Hohenwald, TN – Friday, March 14, 2014 – West Tennessee open wheel modified top gun, Matt Cooper from McKenzie, Tennessee started in the K&N Filters Pole Position for Friday night’s K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified Series portion of the opening round of the Tennessee 200 at Tennessee National Raceway, but, that didn’t make his first trip to the www.rockauto.com USCS victory lane for the 2014 season an easy one. Cooper was beaten to the first turn of the 20-lap contest by outside front row starter Lucas Lee from Paris, Tennessee and then had to rally from fourth place on lap thirteen past Concord, North Carolina’s NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader, Preston Seratt from Dyersburg, Tennessee and Lucas Lee to claim the win after being penalized for a jumped re-start on lap ten.
The race, which may have been the most thrilling of all-time during the nine seasons of USCS Outlaw Modified Series competition, saw Cooper chase Lucas Lee for the first five laps before two-time series Champion, Ben Reed came to the inside of the lead duo to challenge for the lead. On lap nine Reed’s battle ended when he pulled his #07 to the pits with cooling problems. Cooper then received the penalty for passing Lee prior to reaching the re-start cone. Over the final ten laps Cooper held off fast qualifier Ken Schrader then charged past Seratt and Lucas Lee in a daring move entering turn three of the 1/3 mile clay oval into the lead. He then charged the final seven laps to victory followed by Lee, Seratt, Schrader and eighth starting Michael Turner from Paris, Tennessee in that finishing order. .
Jon Gray from Jonesboro, Arkansas led the next group in sixth place followed by Josh Tomlin from Hayti, Missouri in seventh place. Joseph Leister from Millington, Tennessee finished in eighth place. Jim Gulley from Paragould, Arkansas finished ninth place and Tyler Wood from Linden, Tennessee rounded out the top ten.
Ken Schrader set fast time of 14.69. around the 1/3 mile clay oval. After the one lap time trial qualifying set the line-ups, qualifying heat race winners were: Matt Cooper won the Wilwood Disc Brakes First Heat. Lucas Lee won the Aero Race Wheels Second Heat Race to set the front row. Joseph Leister who started thirteenth in the A-Main event and finished eighth, advanced the most positions to earn the Comp Cams Hard Charger Award.
The next event for the K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified Series is finals of the 2nd Annual “Tennessee 200” on Saturday, 15th at Tennessee National Raceway (formerly Hohenwald Motorsports) in Hohenwald, Tennessee. For information on Tennessee National Raceway please visit www.racetn.com or call 931-796-1890. For rules and info on the K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified Series please visit www.uscsracing.com or call 770-865-6097.
USCS “Tennessee 200” K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified series at Tennessee National Raceway on Friday, March 14, 2014 results:
www.rockauto.com Fast time: Ken Schrader 14.69 sec. 1/3 mile.
K&N Filters USCS Modified Power Dash: Ken Schrader, Lucas Lee, Ben Reed, Jon Gray, Jeff Wells, Jr., and Troy Dow.
Wilwood Disc Brakes Heat #1: Matt Cooper, Preston Seratt, Ken Schrader, Jeff Wells, Jr., Tyler Wood, Troy Dow, Joseph Leister, Michael Dodd, Mike Powers.
Aero Race Wheels Heat #2: Lucas Lee, Josh Tomlin, Ben Reed, Michael Turner, Jon Gray, Jim Gulley, Justin Roberts, Justin Cross and Todd Bates.
K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified Feature Finish – 25 laps:
1. 18 Matt Cooper, McKenzie, TN
2. 12 Lucas Lee, Paris, TN
3. 29 Preston Seratt, Dyersburg, TN
4. 9 Ken Schrader, Concord, NC
5. , 27 Michael Turner, Paris, TN
6. 00 Jon Gray, Jonesboro, AR
7. 29T Josh Tomlin, Hayti, MO
8. 89 Joseph Leister, Millington, TN
9. 44 Jim Gulley, Brooklyn, AR
10. 17jr Tyler Wood, Linden, TN
11. 99R Justin Roberts, Paragould, AR
12. 07 Ben Reed, Munford, TN
13. 00 Justin Cross, Pleaseantville, TN
14. 10 Michael Dodd, Caruthersville, MO
15. 21 Troy Dow, Munford, TN
16. 1 Jeff Wells Jr, Truman, AR
17. B25 Todd Bates, Hurricane, Mills, TN
18. P3 Mike Powers, Burleson, TN
K&N Filters USCS Outlaw Modified Sereis Race Awards:
K&N Filters Pole Award: #18 Matt Cooper
K&N Filters Podium (3rd place) Award: #29 Preston Seratt
Comp Cam Hardcharger Award: #89 Joseph Leister
Wilwood Disc Brakes First Heat Award: #18 Matt Cooper
Aero Race Wheels Second Heat Award: #12 Lucas Lee
Saldana Racing Products Top Five Award: #27 Michael Turner
Pyrotect Racing Cells Lucky Seven Award: #29T Josh Tomlin
DMI/Bulldog Rear End Top Ten Award: #17jr Tyler Wood
The K&N Filters USCS Modified Series would like to gratefully thank its sponsoring partners for their involvement in advancing the series: K&N Filters, www.rockauto.com, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Aero Race Wheels, Comp Cams, Saldana Racing Products, Pyrotect Racing Cells, DMI/Bulldog Rear Ends. KSE Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Safety-Kleen.