Kenny Adams completes double in USCS "Showdown" at Volusia
Barberville, FL. - Kenny Adams completed the second half of a double victory weekend at Volusia Speedway Park by winning Sunday night's United Sprint Car Series (www.uscsracing.com) "Showdown at Sundown" 30 lap USCS main event..
Adams who hails from Malabar, Florida started fifth and had to work hard for the win passing 1997 USCS Champ, Red Stauffer for second place on lap four, but he chased Lexington, South Carolina's Brice Wrenn for fifteen more circuits around Dick Murphy's fast half mile before taking the lead from the flying Wrenn. Adams who clinched the USCS Asphalt Thunder paved track title on Labor Day weekend, pushed his USCS win total to seventeen on the season and twenty four overall.
Defending USCS National Champion, Terry Gray from Bartlett, Tennessee won the $5000 to win Airflow Research "Super Power Dash earlier in the evening and started sixth in the inversion. Gray worked his way past Wrenn for second on lap twenty three, but the third year South Carolina sprint car driver held on for his best USCS finish ever and had it gone caution free he might well have ended his night in victory lane, but several cautions put "the heat" right back behind him every time and as the race wore on, his car picked up a slight push that didn't help.
Indy Car driver Jimmy Kite might well have been the come back story of the weekend. Kite from Stockbridge, Georgia who finished thirteenth in this year's Indy 500 drove his Tommy Gainey owned #45 sprint car from seventeeth to fourth place in the main event after struggling in his heat with a sixth place finish.
All Star Circuit of Champions star Chad Kemenah blew his motor in hot laps and was ride-less for the night, so he assisted Kite with some setup tips and "Jimmy just drove the wheels off the car," said USCS President Pete Walton. "It was great to see Jimmy do so well tonight as he had a lot of bad luck on Saturday and we all know he can drive and he just needed a break" said Walton. "He's running the rest of the Florida Fall Brawl with us and the fans will see that he and car owner Tommy Gainey are a real asset to this mini tour", concluded Walton. Past USCS Florida State Champion, Sport Allen from Largo, Florida rounded out the top five.
2002 East Bay Raceway champion, Brian Maddox from Brandon, Florida finished sixth, Jim Raptis from Marietta, Georgia who is second behend Gray in the 2003 USCS National title chase was seventh, seventeen year old Danny "Hammer" Martin, Jr. from Sarasota, Florida dropped from fourth to eighth with wing mount problems in the last six laps, Chris Hill from Wedowee, Alabama moved up from thirteenth to ninth in the tough field and Lee Scrape from Orange Park, Florida recovered from a lap seven mishap to finish tenth.
The evening's www.hoseheads.com heat races were won by Brian Maddox and Jim Raptis. Matt Stegeman from Tampa, Florida garnered the USCS "Rookie of the Race" award for being the highest placing rookie driver in the main event. Jimmy Kite passed thirteen cars in the main event to receive the Huggins Cams "Hardcharger" award. Brice Wrenn received the KSE "Outstanding Driving Performance" award for the evening for his efforts.
The night's "hard luck" award went to former USCS Champion, Red Stauffer from Winter Park, Florida who blew a motor in hot laps then completed his own USCS "double" by blowing the second one while running in third place in the A main on lap seventeen.
. Fans don't have to wait long for the next USCS event as the tour moves over to Putnam County Speedway on Friday next and Saturday night (Oct. 24-25th) for the Putnam County "Fall Brawl". The track phone number is 386-649-5210.
Heat race #1- Jim Raptis, Jeremy Scott, Jerry Jones, Chris Hill, Randy Helton, Jimmy Kite, R.J. Johnson,Daryl Smith, Scott Young.
Heat race #2 - Brian Maddox, Tom Winegardner, Lee Scrape, Aubrey Black, Shawn Stafford, Matt Stegeman, Roland Johnson, Mike Love.
Volusia Speedway Park 10/19/03 USCS "Showdown at Sundown (30 laps) Winner = Kenny Adams, Terry Gray, Brice Wrenn, Jimmy Kite, Sport Allen, Brian Maddox, Jim Raptis, Danny Martin, Jr., Chris Hill, Lee Scrape, Randy Helton, Aubrey Black, Jeremy Scott, Tom Winegardner, Matt Stegeman, R.J.Johnson, Shawn Stafford, Daryl Smith, Roland Johnson, Red Stauffer, Jerry Jones, Mike Love. DNS Chad Kemenah, Scott Young, David Thorman.
