By Joshua Joiner

Gastonia, N.C. - (June 27, 2009) - Terry Gray has made himself right at home at Carolina Speedway this year. The Bartlett, Tenn., resident and defending Parts Plus United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour champion won Friday night’s USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour event to claim his second win in two series visits to the Gastonia, N.C., racetrack this season.

Gray started the race from the fifth position and quickly showed he had a car capable of winning by climbing to second in just three laps. It was only a matter of time before pole-sitter Matt Linder would fall victim to Gray’s charge to the front.

Gray looked under Linder on a lap-10 restart, but Linder was able to block his momentum. A caution a few seconds later lined the field back up for another restart. This time Gray went to the outside. With Linder anticipating another pass attempt on the bottom, Gray was able to take the lead with ease. He led the remainder of the 30-lap race unchallenged.

“I let him see me too soon the first time I tried to pass and he was able to block me,” explained Gray after the race. “He probably thought I was going to try it again. The top really wasn’t the best place, but I caught him trying to block me and I went around him.

“I really like coming to Carolina Speedway. It’s a fun place to race and I like this track when it slicks off like it did tonight.”

Linder’s night was all downhill from the moment he lost the lead. He quickly faded and soon began to feel pressure from hometown driver Johnny Bridges. On lap 19 Linder made contact with a lapped car, sending him into the groove Bridges was running. The two made hard contact, causing both cars to flip end-over-end. Both drivers were okay.

The crash gave second position to Scott Hensley. The 14-year-old rookie from Olive Branch, Miss., held on to the position the rest of the way to claim his best finish in just eight races in a Sprint Car and his first at Carolina Speedway.

“I’m just trying to get as much seat time as I can and just trying to learn,” said Hensley, whose race team is owned by Roush Fenway Racing’s NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “It was a fun race. I didn’t really see what happened with the two cars that were in front of me. I hate it for them, but it worked out good for me.” 

Bryan Thomas finished third, with Justin Carver and Jake McLain rounding out the rest of the top five.

John Pursley, of Clover , S.C., held off a late charge from points leader Timbo Mangum to claim the win in the NDRA GM Performance Late Model feature.

The win is Pursley’s fourth of the season at Carolina Speedway.

“Man, we’ve got this car working good,” said Pursley in City Chevrolet Victory Lane. “I really like running this crate motor deal and it’s going good for us.”

Mangum started third, but after taking over half the race to pass Matt Long for second, he was never able to mount a serious challenge for the lead.

“We got held up a little bit and I think that’s what hurt us,” Mangum said. “If I had got to second sooner, I might have had something for (Pursley), but you never know about all that.” 

Gary Puckett, who was tied for the points lead with Mangum coming into the race, finished third.

Darren Jones had victory in sight when he inched ahead of Frankie McGuire coming off of turn 4 on the last lap of the Renegade division feature. But his sight became blurred when he went for a wild, end-over-end ride after contact with McGuire sent him into the outside wall.

McGuire was able to pull back ahead of Jones’ flipping car to score the win while Jones rolled across the finish line in second. Jones was uninjured in the wreck.

“I didn’t realize he was trying to pass me on the outside,” explained McGuire after the race. “I let my car drift up a little and we just got together.”

Matt Stover used every inch of the racetrack in the Legends Car feature, even brushing the wall a number of times with the right-rear corner of his race car. But it never slowed him down as he cruised to his third consecutive win at Carolina Speedway.

“This car has been really running great lately,” Stover said. “I got a little close to the wall. I think I might have brushed it a couple of times, but I took it easy on the last lap to make sure I made it to the finish.”

Kyle Pierce, Robert Poole and Kara Clark were all part of a three-car battle for second in the closing laps. The drivers went three wide at the finish line. Pierce was determined to have finished second with Poole third and Clark fourth.

Brian Stang led every lap of the Pure Stock Four feature to claim his first feature win of the year. Brad Williams gave chase the entire distance, but had to settle for second.

Racing returns to Carolina Speedway next Friday night, July 3rd with a full slate of racing that includes the return of the Hooters Super Late Models and the Bottle Rocket 50 for Open Wheel Modifieds.

Results:

USCS Sprint Cars – 1. Terry Gray; 2. Scott Hensley; 3. Brian Thomas; 4. Justin Carver; 5. Jake McLain; 6. Coby Adams; 7. Adam Jackson; 8. Brad Wickham; 9. Brian Carter; 10. Dennis Lykins, Jr.; 11. Eric Riggins, Jr.; 12. David Thorman; 13. Matt Linder; 14. Johnny Bridges; 15. Tim Perry; 16. Lance Moss; 17. Brandon Rekow; 18. Tyler Godwin; 19. Drake Moore.

GM Performance Late Models – 1 Johnny Pursley; 2. Timbo Mangum; 3. Gary Puckett; 4. Matt Long; 5. Steve Banal; 6. Jordan Anderson; 7. Ross Bailes; 8. Shane Mathis.

Pure Stock Fours – 1.Brain Stang; 2. Brad Williams; 3. Travis Caviness; 4. Randy Powell; 5. Jonathan Petrea; 6. Aaron Summitt; 7. Tim Stines; 8. Brandon Blair; 9. Matt Lambert; 10. Ashley Harding; 11. Mark Whitten.

Renegades – 1. Frankie McGuire; 2. Darren Jones; 3. Greg Jenkins; 4. Eric Thompson; 5. Ronald Pope; 6. Brandon Davis; 7. Todd Bolin; 8. Dennis Hatley; 9. Paul Ramsey; 10. Desi Olson; 11. Jeremy Jackson.