Hilltop Speedway
May 26, 2012
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GEORGE LEE CHARGES TO HILLTOP’S ALL STAR CHECKER FLAG

by Mike Swanger
MILLERSBURG, OH (May 26) - It was opening night for the UNOH All Star Late Models at Hilltop Speedway and in front of another full house and the bright lights and camera’s of SportsTime Ohio, it was another Hilltop thriller. Heat winners Dave Hornikel, Shane McLoughlin and Ryan Markham would have three youngsters pull for their starting spots in the 40 lap event with Markham and Hornikel leading the field to the green flag. Markham would take the point with a four car rumble behind him as McLoughlin, Hornikel, Mike Lonas and Fast Qualifier George Lee wheeled and dealed for second. As Markham ran the low groove with McLoughlin in his tire tracks, Hornikel and Lee was riding the highside and Lonas in the middle as they would be changing the running order lap after lap behind Markham for the first 15 laps. The caution was waved at that point for Aaron Phillis and the field lined up in the Delaware style restart behind Markham, as Hornikel and Lee cleared McLoughlin and Lonas after the green reappeared. Another yellow flag on lap 19 for Mike Graber and Eric Smitley and on this restart Lonas made a hard dive into turn one to grab second as Hornikel bobbled high in turn two that allowed Lee to power past for third and the Loudonville driver then inched by Lonas on the next circuit. Two laps later, Lee would take his Cowen Truck Line and LSI #61 on a surprise move to the low groove and swipe the lead away from Markham for the first time as now 14th starting Sammy Stile made his appearance into the top five. With 15 to go, Lee started to open up a lead as Hornikel was second with Stile pressuring Markham for third as McLoughlin and Lonas started to fade with Doug Drown, who started 22nd, working his way into the picture. Using the extreme low groove, Stile eased past Hornikel, when he slipped for a second in turn two, with 10 to go. As the final laps clicked off, Lee had a big enough of cushion that Stile, despite closing in on the leader, could not make a serious run for the win, with Hornikel and Markham running third and fourth as Drown squeezed by McLoughlin with four circuits to go for fifth. For the popular driver known as ‘the General’, it was his first UNOH All Star win and his third of the season at Hilltop as Lee now has 17 Late Model career wins at the Holmes County speedplant.

A new winner was for sure in the RaceDay Photos Modifieds as all the previous winners this season were not in attendance and for the opening 15 laps of the feature, Jimmy Smith looked like he was the man but the right rear decided to go flat at that point, ending his run. Newark’s Beau Bradley had spent the whole race trying to get past Smith, would inherit the lead and the Impact Power Coating, Schmidty’s Convenience Store and Bradley’s Oil Production #83 would fend off the run by Ryan West the last five laps to secure his first win of the season and become the 13th driver to win in more than one class of cars at Hilltop Speedway. Bradley and West, who came from the back of the field after spinning on the first lap, were followed by Scott Peltz, Sid Danals, and Darrell Mayer. Bradley, Smith and Peltz pocketed the heat wins.

Jeremy Dickerson and Brandon Gardner won their heats to earn the right to start on the front row of the Street Stock feature and at the drop of the green flag, Gardner of Miamisburg grabbed the point with Kenny Daughriety Jr. taking second as Dickerson filled third. Mechanical problems would sideline Dickerson on lap four as Justin Patterson, John Wilson, Brandon Craver and Ed Leasure challenged for top five positioning. As the race wore on, Gardner and the Schaeffer Oil, Innovative Graphics and GLR #27g machine would extend his lead over Daughriety Jr. and Patterson as Craver and Leasure would drop from contention with tire issues. Wilson would take home fourth as Bob Fry filled out the top five.

Killbuck’s Terry Adkins led all the way in the Mini Stock main to coleect his third win of the season aboard the #49 car. Brett Adkins ran second for the first seven laps and then the right rear tire snapped off his car to curtail his night. That would put Gary Hensel Jr. into the second slot and he would pressure Terry Adkins to the finish but settled for second. Matt Kemp had his best finish of third with Chris Priebe and Kyle Moore rounding out the top five. Terry and Brett Adkins along with Moose Workman, whose car caught on fire in the feature to bring out the red flag, paced the heats with Randall Whicker claiming the last chance race.

Points leader Hannah Rose took the lead from three time winner Tanner McLoughlin on lap three and then pulled away for her first Mini Wedge win of the season. Driving the Jeromesville based, Fultz Fabrication #42,Rose was chased by Destiny Bates, Tristen Brown, Cody Stillion and Josey Lillibridge. Heat wins went to McLoughlin and Rose.

Saturday night, June 2nd will see the Sprint Cars and the Mod Lites take to the Hilltop Speedway surface for the 1st time this season after being rained out earlier this year. The Holmes Tire Late Model, RaceDay Photo  Modifieds, Street Stocks and the Bugs-R-Gone Trucks will be in action as the Mini Stocks and Mini Wedges take a night off. Race time is at 7 pm.
 
HILLTOP SPEEDWAY SUMMARY
Saturday, May 26,2012

UNOH ALL STAR LATE MODELS  (25)
Fast Qualifier   George Lee 14.731
Heat   1   Dave Hornikel, Mike Lonas, JR Gentry, Keith Tish, Mike Graber, Aaron Phillis, Carrie Mason, Doug Drown
Heat   2   Shane McLoughlin, Lee, Mark Gardner, Scott Peltz, Scott Stile, Eric Smitley, Matt Aber, Josh Harris
Heat   3   Ryan Markham, Rick Bond, Brad Malcuit, David Liles, Wayne Maffett Jr., Russ King, Tom Baker, Brandon Perkins, Hiriam Bachmann
Feature   Lee, Stile, Hornikel, Markham, Drown, McLoughlin, Lonas, Peltz, Gardner, Bond, Maffett Jr., Baker, Aber, Graber, Tish, Mason, Gentry, Phillis, King, Smitley, Harris, Malcuit, Liles, Perkins (dns), Bachmann (dns)
 
RACEDAY PHOTOS MODIFIEDS  (18)
Heat   1   Beau Bradley, Darrel Mayer, Robin Duston, Ryan West, Josh Cairati, Desi McHenry
Heat   2   Jimmy Smith, Matt Samples, Bob Page, Eddie Wilson, Nathan Loney, Bruce Miller
Heat   3   Scott Peltz, Sid Danals, Kyle Brown, Casey Fritz, Virgil Eaches (dns), Mike Hutchenson (dns)
Feature   Bradley, West, Peltz, Danals, Mayer, Wilson, Duston, Page, Eaches, Brown, Smith, Fritz, Miller, Samples, Cairati, Loney, McHenry (dns), Hutchenson (dns)
 
STREET STOCKS  (15)
Heat   1   Jeremy Dickerson, Bob Daugherty, John Wilson, Bob Fry, Joe Spearman, Brandon Craver, Raymond Hixon, Dave Giaugue
Heat   2   Brandon Gardner, Kenny Daughriety Jr., Justin Patterson, Ed Leasure, Robert Smith, Cody Daughriety, Charlie Dawson
Feature   Gardner, Daughriety Jr., Patterson, Wilson, Fry, Giaugue, Dawson, Craver, Smith, C. Daughriety, Leasure, Daugherty, Spearman (dns), Hixon (dns)
 
MINI STOCKS  (23)
Heat   1   Terry Adkins, Matt Kemp, Steve Miller, Mike Rose, James Priebe, Randall Whicker, Jeff Rose, Elliott Robinson
Heat   2   Brett Adkins, Gary Hensel Jr., Kevin Markey, Dustin Daugherty, Tyler Wiles, Tyler Rose, Brad Lawhorn, Jason St. John
Heat   3   Moose Workman, Chris Priebe, Greg Thompson, Kyle Moore, Tim Justice, Doug Hensel, Arlen Kemp
L.C.  #1    Whicker, D. Hensel, Robinson, T. Rose, Lawhorn, J. Rose (dns), A. Kemp (dns), St. John (dns)
Feature    T. Adkins, Hensel Jr., M. Kemp, C. Priebe, Moore, M. Rose, Miller, J. Priebe, Robinson, Whicker, Daugherty, B. Adkins, D. Hensel, Workman, Thompson, Justice, Markey, Wiles (dns)
 
MINI WEDGES  (11)
Heat   1   Tanner McLoughlin, KJ Kidd, Tristen Brown, Logan Burnes, Josey Lillibridge, Braxton Wilson
Heat   2   Hannah Rose, Taylor Huggins, Destiny Bates, Cody Stillion, Nick Large
Feature    Rose, Bates, Brown, Stillion, J. Lillibridge, Burnes, Large, McLouglin, Kidd, Wilson, Huggins