LAURENS, S.C. – Terry Gray took advantage of the misfortunes of three different leaders, as he inherited the lead and took the USCS Sprint Car Series victory Saturday night at South Carolina’s Laurens County Speedway.
Race leader after race leader fell by the wayside in the last eight laps of the race. Just when Gray thought he was going to have to settle for a fourth place finish, he moved up to third when the leader crashed. Then another leader crashed and he moved to second.
When yet another leader spun with three to go, Gray found himself in the lead and three laps later in Victory Lane. It marked his 90th career series victory for the Bartlett, Tennessee racer.
“We’ve been getting a lot of second-place finishes here lately, so I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to get another win,” Gray said. “I hate to see the guys drop out of the lead the way they did because I’d rather be racing them for the wins.”
While Gray felt the thrill of victory, Brandon McLain, Lance Moss and Morgan Turpen felt the disappointment of misfortune in the 30-lap race. McLain and Moss crashed while leading, and Turpen had a tire go flat just as a push truck was trying to get her car pushed off after a red flag period.
Johnny Bridges finished in second, with Anthony Nicholson in third, Brian Thomas of Pendergrass, Georgia in fourth and Brad Wickham in fifth.
Nick Roberts, Jake McLain, Jeff Willingham, Joe Larkin of Suwanee, Georgia and Moss rounded out the top ten.
Polesitter Brandon McLain led the first lap of the feature race followed by Moss, Bridges, Gray and Scott Hunter. Hunter didn’t stay up front long, as he tattooed the backstretch wall putting his race car out of the action. That moved Turpen into fifth right behind Gray.
Brandon McLain stayed out front until the field slowed for the second caution flag of the race on lap eight when Jimmy Mabe stalled on the front straightaway. Brandon McLain led Moss, Bridges, Gray and Turpen back to the green flag.
Moss began to put the pressure on Brandon McLain for the lead by lap 20 and three laps later, would move past to take the top spot. McLain tried a crossover move, but ended up on top of the fence to bring out the red flag.
With seven laps to go, Moss took control of the race, pulling away from Gray and Bridges. But Moss’ run for the win came to an end when the lap car of Sonny Stroud spun in front of him, causing Moss to lock up his brakes to avoid the stricken racer.
That gave Gray the lead, and he pulled away from Bridges in the final three laps to take the win.
In preliminary action, Nicholson won the six-lap Hoosier Tire Speed Dash, while Gray, Brandon McClain and Turpen scored heat race victories.
For more information on the USCS Sprint Car Series, visit USCSRacing.com.
USCS Sprint Car Series
Laurens County Speedway – Laurens, SC
Race Results – Sept. 3, 2016
POS STRT CAR # DRIVER
1. 3 10 Terry Gray Bartlett, TN
2. 4 07 Johnny Bridges
3. 9 16 Anthony Nicholson Millington, TN
4. 7 67t Brian Thomas Pendergrass, GA
5. 12 6T Brad Wickham Atlanta, GA
6. 15 12 Nick Roberts
7. 11 67m Jake McLain Indian Trail, NC
8. 17 28 Jeff Willingham Ripley, MS
9. 16 33 Joe Larkin
10. 2 23 Lance Moss Cherryville, NC
11. 18 5s Sonny Stroud
12. 1 21m Brandon McLain Indian Trail, NC
13. 5 10m Morgan Turpen Cordova, TN
14. 8 22 Kevin Roberts
15. 14 24d Danny Sams III Englewood, FL
16. 13 4 Jimmy Mabe Atlanta, GA
17. 10 25 Ray Bugg
18. 6 1x Scott Hunter
DNS: 19 47 Eric Riggins, Jr. Charlotte, NC
