Kevin Thomas Jr. kicked off 2021 in the exact opposite way where he was during 2020:
In victory lane.
The Cullman, Alabama native utilized two passes coming in as many laps to earn the win in Thursday night’s Winter Dirt Games XII USAC Sprint Car season opener.
“We absolutely sucked,” Thomas Jr. said. “It’s good to get this Dr. Pepper-McDonalds 9K in victory lane. This one’s pretty special.”
Thomas Jr. started the race in third before pulling away from the rest of the main group with leaders Kyle Cummins and Justin Grant.
Right before the midway mark, Thomas Jr. made the pass on Grant, and then followed it up with a pass on the inside of Cummins through lapped traffic.
It landed him the win at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala, Florida.
“Bubba always gives me shit because I never win at his track,” Thomas Jr. said on the broadcast. “I’m glad we finally did that this year. I’m real thankful that we were able to get the win and hopefully the weather holds off.”
Currently, the forecast for the track shows a 60 percent chance of scattered showers for the next two scheduled nights of racing.
If it holds off, the goal is the same for the driver of the No. 9K.
“Back to victory lane,” said KTJ.
USAC Sprint Cars Opener Results
1. Kevin Thomas Jr.
2. Justin Grant
3. Kyle Cummins
4. Brady Bacon
5. Tyler Courtney
6. Tanner Thorson
7. C.J. Leary
8. Buddy Kofoid
9. Chris Windom
10. Timmy Buckwalter
11. Jake Swanson
12. Robert Ballou
13. Noah Gass
14. Chase Stockon
15. Mario Clouser
16. Paul Nienhiser
17. Dave Darland
18. Stevie Sussex
19. Jadon Rogers
20. Brandon Mattox
21. Briggs Danner
22. Matt Westfall
23. Carson Garrett
24. Kory Schudy
