Davie Franek drives to third straight USCS win
MILTON, Fla.—Davie Franek of Wantage, NJ went wire-to-wire Friday night in the caution-free 25-lap United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By Hoosier Racing Tires Feature Race at Hunt The Front Southern Raceway. Franek won his third straight USCS race in Round 3 of the Winter Heat Shootout.
“I’m out of breath after that one, but the track was good on this new surface,” Franek said. “You could move around on it and go just about wherever you want to. I’ve got a fulltime crew on the road with me this season and they’re doing a great job. Three wins in three races is a real team effort.”
Chris Martin took up residence on the top side of the track from his seventh starting spot and closed to within three-tenths of a second in the closing laps on Franek, but had to settle for second. National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee Tim Shaffer of Aliquippa, PA finished third and Max Stambaugh of Lima, OH was fourth. Another NSCHoF Inductee, Terry McCarl of Altoona, IA took the fifth spot.
The 2026 USCS Southern Rhunder re global series Rookie of the Year, 15-year-old Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC finished sixth and seventh went to Van Gurley Jr. of Valparaiso, IN. Corbin Gurley of Hebron, IN started 14th and finished eighth to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award. Ricky Peterson of Rawson, OH was ninth and Brandon Blenden of Gulfport, MS rounded out the top ten.
In preliminary action, Franek won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the 25-lap Feature Race. The three eight-lap Heat Races were won by NSCHoF Inductee Danny Smith of Chillicothe, OH in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, Shaffer in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat, and Van Gurley Jr. in the Schoenfeld Headers Third Heat.
Franek took the lead at the drop of the green flag followed by Stambaugh, Shaffer, Van Gurley Jr. and Martin. Lap four saw Martin pass Van Gurley Jr. for the fourth spot, and McDaniel moved by Gurley for fifth on lap seven. Martin sailed around the outside of Shaffer for third on lap eight. Franek had opened up a 1.5 second lead over Stambaugh by the tenth lap.
Stambaugh closed to within seven-tenths of a second on Franek in heavy lapped traffic on lap 15, but Martin had the outside all to himself and moved around Stambaugh for second on lap 17, bringing Shaffer with him to take over the third spot. With five laps to go, Franek held a half second lead over Martin, who was beginning to close. Martin shaved off two-tenths of the second on lap 22.
That’s as close as Martin got to the leader, as No Panic Franek took the checkered flag with a .564 margin of victory over Martin under the checkered flag. The caution-free race only took six minutes and 18.588 seconds to complete the 25 tours around Hunt The Front Southern Raceway.
United Sprint Car Series Presented By Hoosier Racing Tire 30th Anniversary Goosier Race Tire USCS Outlaw Thunder Tour Presented By XC Gear returns to Hunt The Front Southern Raceway on Saturday night for Roud 6 of the Winter Heat Shootout. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing.com and the series Facebook page, or call the USCS Office at 770-865-6097.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, XC Gear Huggins Cams, Hero Graphics, DMI/Bulldog, Racing Electronics, JE Pistons, DHR Suspension, Wilwood Disc Brakes, AR Dyno Specialties, KSE Racing Products, PRO Shocks, Schoenfeld Headers, and Arizona Sport Shirts.
OFFICIAL RESULTS OF GOOSIER RACE TIRE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY XC Gear EVENT AT HUNT THE FRONT SOUTHERN RACEWAY ON 2/20/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 28f Davie Franek, Wantage, NJ (1); 2. 44 Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (7); 3. 01 Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (5); 4. 71 Max Stambaugh, Lima, OH (4); 5. 24 Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6); 6. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (8); 7. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (3); 8. 12 Corbin Gurley, Hebron, IN (14); 9. 3 Ricky Peterson, Rawson, OH (10); 10. 88 Brandon Blenden, Gulfport, MS (9); 11. 11 Trey Meredith, Dade City, FL (12); 12. 22 Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (16); 13. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (11); 14. 00 P.J. Reutimann, Zephyrhills, FL (13); 15. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (17); 16. 77 Tyeller Powless, Ohsweken, ON CAN (19); 17. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (20); 18. 3m Jordon, Mallett, Greenbrier, AR (15); 19. 28s Rusty Sanford, Seminary, MS (18); 20. 4 Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (2).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Franek; 2. Smith; 3. V. Gurley; 4. Stambaugh; 5. Shaffer; 6. McCarl.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. Smith; 2. Stambough; 3. Gray; 4. McDaniel; 5. Reutimann; 6 Goodno; 7. Willingham.
XC GEAR HEAT 2: 1. Shaffer; 2. McCarl; 3. Meredith; 4. Blenden; 5. Mallett; 6. Sanford.
SCHOENFELD HEADERS HEAT 3: 1. V. Gurley; 2. Martin; 3. Franek; 4. Peterson; 5. C. Gurley; 6. Wise; 7. Powless.
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