11/10/2007
Sprint Source
Wayne Johnson captures O'Reilly USCS Lucas Oil Showdown race #1 at Columbus
Wayne Johnson from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma driving the H&H Motorsports #94 used his veteran driving skills and the high side of the race track to make a lap-fourteen pass for the lead around top qualifier Tim Crawley from Benton, Arkansas. Johnson then raced the final eleven laps to victory lane in the first of two 25-lap features in the O’Reilly Auto Parts United Sprint Car Series Lucas Oil Showdown portion of the 2nd Annual O’Reilly United Sprint Car Series “Battle at the Bullring” at Columbus Speedway in Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday night. It was Johnson’s fourth O’Reilly USCS www.uscsracing.com feature win of the season and it came over a twenty-six car field from eleven states. Johnson started outside of the front row next to Crawley who had a clean-sweep for the weekend going after setting fast time then winning the Engler Machine and Tool First Qualifying race on Friday night. Crawley then won the Lucas Oil Power Dash on Saturday evening to place him on the pole for the first 25-lap main event. Crawley who looked-to-be the favorite led until nearly the races mid-point before Johnson came racing past on the high side of the 3/10 mile high-banked red clay oval. On lap sixteen, Wade Oliver from Southaven, Mississippi, who started sixth, raced past Crawley into the runner-up spot and started to challenge Johnson.
On lap seventeen defending O’Reilly USCS Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee and World of Outlaws regular Jason Sides also from Bartlett, Tennessee both passed Crawley who was fading fast. On lap nineteen, Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Missisippi moved into the top five joining Johnson and Gray who passed Oliver on the same lap for the second position. Oliver was now in third place and Sides followed in the fourth position. Crawley left the track with a flat right rear tire on lap twenty-two.
At the finish-line Johnson won over Gray who clinched his sixth O’Reilly USCS title. Gray was followed by Wade Oliver in third place, Jason Sides followed in fourth and young gun Lee Sowell rounded out the top five. Past O’Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from west Memphis, Arkansas lead the next group of chargers home in sixth place followed by Ron Blair from Troy, Ohio in seventh place. 2007 East Bay Raceway track Champion, R.J. Johnson from Land-O-Lakes, Florida finished in eighth place. He was followed by 2004 AOAS/USCS Champion, Johnny Bridges from Cherryville, North Carolina and Timmy Thrash from Biloxi, Mississippi rounded out the top ten.
As previously mentioned, Tim Crawley won the evening’s important six-cars, six-laps Lucas Oil Power Dash. Sixteen year-old 2006 O’Reilly USCS “Rookie of the Year” Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas started sixth then chased down another talented young gun, eighteen year-old Don Young from Memphis, Tennessee to win the 12-lap Engler Machine and Tool B-Main event. Wade Oliver garnered the events Huggins Cams Hard Charger award for his charge from 6th place into a podium spot in third place. Chris Williams was recognized as the Robison Racing Products Rookie of the Race. Twenty year-old Lee Sowell was recognized as the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race, which is awarded to the top-finishing driver under twenty-five years old at each event. Crawley also snagged the K&N Filters Pole Award with his win in the Lucas Oil Power Dash. The JE Pistons Top Gun Award that rotates from first place to second place and then to third place went to the the second place driver Terry Gray.
Submitted By: Adam Ulrey