FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PHENIX CITY, AL – June 22, 2024 - Derek Hagar of Marion, AR swept the United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters Alabama Weekend with his second straight win on Saturday night in the 26-lap Main Event at East Alabama Motor Speedway. Hagar led every lap for his third USCS win of the season. It was also his seventy-eighth career USCS win.
Trey Meredith of Dade City, FL took the second spot, National Sprint Car Hall of Famer and the defending 15-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN finished third. Tyler Porter of Pinellas Park, FL was fourth and Brandon Grubaugh of Ocala, FL drove to a fifth-place finish.
Ronny Howard of Nesbit, MS started 11th and finished sixth to earn the Wilwood Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Conner Wray of Olive Blanch, MS came back from a mid-race spin to salvage a seventh-place finish, and fourth-generation driver P.J. Reutimann of Zephyrhills, FL took the eighth spot. Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS was ninth, and Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC ran second for most of the race, but trouble late in the race dropped him to the tenth spot.
In preliminary action, Hagar won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the pole position for the 30-lap Main Event. The eight-lap Engler Machine & Tool First Heat Race was won by Meredith, and the Butlerbuilt Racing Products second eight-lap Heat Race was won by Todd Fayard of D’Iberville, MS.
Hagar took the lead at the start of the race followed by Meredith, Gray, Moss, and Wray. The first of three caution flags came out on lap three when Fayard spun out of the sixth spot in turn two. Moss was on the move after the restart, as he passed Gray for the third spot on lap four, and got by Meredith for second on lap seven.
Moss closed to within two-tenths of a second of Hagar to challenge for the lead on lap 11, but the second yellow flag waved on lap 15 when Wray ran into trouble. Hagar led Moss, Meredith, Gray, and Grubaugh down fuor the restart. Hagar pulled out to a .647 second lead over Moss by lap 20, but Moss closed to within .203 seconds on lap 22.
The lead duo worked through lapped traffic in the closing laps when Fayard spun in front of the leaders on lap 25. Hagar got by, but Moss had to spin his car to avoid contact with Fayard. That brought out a caution flag and necessitated a green-white-checkered finish. Wray made a big move on the restart moving up from ninth to seventh. Hagar had a 1.468 second margin of victory over Meredith in a race that took 24 minutes and 4.841 seconds to complete.
The next two stops for the United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters will be on Friday night, June 28 at Hattiesburg (MS) Speedway. and on Saturday night, June 29 at Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, AR. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page, or call the series office at 770-865-6097.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are K&N Filters, Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, Huggins Cams, Hero Graphics, DMI/Bulldog, J&J Supply of NC, Racing Electronics, JE Pistons, DHR Suspension, Wilwood Disc Brakes, KSE Racing Products, PRO Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, and Arizona Sport Shirts.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY K&N FILTERS EVENT AT EAST ALABAMA MOTOR SPEEDWAY IN PHENIX CITY, AL ON 6/22/24:
FEATURE RACE – 30 Laps: 1. 9jr Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (1); 2. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (3); 3. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (2); 4. 16 Tyler Porter, Pinellas Park, FL (8); 5. G6 Brandon Grubaugh, Ocala, FL (7); 6. 44 Ronny Howard, Nesbit, MS (11); 7. 23w Conner Wray, Olive Branch, MS (5); 8. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (9); 9. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (10); 10. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (4); 11. 33 Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (13); 12. 0 Clint Weiss, Jesup, GA (12); 13. 83 Bob Auld, Largo, FL (14); 14. 67 Blake Mallette, Vancleve, MS (15); 15. 13 Todd Fayard, D'Iberville, MS (6); 16. 77 Kyle Mabry, Cottondale, FL DNS.
HOOSIER RACING TIRES SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Hagar; 2. Gray; 3. Meredith; 4. Moss; 5. Wray; 6. Fayard.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Meredith; 2. Hagar; 3. Gray; 4. Grubaugh; 5. Howard; 6. Reutimann; 7. Larkin; 8. Mabry.
BUTLERBUILT RACING PRODUCTS HEAT 2: 1. Fayard; 2. Wray; 3. Moss; 4. Porter; 5. Willingham; 6. Weiss; 7. Auld; 8. Mallett
Submitted by ROBY HELM – Helm Communications – 865-207-4157
United Sprint Car Series News Release: Contact: PETE WALTON – 770-865-6097