WOODSTOCK, Ga. — Jadan Bowling smoked the field and his engine to win the 18th Annual Randy Helton Memorial 27 for the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire on Saturday night at Dixie Speedway.
Bowling may have thought, “Here we go again,” as he took the white flag.
On Friday night, Bowling was in a position to win the race at Carolina Speedway on the last turn of the last lap, only to be involved in a three car cash that took him out of the race. His crew worked all night and all day on Saturday to repair the car and arrived at Dixie Speedway just in time for his heat.
Things were going well for Bowling, as he had the car to beat in the main event. After starting third, Bowling took the lead on lap two, and then checked out on the field.
When Bowling took the white flag, he held a 4.3-second lead on the second place driver, but smoke began to pour from his engine compartment as he approached turn one.
Bowling backed out of the throttle through turns one and two, and when he hit the throttle down the backstretch, the smoke returned even thicker. Bowling stayed in it through turns three and four, but this time, he made to the checkered flag for his third win of the season with 1.83 seconds to spare.
“I can’t thank my crew and my sponsors enough for putting in the effort to get us here tonight with a winning race car,” Bowling said. “I thought we were going to lose one again on the last lap, but the engine had just enough to get me to the checkered flag.”
Tyler Clem drove hard to catch Bowling on the last lap, but had to settle for second and the defending and 16-time USCS National Champion National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Gray was third.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (3); 2. 6s Tyler Clem, St. Petersburg, FL (4); 3. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (1); 4. 67 Hayden Martin, Olive Branch, MS (5); 5. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (9); 6. 47 Dale Howard, Byhalia, MS (8); 7. 29 Jeff Oliver, Pendergrass, GA (6); 8. 41 Luke Hill, Odessa, FL (10); 9. 91 Kyle Connery, Vero Beach, FL (2); 10. 87 Brady Allum, Taylorsville, NC (11); 11. 67m Jake McLain, Hembry Bridge, NC (14); 12. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (15); 13. 33 Joe Larkin, Suwanee, GA (13); 14. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (12); 15. Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (7); 16. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC DNS.
