One of the largest crowds to attend a UARA event at Lonesome Pine Raceway, were entertained by Survivor star “Big Tom”, exciting racing and a spectacular night of fireworks.

It only took local fan favorite, Roush development driver and 2002 UARA Stars Champion Danny O’Quinn three events before returning back to victory lane in the National Late Model Touring Series. After moving up to the Hooter’s Pro Cup Series in 2003, O’Quinn has landed himself a development program ride with Rousch Racing competing in the ARCA Series.

O’Quinn’s ARCA schedule has allowed him to compete in the highly competitive UARA Stars Touring Series for car owner, Mitch West from Marshall, North Carolina.

O’Quinn’s victory in the Food City 150 at his home track, did not come easy. As one of the fastest cars in practice, O’Quinn stumbled in qualifying, with a fifteenth place starting position. A seventh lap crash with Burt Cable caused both cars to come to a stop on the front straight away, bringing out the second caution of the night.

O’Quinn’s march from the rear of the field would not be an easy task. His experience at Lonesome Pine would overcome and endure his deficit, by passing 28 cars on the outside. Once O’Quinn made it to second place behind UARA Stars point’s leader Matt McCall, his charge to the front looked to have ended, but after a late race caution on lap one forty three, McCall’s power plant started to miss and erupted on the front straight away. O’Quinn went on to lead the final seven laps and claim his first UARA Stars victory since his championship in 2002.

O’Quinn’s strong performance would earn him the Holley Performance Performer of the Race.

With McCalls’s misfortune, a strong finish by East Tennessee Trailers Hard Charger of the Race recipient would be Jamey Caudill. Who would gain fifteen spots on the night, and moved him to seventeen points within McCall, for the UARA Stars Championship. 

Sunoco Pole Award Winner Jamie Yelton also made some progress and gained valuable points Saturday Night, with his first pole award of the 2005 season and leading the first thirty seven laps of the Food City 150. Newport Tennessee Driver Scottie Hicks, turned his best performance of the season with a seventeenth place finish, earning him the RH2 Way Racing Radios Rookie of the Race.

UARA Stars National Late Model Touring Series proves again to be one of the most highly competitive series in the nation. O’ Quinn became the fifth different winner with seven different events in 2005. And the eighteenth different winner, out of twenty three events in the last two seasons.

UARA Stars returns to racing action for the Don Smith Ford 150 at Newport Speedway in Newport, Tennessee on Saturday July 16^th at 8:00pm. For more information please contact UARA at 828-692-3833 or visit us online at www.uara-stars.com