LOXLEY, Ala. — The 2025 USCS Southern Thunder Tour regional series Rookie of the Year, Coen McDaniel, picked up his first career United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By XC Gear feature race win on Friday night at Deep South Speedway.
The 15-year-old driver not only drove to his first USCS win, but he swept the program by leading all 25 laps, winning his heat and the dash.
Chris Martin made a late-race challenge for the win, but had to settle for the second spot. Sixteen-time USCS champion Terry Gray finished third. Van Gurley Jr. took the fourth spot and Trey Meredith was fifth.
McDaniel took the lead at the drop of the green flag to start Round 7 of the USCS Winter Heat Shootout followed by Corbin Gurley, Van Gurley Jr. and Davie Franek. Jadon Bowling charged up from his 11th starting spot to pass Franek for the fifth on lap two, and then got by Van Gurley Jr. of lap seven for the fourth position.
Reutimann brought out the first of two caution flags on lap eight while running eighth. McDaniel gave up a 2.228 second advantage over second place Corbin Gurley. Gray, Bowling, and Van Gurley Jr. rounded out the top five for the restart. Van Gurley Jr. was able to get by Bowling for the fourth position when the green flag came out.
Meredith moved into the top five for the first time in the race on lap nine and Martin made his first appearance in the top five on lap 12. Martin then passed Van Gurley Jr. for fourth on lap 14. The closest challenge McDaniel had to fend off came on lap 16 when Corbin Gurley closed to within .132 seconds in lapped traffic.
Martin was looking for a piece of the action in the battle for the lead when he got by Gray for the third spot on lap 17. McDaniel pulled out to just over a half second lead on Corbin Gurley by lap 20, but his main challenger up to this point in the race, Corbin Gurley brought out the final caution flag of the race on lap 21.
McDaniel now had Martin, Gray, Van Gurley Jr., and Meredith second through fifth respectively behind him for the restart. In the five-lap dash to the finish, McDaniel was able to hang on and take a .230-second margin of victory over Martin under the checkered flag in a race that took 21 minutes and 27.349
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (1); 2. 44 Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (8); 3. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (3); 4. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (4); 5. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (5); 6. 71 Max Stambaugh, Lima, OH (9); 7. 23w Conner Wray, Olive Branch, MS (18); 8. 22 Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (14); 9. 51 Jeremy Kornbau, Hermitage, PA (12); 10. 28f Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (7); 11. 01 Shane Morgan, Gulfport, MS (13); 12. B5 Brianna Lawson, Jackson Springs, NC (16); 13. 51 Shelby Kelly, Runnemede, NJ (15); 14. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (11); 15. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (2); 16. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (17); 17. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (6); 18. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (10); 19. 38 John Robicheaux, Gulfport, MS DNS.
