4/5/2026
Crate Racin' USA
Gillespie, Thompson, McRee, and Markewitz Score Easter Weekend Wins at Pine Ridge
(Baldwyn, MS - April 5, 2026) – What was originally slated for Saturday night turned into an exciting Friday night showdown as Pine Ridge Speedway moved up its “Easter at the Ridge” program due to weather, and the decision paid off with a full night of Crate Racin’ USA sanctioned racing across four competitive divisions.
In the Crate Racin’ USA Dirt Late Model division, Oakley Gillespie put together a strong performance to capture the feature win in the 15-lap main event. Gillespie led the majority of the race, pacing laps 1-11 and 13-15, while surviving a brief lead change when Clent Busby took over on lap 12 before exiting early. Morgen Lambert advanced from fifth to finish second, while Brodie Thompson charged from seventh to round out the podium in third. Fast qualifier Robert Moore set the pace early in the night with a lap of 14.881 seconds and finished fourth in the feature.
Feature: 1. 1-Oakley Gillespie[2]; 2. 77-Morgen Lambert[5]; 3. T99-Brodie Thompson[7]; 4. 97-Robert Moore[3]; 5. 72S-Steve Russell[6]; 6. 26-Ryan Steig[1]; 7. F17-Felix George[9]; 8. 1H-Austin Holder[8]; 9. (DNF) 12-Clent Busby[4]
Lap Leaders - Gillespie (1-11) (13-15), Busby (12)
Heat 1: 1. 26-Ryan Steig[2]; 2. 97-Robert Moore[1]; 3. 77-Morgen Lambert[3]; 4. T99-Brodie Thompson[5]; 5. F17-Felix George[4]
Heat 2: 1. 1-Oakley Gillespie[1]; 2. 12-Clent Busby[2]; 3. 72S-Steve Russell[3]; 4. 1H-Austin Holder[4]
Qualifying: 1. 97-Robert Moore, 14.881[2]; 2. 1-Oakley Gillespie, 14.980[8]; 3. 26-Ryan Steig, 15.275[4]; 4. 12-Clent Busby, 15.340[7]; 5. 77-Morgen Lambert, 15.368[1]; 6. 72S-Steve Russell, 15.388[9]; 7. F17-Felix George, 15.979[3]; 8. 1H-Austin Holder, 16.036[5]; 9. (DNS) T99-Brodie Thompson, 16.036
The Crate Racin’ USA Late Model Sportsman division featured one of the most competitive races of the evening, as Brodie Thompson rallied late to claim the victory. Thompson took over the top spot on lap 12 after Allen Edwards led the opening 11 circuits. Covy Parsons crossed the line in second, followed by Edwards in third and Mark McCoy in fourth. A strong 15-car field highlighted the depth of talent in the division, with McCoy earning fast time honors in qualifying.
Feature: 1. T9-Brodie Thompson[4]; 2. 12-Covy Parsons[2]; 3. 59-Allen Edwards[1]; 4. 78-Mark McCoy[3]; 5. 31-Easton Bollinger[10]; 6. 4C-Devin Whatley[5]; 7. 4-Spencer Moore[7]; 8. 20-klay Cox[8]; 9. 43-Kurt Radojcsics[15]; 10. 3D-Justin Jacobs[12]; 11. 13X-Jonathan Warnicke[14]; 12. X-Victor Grande[13]; 13. (DNF) W2-Grayson Williams[11]; 14. (DNF) 2-Billy Tedford[6]; 15. (DNF) 25-Brandon Lunsford[9]
Lap Leaders - Edwards (1-11), Thompson (12-15)
Heat 1: 1. 59-Allen Edwards[2]; 2. 78-Mark McCoy[1]; 3. 4C-Devin Whatley[4]; 4. 4-Spencer Moore[3]; 5. 25-Brandon Lunsford[5]; 6. W2-Grayson Williams[6]; 7. X-Victor Grande[8]; 8. (DNS) 43-Kurt Radojcsics
Heat 2: 1. 12-Covy Parsons[2]; 2. T9-Brodie Thompson[1]; 3. 2-Billy Tedford[4]; 4. 20-klay Cox[3]; 5. 31-Easton Bollinger[6]; 6. 3D-Justin Jacobs[7]; 7. 13X-Jonathan Warnicke[5]
Qualifying: 1. 78-Mark McCoy, 15.068[6]; 2. T9-Brodie Thompson, 15.070[14]; 3. 59-Allen Edwards, 15.104[11]; 4. 12-Covy Parsons, 15.116[3]; 5. 4-Spencer Moore, 15.230[12]; 6. 20-klay Cox, 15.238[15]; 7. 4C-Devin Whatley, 15.333[13]; 8. 2-Billy Tedford, 15.385[5]; 9. 25-Brandon Lunsford, 15.502[2]; 10. 13X-Jonathan Warnicke, 15.770[10]; 11. W2-Grayson Williams, 15.836[8]; 12. 31-Easton Bollinger, 15.938[7]; 13. 43-Kurt Radojcsics, 16.376[1]; 14. 3D-Justin Jacobs, 16.787[4]; 15. (DNS) X-Victor Grande, 16.787
In Crate Racin’ USA Street Stock action, Justin McRee dominated the 15-lap feature, leading all laps en route to the win. Cody Chism and Jeremy Kelly completed the top three, while Johnny Kelly made a solid run to finish fourth. McRee’s performance capped off a strong night after advancing from his starting position and taking control early in the main event.
Feature: 1. 25M-Justin Mcree[1]; 2. 33-Cody Chism[3]; 3. 79-Jeremy kELLY[2]; 4. 80-Johnny Kelly[7]; 5. 31-Matt Bollinger[6]; 6. 316-lanny mccullough[5]; 7. 22-Dustin Irby[8]; 8. 80C-Caitlyn Kelly Little[4]; 9. (DNF) B22-Bobby Irby Jr[10]; 10. (DNS) 13B-Bubba Vandergriff
Lap Leaders - Mcree (1-15)
Heat 1: 1. 25M-Justin Mcree[3]; 2. 33-Cody Chism[2]; 3. 316-lanny mccullough[1]; 4. 80-Johnny Kelly[5]; 5. (DNF) 13B-Bubba Vandergriff[4]
Heat 2: 1. 79-Jeremy kELLY[2]; 2. 80C-Caitlyn Kelly Little[4]; 3. 31-Matt Bollinger[5]; 4. 22-Dustin Irby[3]; 5. B22-Bobby Irby Jr[1]
The Crate Racin’ USA Modified Sportsman division saw Jason Markewitz deliver a commanding performance, leading all 20 laps to secure the feature victory. Justin Ray advanced from fifth to finish second, while Tyler Cox finished third after starting on the pole. Dees Price made an impressive charge through the field from 12th to finish fourth, earning one of the standout drives of the night.
Feature: 1. 7M-Jason Markewitz[2]; 2. 22-Justin Ray[5]; 3. 57-Tyler Cox[1]; 4. 117-Dees Price[12]; 5. M7-Steve Maughan[4]; 6. 34-Jonathan Pridmore[8]; 7. 110-Shane Griffith[7]; 8. 17-Parker Price[3]; 9. 7-Colton Grimes[10]; 10. T7-Parker Thompson[9]; 11. (DNF) 18-Eli McKinney[6]; 12. (DNS) 11-Blake Steele
Lap Leaders - Markewaitz (1-20)
Heat 1: 1. 57-Tyler Cox[3]; 2. 17-Parker Price[2]; 3. 22-Justin Ray[4]; 4. 110-Shane Griffith[6]; 5. (DNF) T7-Parker Thompson[5]; 6. (DNF) 11-Blake Steele[1]
Heat 2: 1. 7M-Jason Markewitz[2]; 2. M7-Steve Maughan[1]; 3. 18-Eli McKinney[4]; 4. 34-Jonathan Pridmore[5]; 5. 7-Colton Grimes[6]; 6. 117-Dees Price[3]
Qualifying 1: 1. 11-Blake Steele, 16.007[10]; 2. M7-Steve Maughan, 16.034[3]; 3. 17-Parker Price, 16.295[5]; 4. 7M-Jason Markewitz, 16.296[11]; 5. 57-Tyler Cox, 16.332[1]; 6. 117-Dees Price, 16.365[9]; 7. 22-Justin Ray, 16.401[8]; 8. 18-Eli McKinney, 16.402[7]; 9. T7-Parker Thompson, 16.465[6]; 10. 34-Jonathan Pridmore, 16.830[2]; 11. 110-Shane Griffith, 17.022[12]; 12. 7-Colton Grimes, 17.066[4]
With strong car counts and competitive racing across all divisions, Pine Ridge Speedway’s “Easter at the Ridge” event proved to be a successful adjustment, giving fans and teams a full night of action ahead of the holiday weekend.
Pine Ridge Speedway will return to action on Saturday, April 18th with a full weekly racing program featuring CRUSA Dirt Late Models (604's), CRUSA Late Model Sportsman (602's), CRUSA Modified Sportsman, CRUSA Street Stocks, and additional local divisions.
For more information, visit Pine Ridge Speedway on Facebook and stay connected with Crate Racin’ USA for national points standings and upcoming events.
Photo Credit: Terry Taylor
Article Credit: Cody Earley
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