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Gates Grabs LSS Sprint Loot; Firecracker 40 July 2

GATES DODGES DISASTER, GRABS $2,500 in LoneStar Sprint Bandits Series Loot!

Kilgore, TX (6/26/16) by DarinShort.com. THANK YOU to all of the race fans and teams that supported the racing program last night at LoneStar Speedway featuring the newly formed Sprint Car Bandits series.

Even with it being a hot summer day, Sam Hafertepe and the track crew had the racing surface in phenomenal condition, with plenty of racing room from top to bottom on the recently widened 75' expanses of LoneStar Speedway.

The 25-lap Sprint Car Bandits feature would turn into an epic barnburner between Dustin Gates (Haughton LA) and John Carney II (El Paso TX), and the pair would exchange the lead several times throughout the event, although Carney would officially only lead 1 lap during the event at the stripe. Carney would tow over 700 miles one-way to compete in the event, he would also bang the wall at least 3 times throughout the event on high speed track.

Video clips of the feature are now posted, so if you'd rather see the video versus reading the 'spoiler alert' in the next paragraphs, click here and there you will find the 3-part video of the feature race.

Multiple grooves were available to drivers and the first 14 1/2 laps would go green until San Angelo's Gary Floyd would get into the backstretch wall sending his black #58 into a grinding series of flips. It was reported that Gary was uninjured, and we appreciate him making the 375 mile one-way tow to LoneStar Speedway to race with us.

During that opening race segment, Gates and Carney would meticulously pick off lap cars, exchange sliders and battle it out.

After the closed-red for Floyd, the battle would heat up even higher until rounding the corner 3-4 bend coming down for the white flag, when Carney would make a ginormous bottom-to-top slider that completely passed leader Gates - but didn't clear the driver that the pair was attempting to lap, Junior Jenkins. Before Carney could get the momentum of the massive slider 'whoa-ed' down, he would pancake the side of Jenkins sending them both into a spin - directly in front of Gates. Gates would take evasive action and clear the pair unscathed.

Meanwhile, while most eyes had been focused on the lead pair, Michael Lang (Mesquite TX) would be poised to strike, as he would line up in second for the event's green-white-checkers finish after clawing his way through the field in the feature. Lang had earlier won his heat race only to be relegated to a dead-last starting spot for inadvertently forgetting to stop at the scales at the conclusion of the heat.

As the lap 23 restart ensued, Gates was too tough to tame and would cross the checkers first - in what was his first-ever 360CI sprint car victory...and collecting a cool $2,500 in the process. Lang would haul in $1,200 while veteran sprint car ace Claud Estes III (Godley, TX) would bring his Eagle Motorsports #74E across the stripe in third, winning $1,000. The sprint car feature race would conclude at 10:45pm.

The Sprint Car Bandits series features a few special rules that helps curb racer costs (with the 1-tire rule), plus tightens up the competition with a stagger rule and wing angle rule...while utilizing their existing equipment in the engine compartment. No tire issues were found in this event, or the previous; and the fans were treated to great sprint car racing action.

Action next weekend for the Sprint Car Bandits series shifts to 85 Speedway in Ennis on July 2nd. Click here for more series information. Full results and points will be posted to the SCB site soon.

In LoneStar Speedway championship points racing divisions, feature wins would go to Daniel Washburn in the FWD 4-Cylinders, Jeff Bates in the Factory Stocks; and after some recent bad luck, Jason Ingalls would fully redeem himself by clicking off wins in the Modified and Limited Modified events. Click here for full LSS results, which are posted at SpeedNet nightly.

Coming up next at LoneStar Speedway is this Saturday's (July 2nd) Firecracker 40 featuring $2,500 to win and $500 to start in the P&W Sales SUPR Late Models; plus big paydays await the winners in the Modifieds ($1,500/win), Factory Stocks ($500/win) and Limited Modifieds ($700/win).

Details are posted here - and the night will also include a big fireworks display to help us all celebrate the upcoming 4th of July holiday weekend.

Thanks again to everyone who supported the June 25th event and we hope you all enjoyed the fast action on the LoneStar high banks...and we hope to see you next weekend at the first Late Model race of the season, it's going to be a big one!

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