7/21/2007
Sprint Source
Marshall Skinner gets first 2007 O'Reilly USCS feature win the hard way at Greenville Speedway
Greenville, MS - 1999 O'Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas won his first O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series of the season at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, Mississippi on Saturday night. Skinner dominated the field with a clean sweep performance by first winning the 6-lap Lucas Oil Power Dash, then capturing the win in the 10-lap Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race. Skinner then raced from his sixth place starting position to victory lane in the 25-lap O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series www.uscsracing.com Mid South Thunder main event.
Former O'Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas tore through the field from his sixth place starting position to win the 25-lap O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series main event on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS. It was Skinner's first O'Reilly USCS featurte win of the season.(Phil Bowden photo)
Lee Sowell from Nesbit, Mississippi started on the pole of the main event with Bryce Vowan from Forrest City, Arkansas on the outside of the front row next him. On the initial start Vowan jumped into the lead with A.G Rains from West Memphis, Arkansas racing into the second position and Sowell dropped to third. On lap two the caution came out for Sowell's machine which stalled in turn four. When the race resumed Vowan held the point and the sixth starting Skinner raced past Rains into the runner-up spot on lap two. It took Skinner three more circuits to spoil Vowan's hopes for his first O'Reilly USCS victory. Vowan then held onto the runner-up position until lap twelve when defending series National champion Terry Gray muscled his way underneath him into the second positon exiting turn four. Gray took up the chase for Skinner but was unable to catch the flying Arkansan even though several more caution periods bunched the field behind Skinner. Each time he raced out of reach toward his final destination, the Greenville Speedway victory lane..
Former O'Reilly USCS Champion, Marshall Skinner from West Memphis, Arkansas tore through the field from his sixth place starting position to win the 25-lap O'Reilly United Sprint Car Series main event on Saturday night at Greenville Speedway in Greenville, MS. It was Skinner's first O'Reilly USCS featurte win of the season.(Phil Bowden photo)
Vowan finished in the third position. A second best on the season for him. A.G. Rains followed in the fourth spot and Kenny Taylor from Clinton, Arkansas rounded out the top five in his first O'Reilly USCS competition Chris Williams from Memphis, Tennessee finished in sixth place. Raymond Stull was seventh in the final order followed by Kevin Gault from Olive Branch, Mississippi who was eighth. Lee Sowell was ninth in the order and Ronnie Howard from Southaven, Mississippi rounded out the top ten.
Two usually highly competitive entries had misfortunes during the evening. On lap eight on the first heat race, former two-time O'Reilly USCS Champion and Mid-South hot shoe, Eddie Gallaher from Collierville, Tennessee left the race while running in the second qualifying position behind Skinner with a broken camshaft. Additionally, 2006 O'Reilly USCS Rookie of the Year and two-time 2007 feature winner, Derek Hagar from Marion, Arkansas flipped in the Lucas Oil Power Dash. He and his crew repaired the 9jr car he drives for a return to action in the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat race. On lap eight of that heat race the U-Joint in the driveline of the car exploded and hit the sixteen year-old Hagar on his right foot. Hagar exited the car in severe pain and was transported to the hospital. He later returned to the track with good news that it was only a severe bruise and no broken bones and that he expects to be back in action next weekend.
Marshall Skinner also won the evening's 6-lap Lucas Oil Power Dash and the Engler Machine and Tool First Heat Race. Five time series National Champion, Terry Gray won the Butlerbuilt Second Heat Race. Skinner garnered the events Huggins Cams Hard Charger award for his charge from sixth starting position into victory lane at the finish of the 25-lap A-Main event. Chris Williams was awarded the Robison Racing Products Rookie of the Race. Lee Sowell snagged the K&N Filters Pole Award after Skinner drew him to the pole in the K&N inversion draw. Bryce Vowan was recognized as the Hoosier Tire Young Gun of the Race, which is awarded to the top-finishing driver under twenty-five years old..
The next O'Reilly USCS event features a double-header this coming Friday night July 27th that begins at Sugar Creek Raceway www.sugarcreekracing.com in the mountains surrounding Blue Ridge, Georgia. The weekend finale will be at Dixie Speedway www.dixiespeedway.com in Woodstock, Georgia on Saturday night, July 28th. Both events award Mid-South and Southern Thunder regional series points.
Submitted By: Adam Ulrey
