Hickory, NC(October 22, 2009) -- With only 3 races to go in the 2009 UARA season, tensions were high as the teams rolled into the famed Hickory Motor Speedway. Point leader Matt McCall and second place man Jamie Caudill were the center of attention once more, as their last lap skirmish from Dillon carried over to the Hickory track. They didn't disappoint the fans of action, but they were not the story at the front of the field, as Coleman Pressley took care of that, taking home his first UARA win and second in a row at Hickory in October.

With the season winding down, all touring series are usually hurting for cars, and UARA is no exception as only 19 cars were on hand for the 150 lap event. But as is the norm in UARA races, the car count means nothing, as the races are always something to remember. Pressley backed up his fast practice times by taking the Sunoco Pole Award followed by Kyle Grissom, Jamey Caudill, Paddy Rodenbeck and Brandon McReynolds rounding out the top five.

As everyone was waiting to race, one team was scrambling just to get a motor in their car to be able to race. Garrett Campbell, who has been in the top five in the points all season, had an engine expire in the final practice session of the day. Without having a backup engine, they turned to engine builder Tom Vigue for a power plant. Only problem was that the engine was 45 minutes away, leaving the team with about the same time to get it back in the car before the start of the race. They would thrash like a team on the Sprint Cup level, and were able to start the event from the rear of the field. Campbell would have a stellar day with the new power, the same type engine that Matt McCall and Kyle Grissom were using for the UARA event.

Grissom was able to jump to the lead at the drop of the green, as he and Pressley quickly tried to run off from the rest of the field. Rodenbeck would quickly dispose of Caudill for third, and McReynolds would soon follow. The field got single-file rather quickly, but the big mover was Garrett Campbell, after starting last he was up to 12th in the first 15 laps.

Pressley would take the lead on lap 16, but the big story was developing behind him. Caudill was fading, and McCall was coming, and everyone was anticipating what would happen. It took until lap 51, but McCall was finally there, and McCall makes contact with the left rear quarter panel off turn two. The next lap as Caudill is under Andy Loden going into turn one, McCall has a lane to the inside and takes advantage, sticking his #23 Cadillac in as far he could. What happens next is between the drivers, either Caudill came down or McCall came up, either way Caudill goes for the spin cycle. As Caudill is sliding sideways, he gases up hard and tries to get a piece of McCall as he passes, clipping the right rear corner, tearing his own fender away in the process. But it wasn't over there.

At the drop of the next green flag, after Caudill had fell back in behind McCall, Caudill goes into turn three wide-open and takes McCall for a ride up the track. How Matt didn't wreck is simply amazing, as he was slammed about as hard as possible into the corner, but he managed to save it only losing three positions. Caudill would be black-flagged for rough driving, ending his chance at victory, and ultimately, killing his title hopes in the blink of an eye. But it looks as if this rivalry is long from over.

Up front McReynolds has moved around Grissom for second, and on the restarts he can run with Pressley on the inside, as Coleman keeps his crate engine wound up on the outside groove of the track. Lap after lap they do this, until McReynolds finally has to give in, he just couldn't get the bite he needed on the low side off the corner to complete the pass.

As the race wears on, it becomes evident that this day belongs to Pressley, but the other positions were up for grabs until the very end. Dexter Canipe Jr. was making a rare UARA start and his Hickory knowledge was being used wisely. He slowly worked his way to the front by the later stages of the race, taking the second spot from McReynolds, but not without a dogfight for it. Campbell was coming to, and after making his way into the top four he was looking at the front also.

Canipe Jr. vs. McReynolds, Campbell vs. McCall, and Grissom vs. Loden, it was some great racing coming down to the end. Campbell would have his storybook day come to an end only 27 laps from the end, he was fighting Grissom for 5th when he was told clear and he almost was, but almost doesn't count in racing. Campbell would spin into the turn one wall with minimal damage, and would rally back to finish 10th, but his car was much better than were he ended up on the board.

As Pressley was cruising, Canipe Jr. and McReynolds were fighting it out for second, each lap they were side by side, neither giving an inch. This kind of racing is a testament of the Hickory track, late in every event there, it is one of the few tracks around that has an outside groove, and over the past few years, Pressley, McCall and the track champion last year, Andy Loden, have put it to good use. Canipe Jr. is another of the frequent Hickory visitors that also uses it, and he put it to use beating McReynolds to the line for second.

Pressley was victorious once more at Hickory, just a few weeks after winning the big end of the year race there, the "Fall Brawl". He has had his share of bad luck this year after having a dominating season in 08', but after these two good runs he looks to finish the year as he was this past weekend, a winner. Stay tuned, as we roll into Concord for the next to last race, we have the McCall vs. Caudill battle brewing at the boiling point as well as hungry drivers wanting the win, and Pressley seems to be peaking at the end of the year, It's going to be good.
 
Unofficial Results:
1 - Coleman Pressley #59
2 - Dexter Canipe Jr. #88
3 - Brandon McReynolds #28
4 - Matt McCall #23
5 - Kyle Grissom #32
6 - Brennan Poole #5
7 - RA Brown #60
8 - Andy Loden #29
9 - Michael Rouse #21
10 - Garrett Campbell #12
11 - Scott Turlington #48
12 - Dylan Presnell #83
13 - Ryan Robertson #31
14 - Caleb Holeman #74
15 - Randy Hawkins #03
16 - Grant McGinnis #41
17 - Jamey Caudil #50
18 - Paddy Rodenbeck #81
19 - Lee Tissot #44