2. Derek Hagar; 3. Doug Day; 4. Bryn Gohn; 5. Shane Nelson; 6. Stephen Darvalics; 7. Jerry Jones.
Photo/Caption:
#26 - Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas won the O'Reilly USCS 25 lap A-Main event at Atomic Speedway on Saturday night. It was Skinner's third O'Reilly USCS win of the 2006 season. (Michael Moates photo)
Media Contact; Pete Walton 404-886-5913 petewalton@bellsouth.net
