09/26/2026
McDANIEL LEADS FLAG TO FLAG FOR USCS TRAVELERS REST WIN
TRAVELERS REST, SC – September 25, 2026 - Coen McDaniel of Gaffney, SC charged from his third starting spot on the opening lap and never looked back to win the 25-lap USCS Fall Brawl Fast Friday Sprint Car Shootout Feature Race on Friday night for the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour at Travelers Rest Speedway. It was McDaniel’s fifth USCS win of the season.
The evenings Hoosier Power Dash winner, Eric Riggins Jr. of Charlottle, NC took over the second spot on lap eight, but McDaniel held his ground, as Riggins had to settle for second. Van Gurley Jr. of Valparaiso, IN started seventh and finished third to earn the Wilwood Disc Brakes Hard Charger of the Race Award.
Jadan Bowling of Holden Beach, NC finished fourth, and Hayden Wise of Huntersville, NC took the fifth spot. Tyler Blankenship of Bakersfield, CA was sixth and Lance Moss of Cherryville, NC drove to a seventh-place finish.
In finishing eighth, 16-time USCS National Champion Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN took over the point lead in quest of his unprecedented 17th USCS title. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Inductee now has a two-point lead over Jeff Willingham of Ripley, MS, who finished tenth. Tityn Roberts of Bennet, NE took the ninth spot.
In preliminary action, as previously mentioned, Riggins won the six-lap Hoosier Racing Tire Speed Dash to earn the Pole Position for the 25-lap Feature Race. The two eight-lap Heat Races were won by McDaniel in the Engler Machine & Tool First Heat, and Bowling in the Butlerbuilt Second Heat.
When the green flag was displayed to start the 25-lap Feature Race, McDaniel came from his inside row two starting spot to lead lap one followed by Bowling, Riggins, Moss, and Gurley. On the second lap Gurley passed Moss for the fourth spot, and the race was slowed by the first of three caution flags when Jackson Wellman of Belmont, NC spun in turn four.
On the restart, Blankenship moved up into the top five, passing Moss for the fifth position. Riggins got by Bowling for second on the eighth lap, but he had a lot of real estate to make up, as McDaniel had pulled out to just over a three second advantage. That lead went away on lap nine as the second yellow flag of the race was unfurled when Blankenship spun in turn two.
McDaniel led Riggins, Bowling, Gurley and Wise down for the restart. Gurley was on the move, as he passed Bowling for the third spot. The final caution flag of the race came out on lap 13 when Roberts spun in turn four. McDaniel gave up a 1.847 second over a charging Riggins with Gurley, Bowling and Wise close behind in the top five.
The caution-free seccond half of the race saw McDaniel pull away from the field. The 15-year-old 2025 USCS Rookie of the Year led Riggins by just two seconds on lap 15, and with five to go, McDaniel held a 3.120 second lead. McDaniel took the checkered flag with a 2.325 second margin of victory over Riggins, and completed the 25 laps in 15 minutes and 2.241 seconds.
The next Fall Brawl race for the Hoosier Racing Tire United Sprint Car Series Presented By XC Gear 30th Anniversary Outlaw Thunder Tour will be on Saturday night at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC. For more information about USCS, visit their website at uscsracing dot com and the series page.
United Sprint Car Series Marketing Partners are Engler Machine & Tool, Hoosier Racing Tire, XC Gdar, 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 THE HOOSIER RACING TIRE UNITED SPRINT CAR SERIES PRESENTED BY XC GEAR 30TH ANNIVERSARY OUTLAW THUNDER TOUR EVENT AT TRAVELERS REST SPEEDWAY IN TRAVELERS REST, SC ON 9/25/26:
FEATURE RACE – 25 Laps: 1. 48 Coen McDaniel, Gaffney, SC (3); 2. 24 Eric Riggins Jr., Charlotte, NC (1); 3. 13 Van Gurley Jr., Valparaiso, IN (7); 4. 01 Jadan Bowling, Holden Beach, NC (2); 5. 94 Hayden Wise, Huntersville, NC (8); 6. 9 Tyler Blankenship, Bakersfield, CA (6); 7. 23 Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (4); 8. 10 Terry Gray, Bartlett, TN (10); 9. 18 Tityn Roberts, Bennet, NE (5); 10. 28 Jeff Willingham, Ripley, MS (11); 11. 07 Johnny Bridges, Cherryville, NC (9); 12. 19w Jackson Wellman, Belmont, NC (12).
HOOSIER RACING TIRE SPEED DASH – 6 Laps: 1. Riggins; 2. Bowling; 3. McDaniel; 4. Moss; 5. Roberts; 6. Blankenship DNS.
HEAT RACES – 8 Laps:
ENGLER MACHINE & TOOL HEAT 1: 1. McDaniel; 2. Blankenship; 3. Riggins; 4. Wise; 5. Gray; 6. Wellman.
XC Gear HEAT 2: 1. Bowling; 2. Roberts; 3. Gurley; 4. Bridges; 5. Willingham; 6. Moss.