Kevin Thomas Jr.’s last trip to Williams Grove Speedway saw him lead just one single solitary lap on the way to a dramatic victory in June of 2024.

The Cullman, Alabama racer’s latest triumph at the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 1/2-mile dirt oval didn’t require as much of the late-race dramatics as it did last time, but all in all, the thrill of victory remained just as satisfying.

Thomas led all 30 laps to score the victory in Friday night’s USAC Eastern Storm Presented by Levan Machine & Truck Equipment round three in his Rock Steady Racing/Inferno Armor – Lucas Oil Center – Creative Finishing/Mach-1/Stanton Chevy.

The second victory of the 2025 USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship season for Thomas was also the 46th of his career with the series, moving him into a tie with Jack Hewitt for sixth place on the all-time USAC National Sprint Car win list.

“That’s pretty cool,” Thomas remarked. “When you start out, you look at all the guys on the list. I looked at (Jon) Stanbrough and Jerry Coons Jr. and Dave Darland, and I was like, ‘damn, if I could ever just get one win, that would be pretty cool,’ and just to say I raced with these guys and got a win. Jack is the coolest damn dude ever. He’ll whoop your ass and then pray with you.”

Furthermore, the score was the third of Thomas’ career at Williams Grove following triumphant performances in 2017 and 2024. His three USAC National Sprint Car wins at Williams Grove now rank second all-time, only one behind A.J. Foyt’s four. Additionally, Thomas became the first driver to record back-to-back USAC National Sprint Car wins at Williams Grove since the late, great Jan Opperman in 1973.

Thomas also provided car owner Hank Byram of Rock Steady Racing his 32nd career USAC National Sprint Car main event win, moving him into a tie with Ben Leyba for 14th place all-time on the series’ entrant win list.

However, at first, it was the race that seemingly didn’t want to begin. Just as the 30-lap feature was set to roll off, the track lights went completely dark due to a nearby car accident that knocked out the power to the surrounding area. USAC followers may recall that, six nights earlier, two mid-race power outages during a USAC Silver Crown event at World Wide Technology Raceway resulted in multiple red flags that totaled roughly 45 minutes. This occasion was relatively brief with about a 20-minute unplanned break before light began to beam down from the heavens and racing activities could once again proceed.

When on track action was able to resume, the madness mounted. On the first try at the start, 18th starting J.T. Ferry took a tumble in turn three that also collected Abby Hohlbein and first-time USAC National Sprint Car starter Dirk Rimrott. Ferry’s night was over and he was able to walk away while Hohlbein and Rimrott restarted and continued on.

But as it turned out, that didn’t last long. On take two of the start, Daison Pursley (7th) lost control in between tuns three and four on his own and spun completely sideways in the middle of the track. Moments later, Joey Amantea clipped Pursley’s left front wheel with his right rear tire and slid to a stop while C.J. Leary also collided with Pursley, knocking all three out of the contest.

Further on back, at the very same moment, Hohlbein and Mike Haggenbottom collided, sending both drivers flipping wildly through turns three and four in a spectacular looking ride that both were able to walk away from. While Haggenbottom’s evening ended abruptly, he did set a new record for the longest duration between USAC National Sprint Car feature starts at 28 years, 9 months & 8 days. Before Friday night, his one and only series start came in September of 1996, also at Williams Grove.

The third attempt at a start proved to be the charm as Thomas stepped out to the opening lap lead over Jake Swanson who slotted into second. By lap seven, Thomas’ lead stood at a full second while Honest Abe Roofing Fast Qualifier Mitchel Moles was draped all over the back of Kyle Cummins for third.

For Thomas, restarts were a must to avoid any missteps. After nearly stuffing it in the fence on his initial try at the start, Thomas took notes and made certain that it didn’t happen again.

“It’s hard here, especially with the way the corners are shaped and change up your approach to it,” Thomas explained. “If you do it wrong, you can really open yourself up to failure down there in turn one. I overcooked the first one. I thought I had just a little more grip than what I did and wound up there in the marbles and stuff. I got another shot at it and I felt good there. I just had to be patient. It’s such a long ass straightaway for a non-wing car. You lift before you think you have to and you’re pretty hard on brakes. Even when you’re running the top, you’re pretty hard on the equipment.”

(full unofficial results listed below from Williams Grove Speedway)

Results USAC National Sprint Cars Williams Grove Speedway Eastern Storm

1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1)

2. Kyle Cummins (2)

 3. Briggs Danner (10)

 4. Jake Swanson (3)

5. Justin Grant (5)

 6. Steven Drevicki (14)

7. Hayden Reinbold (12)

 8. Mitchel Moles (6)

9. Gunnar Setser (11)

10. Kale Drake (13)

11. Robert Ballou (8)

12. Logan Seavey (9)

13. Braydon Cromwell (17)

 14. Kayla Roell (16)

15. Olivia Thayer (21)

16. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (19)

17. Dirk Rimrott (23)

18. Daison Pursley (7)

19. Joey Amantea (15)

20. Mike Haggenbottom (20)

21. C.J. Leary (4)

22. Abby Hohlbein (22)

23. J.T. Ferry (18). NT