BRASSTOWN, N.C. - Morgan Turpen worked her way to the lead of Monday night’s USCS Sprint Car Series feature at Tri-County Race Track in Brasstown, North Carolina, and drove away to her fifth series victory of the season.
The defending series champion came from the fifth starting spot and used the inside groove work her way through the pack. Turpen took the lead from Johnny Bridges on lap 22 of the 30 lap main event, and from then only left the bottom of the track to work around lapped traffic.
“We’ve had a good car all year, and slick tracks are our specialty, so I knew we would be tough to beat tonight,” Turpen said. “The bottom of the track was the place to be tonight, and that’s where we passed all of the cars to get to the front.”
By posting her 12th career USCS victory, Turpen stays in the hunt to capture her second straight USCS National Championship. Turpen is battling with her teammate for the championship, 11-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray. After spinning early in the race, Gray came back to win an exciting duel with Bridges on the last lap to take the second spot at the finish.
Danny Smith also snuck by Bridges on the last lap to claim the third spot. Bridges had to settle for fourth, with Lance Moss in fifth.
Jeff Willingham, Danny Sams III, Nick Roberts, Joe Larkin of Suwanee, Georgia and Jake McLain rounded out the top ten.
Pole sitter Bridges took the lead at the start of the race followed by Smith, Anthony Nicholson, Moss and Turpen. On lap two, Turpen drove under Moss for the fourth spot, and Gray moved up to challenge Moss for fifth. Gray and Moss tangled in turn four on five, with both spinning to bring out the caution flag.
When the green flag came back out, Bridges led Nicholson, who passed Smith on lap four just before the caution flag came out, Smith in third, Turpen in fourth and Sams in fifth. Turpen made an inside move on Smith on lap eight to take over the third spot. In the meantime, Gray was on a mission, as he came from 14th on the lap five restart to fifth by lap 11.
Nicholson was trying to reel in Bridges to battle for the lead. The chase came to an end when Nicholson jumped the cushion in turn one on lap 13, hit the wall, and then flipped several times before landing in turn two. He walked away from the crash, and during the open red flag period, Nicholson and his crew made repairs to his race car. He was able to return to the track and restart the race.
Back under green, Bridges climbed back into his high groove, while Turpen planted her machine on the bottom of the race track. This led to a side-by-side battle for the lead that continued until lap 22 when Turpen took the lead.
While the leaders worked lapped traffic, Gray burrowed his way underneath Bridges during the last five laps of the race to battle for second in heavy lapped traffic. Gray was able to make the pass on the last lap.
In preliminary action, Bridges won the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, wile Turpen and Nicholson scored heat race wins.
The USCS Sprint Car Series heads for the Sunshine State for the next two events, as Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida will host the USCS on Friday, September 16 and Saturday, September 17.
For more information, visit USCSRacing.com.
USCS Sprint Car Series
Tri-County Race Track – Brasstown, NC
Race Results – Sept. 5, 2016
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 5 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
2. 6 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
3. 2 4 Danny Smith Chillicothe, OH
4. 1 07 Johnny Bridges Cherryville, NC
5. 3 23 Lance Moss Cherryville, NC
6. 11 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, MS
7. 8 24d Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
8. 10 12 Nick Roberts Washington Court House, OH
9. 9 33 Joe Larkin Suwanee, GA
10. 7 67 Jake McLain Indian Trail, NC
11. 4 16 Anthony Nicholson Millington, TN
12. 14 25 Ray Bugg Iuka, MS
13. 13 22 Kevin Roberts Washington Court House, OH
14. 12 6T Brad Wickham Rutherfordton, NC
