FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. -- Terry Gray of Bartlett, TN leads a tight point battle in the United Sprint Car Series Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour going into events at Cherokee Super Speedway in Gaffney, SC on Saturday night, and at Rome Speedway in Rome, GA on Sunday night. Gray holds a 54-point lead over Danny Martin Jr. of Sarasota, FL.

In ten USCS Outlaw Thunder events held so far this season, Gray has three wins, seven top five finishes, and eight top ten finishes. Overall, the "Bartlett Bullet" also leads the USCS National, Asphalt Thunder, and Sunbelt Tour point standings. Gray is looking for his fourth-straight USCS National Championship driving the #10 Goodson Farms/Wendy's Maxim/Wesmar.

Both weekend events will carry National, Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour, and Sunbelt Tour points.

Martin leads the USCS Youth Movement, as the 18-year-old driver, also known as "The Hammer," has 10 Outlaw Thunder starts with five top five finishes, and eight top ten finishes. Martin's best finish was a second-place effort on May 15 at Lancaster Motor Speedway in Lancaster, SC.

Martin has been a consistent USCS front-runner driving the Martin Structures, Inc. Schnee/ZRE, and many are expecting The Hammer to post his first win of the season in the near future, and be a strong challenger to Gray for the Outlaw Thunder title. Martin is also second in the USCS National point standings.

Brice Wrenn of Lexington, SC is also in the USCS Outlaw Thunder title hunt, and sits in the third spot in the point standings, 26 points behind Martin. In ten Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour starts, Wrenn has two top five finishes, and eight top ten finishes driving the Stainless Fabricators Hench/Gaerte.

With USCS being the only winged outlaw sprint car series in the country that runs both dirt and asphalt, Wrenn has chosen to run a dirt-only schedule in 2004. Despite not running any of the USCS Asphalt Thunder events, Wrenn is still fifth overall in the USCS National point standings.

Joining Martin in the Florida "Fountain of Youth Gang" are a pair of teenagers that round out the top five in the USCS Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour points chase.

R.J. Johnson of Wesley Chapel, FL is fourth in Outlaw Thunder points, and is the top USCS Rookie of the Year Candidate in 2004. The 16-year-old driver has one top ten finish in ten starts, but has shown improvement driving the Race Wear/Pin Rings J&J/CRE with each race he gets under his belt. Tom Winegardner Jr. of Pierson, FL is fifth in Outlaw Thunder points. The 19-year-old, who is studying to be a Master Chef at Culinary School during the week when he isn't driving the Snap-On Tools J&J/WRP, has cooked up three top ten finishes in nine USCS starts this season.

Former USCS Outlaw Thunder Champion Kenny Adams of Malabar, FL is sixth in USCS Outlaw Thunder Dirt Tour points with three wins, five top five finishes, and six top ten finishes in seven dirt starts. The "Malabar Missile" is third overall in the USCS National points. The 1997 USCS National champion Red Stauffer of Winter Park, FL is seventh in Outlaw Thunder points with two top ten finishes in six dirt starts.

The 1999 USCS Outlaw Thunder Champion Marshall Skinner of West Memphis, AR has bolted into the eighth spot in dirt points with two wins, and three top five finishes in five starts. Brian Thomas of Auburn, GA is ninth in USCS dirt points with two top fives and four top tens in five starts. Curt Michael of Ocean View, DE rounds out the top ten with two top fives in four starts.