Brandon Morris, Tim Sozio Score UARA Sportsman Wins in Auburndale Twins

The UARA Sportsman Series returned to Auburndale Speedway on Saturday night for the Stick'em Deep Sportswear Twin 50's presented by Campfire Coffee Liqueur. Brandon Morris and Tim Sozio picked up wins in the doubleheader.

Morris scored the victory in the first twin 50, leading every lap and holding off Dodge Carlbert for the victory. The two raced nose-to-tail in the closing laps, with Morris holding on for his eighth career win with the series and first since 2023.

“To be able to come here and have some luck, I feel like we have a fast race car," said Morris. "I knew we had really good forward drive. I knew as long as I did my job and hit my marks, they’d have a hard time passing me."

Carlbert, who entered the night as the points leader in the UARA Sportsman Series, started the evening with a runner-up finish. While he applied plenty of pressure to Morris in the battle for the lead, he was conscious of that points chase and didn't force the issue.

“It was a good race," said Carlbert. "We’re leading in the points, so we’re not going to go up there and ruin our chances by being sent to the back. Just a smooth race, saving our tires, too. We gave a little pressure to Brandon, but he’s a good driver, he knows how to get around this place. Congrats to them.”

Tim Sozio finished third in the first feature, followed by James Seeright and Aaron Anderson.

Sozio picked up the win in the second feature, inheriting the lead on lap 22. Anderson led at that point, but spun after contact with Rick Reed.

That turned the top spot to Sozio, who also found himself holding off Carlbert at race's end.

"To be able to come back and have a couple of great runs, the car was perfect there in the second race," said Sozio. "I just wanted to hit my marks and hold them off and get another win there. I really can't thank Craig and Daniel enough for getting this thing right. We've been struggling a lot this year. The car's really, really good now that we're back on track, so hopefully we can keep this momentum here."

Once again, Carlbert's runner-up finish made for a good points night. He hoped for more green flag laps during the second race to challenge Sozio for the win, but gladly settled for second.

"We're happy with two second-places, you know. Sozio is a good racer. I just needed a long run, man. He had such great short-run speed. Once we got going and I wanted to push, I could run him back down, but I just couldn't get those laps in. We kept getting stupid cautions again, just part of it."

Seeright earned another top-five with a third-place finish, while Adam Briggs and Palmer Haag rounded out the top five.

-Photo credit: UARA Sportsman Series