RINGGOLD, Ga. - Marshall Skinner was a man on a mission Friday night at Boyd’s Speedway in Ringgold Ga., in the first appearance at the three-eighths mile clay oval since 2012 for the USCS Sprint Car Series.
Skinner, from Marion, Ark., started fifth and methodically worked his way through the lead pack, taking the lead from Eric Riggins, Jr. on lap 14 of the 30-lap A-main and going on to make his second straight trip to the USCS victory lane.
The win was Skinner’s second of the 2015 season and his 27th career USCS victory, putting him one win away from tying 1998 series champion Eddie Gallagher for fifth on the all-time series win list.
“I couldn’t have pictured this,” Skinner said of scoring back-to-back wins. “First, I want to thank all the fans for coming out after the tragedy that went down in Chattanooga on Thursday. I hope this was a great show for you guys. Second, I almost thought we were going to lose it during that yellow (because) we rode around for so long. My rear tires were going flat, but somehow, we got away and hung on. This feels great tonight.”
Riggins hung on for second, but could do nothing with Skinner over the final six-lap sprint to the finish – brought about after Johnny Bridges stopped at the entrance to turn three to draw the race’s lone caution flag on lap 24.
“Our car always takes a little time to come in, but lapped traffic really got in our way tonight,” Riggins explained. “That’s what allowed Marshall to get by me, in all honesty. If I could have gotten clear of traffic, I think I could have gotten away from him. The late caution didn’t help at all. I just wish we could have been able to race it out ourselves instead of having to fight through so many cars the way we did.”
Anthony Nicholson rounded out the podium finishers in third. He was followed by Terry Gray and Danny Martin, Jr., who made up the balance of the top five.
Morgan Turpen came home sixth in the final rundown, with leading rookie contender Nick Snyder behind her in seventh. Grovetown, Ga. pilot Jay Dunham finished eighth, with Jeff Willingham and Jim Perricone rounding out the top ten.
Turpen kicked off the evening’s racing action by winning the Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, and Gray scored the win in the first heat. Riggins rolled to the victory in the second heat.
Nicholson was the provisional polesitter after scoring the most passing points in heat race action – moving from seventh to second – but after a four was rolled on the inversion, Riggins garnered the K&N Filters Pole Award.
For more information, visit USCSRacing.com.
USCS Sprint Car Series
Boyd’s Speedway – Ringgold, GA
Race Results – July 17, 2015
1. #26 – Marshall Skinner – Marion, AR
2. #47 – Eric Riggins, Jr. – Charlotte, NC
3. #16 – Anthony Nicholson – Bartlett, TN
4. #10 – Terry Gray – Bartlett, TN
5. #24 – Danny Martin, Jr. – Sarasota, FL
6. #10M – Morgan Turpen – Cordova, TN
7. #116 – Nick Snyder – Marco Island, FL
8. #51 – Jay Dunham – Grovetown, FL
9. #28 – Jeff Willingham – Ripley, MS
10. #10P – Jim Perricone – San Antonio, TX
11. #21 – Aubrey Black – Lookout Mountain, GA
12. #21B – Brandon McLain – Indian Trail, NC
13. #5M – Shawn Mott – Rockwell, NC
14. #25 – Ray Bugg – Iuka, MS
15. #33 – Joe Larkin – Suwanee, GA
16. #07 – Johnny Bridges – Cherryville, NC
