Hilltop Speedway
August 13, 2011
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FIVE DRIVERS TACK ON TO THEIR HILLTOP SPEEDWAY WIN TOTALS ; WYER GETS 1st WEDGE WIN

by Mike Swanger
MILLERSBURG, Ohio (August 13) - The tenth night of racing this year at Hilltop Speedway was dominated by five drivers returning to victory lane on Driver’s Autograph night. Following hot laps and Holmes Tire Late Model time trials, the pits were opened up to the fans to get autographs, pictures, balloons, and candy from their favorite drivers. The fans then were treated to another action packed night of racing as the Tri State Modifieds kicked the feature action off with Rory Reed setting the pace for the first two laps before third starting Kevin Morehouse slid past Reed for the lead. Doug Drown moved into second on lap five and put some pressure on Morehouse for the top spot. Those two would separate themselves from the rest of the field for the last half of the feature as Reed, Norm Aronhalt, Hilton Eppley, Larry Kugel, Darrick Hubbard, and Robin Duston raced hard for a top five finish. Aronhalt would take third for good at the halfway mark as Reed held off every move Eppley tried for fifth with Kugel on their rear bumpers. Back up front, Drown tried every line he could but could not reel in the Morehouse Logging, Mark Rice Excavating, Diamond Race Car #28 of Morehouse. For the Hanover driver, and points leader, it was his sixth win of ‘11 and his 31st overall at Hilltop Speedway, tying him with Brandon Gardner (Street Stocks) with the most at the track since 2006. Reed, Eppley and Morehouse topped the heat races. Vic Hottinger made a last lap pass on Jeff Votaw to win the Last Chance event. Matt Samples took a big tumble in the second heat coming out of turn four to bring out the red flag. He was ok but bent up the #44 badly.

Flagman Eddie Frederick had not even stopped waving the green flag for the start of the Holmes Tire Late Model main when he had to grab the red flag as fourth starting Justin Chance flew over the turn two guardrail, stayed up right and smacked a tree. As the safety crew got to Chance, he backed the car away from the tree, drove the #01 down the path behind the back stretch, went to the pits to have the nose of the car pulled out and returned to the track on the tail and received the biggest applause of the night from the fans. As the field lined back up, Dash winner Jason Flory led the pack but Wooster’s Doug Drown used the high groove coming out of turn four on the first lap to swipe the lead away and then those two would set a torrid pace the rest of the way. Drown, determined not to finish second again, kept the UTI, Trenchless Technoligies, DJ Miller owned #1dj on the highside as Flory stayed close but could not make a run back on Drown. Fast Qualifier Cody Parker kept Thomas Baker at bay for third as Kristin Flory held off a late charge by points leader Steve Prince for fifth. Chance came back to take ninth after his wild ride. Keith Tish and JR Gentry claimed the heat wins.

Heat winners Bob Daugherty and Todd Swim started on the front row of the Street Stock feature but it quickly became a one man show as Daugherty hooked up in the low groove and left the field (no pun) in the dust. Swim was left to fend off points leader Kenny Daughriety Jr., who showed his nose to Swim several times but could never get by. Bob Chilcote powered past Brandon Craver on lap four for fourth as 12th starting Jeremy Dickerson took fifth on lap eleven from Craver. For Daugherty of Mansfield, it was his fourth win of the season aboard the Char’s Cars, Met’s Machine Shop, McKenzie Concrete #21d.

Killbuck’s Terry Adkins and his #49 machine led flag to flag of the Guerne Heights Drive Inn Mini Stock main for his sixth win of the season. The battle for second was highly competitive all race long as Jason King fought off every challenge of points leader Gary Hensel Jr. and Chris Priebe, as they finished in that order with Michael Rose filling out the top five in the feisty feature that saw a couple of black flags and a couple of crinkled fenders. King, Adkins, and Rose won the heats.

In six of the eight features raced so far this year in the Atom’s Pest Control Trucks, it has been a Large or a Potts in victory circle and that trend continued as Coshocton’s Jack Large parked the Performance Auto #07 in victory circle for the third time. Leading all the way, Jack Large was chased by points leader David Potts and his dad Kevin Potts. After running second for the first half of the feature Steve Large faded to take fourth with Mitch Caskey rounding out the top five. Jack and Steve were Large in the preliminary races.

Dillyn Wyer of Philo was the only driver of the night that had not won a feature this year, or at all, but he changed that by leading all the way for the Mini Wedge victory. Blake Morris took home second as Tristen Lillibridge finished third with Donovan Dickerson, Josey Lillibridge, Hannah Rose and Taylor Huggins finishing in that order just inches apart. Wyer and Morris topped the heats.

Next Saturday, August 20th will be Season Championship night with Double Points at stake with all divisions titles still up for grabs. Gates open at 4 pm as racing will commence at 7:30 pm.

HILLTOP SPEEDWAY SUMMARY
Saturday, August 13, 20011

TRI STATE MODIFIEDS (27)
Heat 1 Rory Reed, Eddie Wilson, Josh Pyers, Robert Page, Jeff Dovenbarger, Vern Mardis, Virgil Eaches, Dave Sampsel, KevinDavis
Heat 2 Hilton Eppley, Doug Drown, Ryan West, Larry Kugel, Rick Mardis, Jeff Votaw, Josh Cairati, Matt Samples, Kevin Shairer
Heat 3 Kevin Morehouse, Norm Aronhalt, Robin Duston, Eric Singhaus, Darrick Hubbard, Vic Hottinger, Dustin Wheeler, Brock Burcher, Bob Schippers
L.C. #1 Hottinger, Votaw, Wheeler, V. Mardis, Burcher, Sampsel, Eaches, Davis, Schippers, Cairati, Samples (dns), Shairer (dns)
Feature Morehouse, Drown, Aronhalt, Reed, Eppley, Kugel, Hubbard, Duston, West, Hottinger, R. Mardis, Wilson, Votaw, Page, Pyers, Dovenbarger, Singhaus, Wheeler

HOLMES TIRE LATE MODELS (17)
Fast Qualifier Cody Parker 14.756
Dash Jason Flory, Doug Drown, Thomas Baker, Justin Chance, Parker, Kristin Flory
Heat 1 Keith Tish, Doug Smith, Larry Bellman, Brian Giaugue, Norm Aronhalt, Dave Hornikel (dns)
Heat 2 JR Gentry, Steve Prince, Travis Leyda, Randy Pollock, Mike Graber
Feature Drown, J. Flory, Parker, Baker, K. Flory, Prince, Aronhalt, Pollock, Chance, Leyda, Bellman, Graber, Gentry, Tish, Smith, Giaugue, Hornikel (dns)

STREET STOCKS (17)
Heat 1 Bob Daugherty, Brandon Craver, Bob Chilcote, Bob Fry, Jeff Votaw, Robert Smith, Joey Spearman, Jimmy Morey, Jason Shairer
Heat 2 Todd Swim, Kenny Daughriety Jr., Kenny Daughriety Sr., John Wilson, Justin Gardner, Jeremy Dickerson, Randy Ryan, Craig Fry
Feature Daugherty, Swim, Daughriety Jr., Chilcote, Dickerson, Craver, Wilson, Daughriety Sr., Spearman, Gardner, Votaw, Ryan, Smith, B. Fry, Shairer, Morey, C. Fry (dns)

GUERNE HEIGHTS DRIVE INN MINI STOCKS (19)
Heat 1 Jason King, Gary Hensel Jr., Dustin Daugherty, Jimmy Stilson, Mike Beckert, Steve Miller, Brett Adkins
Heat 2 Terry Adkins, Chris Priebe, Matt Kemp, James Priebe, Kevin Markey, Elliot Robinson
Heat 3 Michael Rose, Blain Markey, Moose Workman, Josh Gentry, Desi McHenry, Jesse Starner
Feature T. Adkins, King, Hensel Jr., C. Priebe, Rose, B. Markey, Daugherty, Gentry, Workman, K. Markey, Starner, McHenry, Stilson, Robinson, B. Adkins, J. Priebe, Kemp, Beckert, Miller (dns)

ATOM’S PEST CONTROL TRUCKS (16)
Heat 1 Steve Large, Kevin Potts, Scott Gray, Gordon Zimmer, Jerry Gardner, Brad Phillips, Darrick Hubbard Jr., Kyle Cline
Heat 2 Jack Large, David Potts, Rolly Heyder, Mitch Caskey, Cole Lillibridge, John Large, Tony Wengerd, Gary Hensel Sr.
Feature Ja. Large, D. Potts, K. Potts, S. Large, Caskey, Heyder, Gardner, Zimmer, Hensel Sr., Gray, Lillibridge, Wengerd, Hubbard Jr., Phillips, Jo. Large (dns), Cline (dns)

MINI WEDGES (10)
Heat 1 Dillyn Wyer, Josey Lillibridge, Hannah Rose, Evan Large, Taylor Huggins
Heat 2 Blake Morris, Phil Bubeck, Charity Bubeck, Tristen Lillibridge, Donovan Dickerson
Feature Wyer, Morris, T. Lillibridge, Dickerson, J. Lillibridge, Rose, Huggins, P. Bubeck, C. Bubeck, Large