RaceJunkie
08-07-2005, 05:12 PM
http://localracechat.smugmug.com/photos/31255945-S.jpg
Nineteen-year-old Danny Martin, Jr. will be at Sumter Speedway Saturday night and will be looking for his
second win of the season in the O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series scheduled for the 3/8-mile dirt oval. Martin,
from Sarasota, Fla., is second in the national USCS point standing. (USCS Photo)
http://localracechat.smugmug.com/photos/31255947-S.jpg
Kenny Adams, the 2000 O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series National Champion will lead a strong field of talented
winged outlaw sprint car drivers at Sumter Speedway Saturday night. The Malabar, Fla. veteran has won 124
feature events in the last five seasons and currently leads the 2005 point standings. (John Sellers Photo)
SUMTER, S. C. - For the second time in as many weeks the weather was the winner over everything else at Sumter Speedway Saturday night, causing a shuffling of special events for this week.
A special 30-lap Pro Stock event along with a Power Wheels race for the kids was planned, but the excessive rain caused track officials to call it a day by mid-afternoon. The Pro Stock chase as well as the Power Wheels special will be part of the Family Day for the benefit of the South Carolina Make-A-Wish Foundation, scheduled for Saturday, August 20. In addition to the Pro Stock and Power Wheels races the five other classes that normally compete on Saturday nights will be on the program as well as a Faster Pastors event featuring ordained ministers from the area.
This week, the United Sprint Car Series cars and drivers will be in town for a national event, featuring drivers from eight states. The sprint cars will be the headline attraction in addition to the regular six-event program for the support classes and a bike race for the kids.
This will be the first trip to the 3/8-mile dirt oval for the USCS "Outlaw Thunder" tour and fans will be treated to a national event with drivers who compete on both dirt and asphalt. The USCS tour drivers are the only drivers who compete regularly on both dirt and paved tracks. The first ever event for the series at Sumter will award points in the national standings as well as the Carolina Thunder tour. The alcohol burning, 700-horsepower open wheel sprint cars only weigh 1,300 pounds and are pound-for-pound the world's most powerful short track race cars. The cars will literally fly around the track surface at speeds of over 100 mph. 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.
The sprint car portion of the program will feature qualifying, a power dash which features the winners of the past six main events on the tour, at least a pair of 10-lap heat races and a 30-lap main event.
Entries will include a number of the nation's top ranked sprint car drivers, including America's winningest sprint car driver since the beginning of the 2000 season, Kenny Adams from Malabar, Fla. Adams has 124 feature wins in the last five seasons. He currently leads the point standings in the national tour, plus the Southern Thunder and Carolina Thunder regional tours with nine wins this season.
The defending and four-time USCS national champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tenn., among the top 25 drivers in the nation in feature wins over the past five years with 60 wins is also expected. Nineteen-year-old young gun, Danny "Hammer" Martin, Jr. of Sarasota, Fla is in second place in the USCS national point standings after picking up his first dirt track win of the season at Swainsboro, Ga. on July 23.
Adams, Gray and Martin,Jr. finished last season ranked high in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame "Driver of The Year" poll with Adams finishing second and Gray, third. Martin, Jr. finished 15th out of over 3,000 drivers considered.
Others entries include a host of talented SpeedMart Young Guns (drivers under the age of 25) with 17-year-old R. J. Johnson of Decatur, Tenn heading the list. Johnson captured the 2004 USCS "Rookie of The Year" award and is currently sixth in the 2005 point standings. He will be joined by 19-year-old Bryn Gohn of Malabar, Fla., 16-year-old Daytona Beach driver Matt Tiffany, 18-year-old Ryan Myers of Eldorado, Ohio and 17-year-old Josh Harris of Denton N. C.
The state of North Carolina is expected to be represented by Johnny Bridges of Cherryville, Chad Allum of Kannapolis and Bruce Cline of Apex. Bruce Wrenn of Lexington, will carry the colors for South Carolina. Stephen Graham of Sydney, Australia is the lone driver from outside the United States who has entered.
Gates will open at 4 p. m. with hot laps expected to get underway at 6 p. m. The first race of the night should roll off the line at 7:30 p. m.
Contact: Dargan Watts 407-352-6592
Nineteen-year-old Danny Martin, Jr. will be at Sumter Speedway Saturday night and will be looking for his
second win of the season in the O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series scheduled for the 3/8-mile dirt oval. Martin,
from Sarasota, Fla., is second in the national USCS point standing. (USCS Photo)
http://localracechat.smugmug.com/photos/31255947-S.jpg
Kenny Adams, the 2000 O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series National Champion will lead a strong field of talented
winged outlaw sprint car drivers at Sumter Speedway Saturday night. The Malabar, Fla. veteran has won 124
feature events in the last five seasons and currently leads the 2005 point standings. (John Sellers Photo)
SUMTER, S. C. - For the second time in as many weeks the weather was the winner over everything else at Sumter Speedway Saturday night, causing a shuffling of special events for this week.
A special 30-lap Pro Stock event along with a Power Wheels race for the kids was planned, but the excessive rain caused track officials to call it a day by mid-afternoon. The Pro Stock chase as well as the Power Wheels special will be part of the Family Day for the benefit of the South Carolina Make-A-Wish Foundation, scheduled for Saturday, August 20. In addition to the Pro Stock and Power Wheels races the five other classes that normally compete on Saturday nights will be on the program as well as a Faster Pastors event featuring ordained ministers from the area.
This week, the United Sprint Car Series cars and drivers will be in town for a national event, featuring drivers from eight states. The sprint cars will be the headline attraction in addition to the regular six-event program for the support classes and a bike race for the kids.
This will be the first trip to the 3/8-mile dirt oval for the USCS "Outlaw Thunder" tour and fans will be treated to a national event with drivers who compete on both dirt and asphalt. The USCS tour drivers are the only drivers who compete regularly on both dirt and paved tracks. The first ever event for the series at Sumter will award points in the national standings as well as the Carolina Thunder tour. The alcohol burning, 700-horsepower open wheel sprint cars only weigh 1,300 pounds and are pound-for-pound the world's most powerful short track race cars. The cars will literally fly around the track surface at speeds of over 100 mph. 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.
The sprint car portion of the program will feature qualifying, a power dash which features the winners of the past six main events on the tour, at least a pair of 10-lap heat races and a 30-lap main event.
Entries will include a number of the nation's top ranked sprint car drivers, including America's winningest sprint car driver since the beginning of the 2000 season, Kenny Adams from Malabar, Fla. Adams has 124 feature wins in the last five seasons. He currently leads the point standings in the national tour, plus the Southern Thunder and Carolina Thunder regional tours with nine wins this season.
The defending and four-time USCS national champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tenn., among the top 25 drivers in the nation in feature wins over the past five years with 60 wins is also expected. Nineteen-year-old young gun, Danny "Hammer" Martin, Jr. of Sarasota, Fla is in second place in the USCS national point standings after picking up his first dirt track win of the season at Swainsboro, Ga. on July 23.
Adams, Gray and Martin,Jr. finished last season ranked high in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame "Driver of The Year" poll with Adams finishing second and Gray, third. Martin, Jr. finished 15th out of over 3,000 drivers considered.
Others entries include a host of talented SpeedMart Young Guns (drivers under the age of 25) with 17-year-old R. J. Johnson of Decatur, Tenn heading the list. Johnson captured the 2004 USCS "Rookie of The Year" award and is currently sixth in the 2005 point standings. He will be joined by 19-year-old Bryn Gohn of Malabar, Fla., 16-year-old Daytona Beach driver Matt Tiffany, 18-year-old Ryan Myers of Eldorado, Ohio and 17-year-old Josh Harris of Denton N. C.
The state of North Carolina is expected to be represented by Johnny Bridges of Cherryville, Chad Allum of Kannapolis and Bruce Cline of Apex. Bruce Wrenn of Lexington, will carry the colors for South Carolina. Stephen Graham of Sydney, Australia is the lone driver from outside the United States who has entered.
Gates will open at 4 p. m. with hot laps expected to get underway at 6 p. m. The first race of the night should roll off the line at 7:30 p. m.
Contact: Dargan Watts 407-352-6592