NORMAN PARK, Ga. — The defending and 15-time United Sprint Car Series Presented By K&N Filters National Champion Terry Gray moved closer to a series milestone in his National Sprint Car Hall of Fame career by winning his 98th career series win on Saturday night at Needmore Speedway.
Gray started third and took the lead from rookie sensation Trey Meredith on lap 21 of the 25-lap feature to post the victory. Tanner Witherspoon rallied from 10th to finish second and earned the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger Award.Â
Lance Moss took the third spot, and Meredith was fourth.
Brandon Grubaugh drove to a fifth-place finish and the previous night’s feature winner, British driver Ryan Harrison, finished sixth.
Kyle Amerson took the seventh spot and Terry Witherspoon was eighth. Dustin Burtron came home in ninth place and Tyler Porter rounded out the top 10.
Grubaugh took the lead at the start of the race followed by Meredith, Moss, Gray and Bryce Comer. Meredith took over the point from Grubaugh on lap two, and Comer moved up to the third spot on lap four, but he brought out the first of two caution flags on lap six when he stalled on the front straightaway.
Meredith led Grubaugh, Gray, Moss, and Harrison down for the restart. Gray passed Grubaugh for second place when the field went to green flag action. The caution bulb was ignited for the second time on lap 12 when fourth-generation driver P.J. Reutimann stalled on the backstretch.
The top five set for the restart were Meredith, Gray, Grubaugh, Moss and Harrison. Witherspoon passed Harrison on the restart to move into the fifth spot. Moss passed Grubaugh for third on lap 16 and Witherspoon got by Grubaugh for fourth on lap 18.
Meanwhile up front, Gray moved in on Meredith to challenge for the lead, and he took the point on lap 21.
Witherspoon passed Moss for third on lap 24, and on the final lap, both Witherspoon and Moss got by Meredith to second and third respectively, Gray took a 2.282 second margin of victory under the checkered flag in a race that took 16 minutes and 43.252 seconds to complete.
Feature Finish (25 Laps)
1. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (3); 2. 99 Tanner Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL (10); 3. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (2); 4. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (4); 5. G6 Brandon Grubaugh, Ocala, FL (1); 6. 97 Ryan Harrison, Rothwell, NTH (5); 7. 29 Kyle Amerson, Montgomery, AL (13); 8. 43 Terry Witherspoon, Jacksonville, FL (9); 9. 51 Dustin Burtron, Seminole, FL (7); 10. 16 Tyler Porter, Pinellas Park, FL (11); 11. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (16); 12. 6 Bryce Comer, Apollo Beach, FL (6); 13. 33 Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (15); 14. 0 Clint Weiss, Jesup, GA (17); 15. 67 Blake Mallette, Vancleve, MS (19); 16. 83 Bob Auld, Largo, FL (18); 17. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (12); 18. 13 Todd Fayard, D’Iberville, MS (8); 19. 5 Hayden Campbell, Montverde, FL DNS.