Hilltop Speedway
July 14, 2012
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LEE DOMINATES HILLTOP’S ADRA MID-SEASON FEATURE

by Mike Swanger
MILLERSBURG, OH (July 14) - For the first time ever, the ADRA Late Model series pulled into Hilltop Speedway for their Mid-Season Championship presented by Weekly Electric with 30 cars checking into the pits for the 40 lap, $3,000 to win event. Ross Nicastri, the Fast 8 winner and Loudonville’s George Lee would bring the field to the green flag with Lee sprinting into the lead. Nicastri would be quickly challenged by fast qualifier Doug Drown for second with Drown taking control on lap 5 with Zach Dohm and Nicastri flip flopping third for the next ten circuits with Wayne Maffett Jr. on their rear bumpers. A caution flag for KC Burdette would wave at the halfway mark just as the front runners were getting into the back markers. On the restart, Lee would build up a five car lead over Drown as Dohm and Maffett Jr. were joined by Devin Moran for the battle for third. With Lee running the highside and Drown in his tire tracks lap after lap, they would catch up to the back of the field with ten laps to go and Drown used the low groove to move in on Lee as Dohm and Maffett Jr. also closed in on the leaders. As the white flag, flew Drown made his final charge on Lee as he was able to get along side coming out of turn four for the checkered flag but Lee’s high side momentum was enough to claim the win by a car length as Dohm edged out Maffett Jr. for third with Moran nipping hard charging Dave Hornikel for fifth as Hornikel had started 16th. For Lee and his LSI, Cowen Truck Line, Bert Transmission’s #61, it would be his second big money win of the season as he had won the All Star show earlier in the year and it was his fifth overall win at Hilltop Speedway. Mark Gardiner, Keith Berner and Donnie Moran won the heats as  KC Burdette and Hornikel won the last chance races. Drown picked up the $1,000 bonus with the best finishing average from the two day event as he finished third at MCS the night before as Zach Dohm was second best ($300) with a fourth place and third finish with Lee getting third ($200) for his tenth and win.

Points leader Kenny Daughriety Jr. went flag to flag for his first win of the season in the Street Stock feature as the Mt. Vernon driver and his Service Welding Supplies #20 was challenged early by Kyle Dickinson but pulled away as Dickinson and Timmy Glassburn would exchange second place several times with Dickinson winning that position as Tony Cline and Billy Goerz would fill out the top five. Daughriety Jr., Bob Chilcote and Dickinson won the heats.

Gary Hensel Jr. won the first half of the Mini Stock Main but winning the last half of the race and the lap that counted the most, the last one, it was Millersburg’s Jerry Adkins as he parked the TH MFG #101 in victory lane for the fourth time this year. Jordan James made an early attempt for the lead but dropped to third as Jason St. John moved up four places to take fourth with Moose Workman taking fifth. The red flag came out on lap nine when the middle of the field was four wide down the back stretch and with some contact, low running Blaine Markey slid into the infield, hit a retaining tire and rolled over but was ok. Hensel Jr., Kevin Markey and James topped the heat races.

The father-son duo of Kevin and David Potts won the heats to start front row of the Bugs-R-Gone Truck feature with son David taking control at the drop of the green flag. As David Potts would keep the Sunbury based Pro Scape Landscaping, Eagle Insurance and D&D Agri Hauling #26 out front all race long for his second win of the year, Cole Lillibridge, Kevin Potts and Gordon Zimmer would wheel and deal for second all race long and would finish in that order with John Large filling out the top five.

The Putt-n-Stuff Wedges would run two features with Zanesville’s Landon Wetzel nipping Blake Morris at the line for his first Hilltop win of the year as they were followed by Destinie Bates, Tanner McLoughlin and Hannah Rose. Cody Stillion of Richville made a last lap pass of Braxton Wilson to claim his third win of the season as Tristen Lillibridge, Josey Lillibridge and Levi Roberts rounded out the top five. Levi Bowen, Morris and Rose scored the heat wins.  

Regular racing continues next Saturday night, July 21 with the Holmes Tire Late Models, Raceday Photos Modifieds, Street Stocks, Mini Stocks, and the Bugs-R-Gone Trucks. No Racing for the Putt-n-Stuff Wedges for this week. Always check out the website at www.hilltopspeedway.org for the latest information and points.
 
HILLTOP SPEEDWAY SUMMARY
Saturday, July 14, 2012

ADRA LATE MODELS (30)
Fast Qualifier Doug Drown 14.507
Fast 8 Dash Ross Nicastri, George Lee, Drown, Wayne Maffett Jr., Zach Dohm, Devin Moran, Eric Smitley, Tim Dohm
Heat 1 Mark Gardiner, Russ Frohnapfel, Brad Malcuit, Eric Myers, Ryan Markham, Keith Tish, Hiriam Bachmann
Heat 2 Keith Berner, Rod Conley, Dave Hornikel, Bryan Casey, Aaron Phillis, Blaine Aber, Brandon Leyda
Heat 3 Donnie Moran, Charlie Duncan, KC Burdette, Weston Hutchinson, Mike Graber, Brandon Perkins
‘B’ 1 Burdette, Malcuit, Markham, Aber, Casey, Bachmann, Perkins
‘B’ 2 Hornikel, Hutchinson, Phillis, Tish, Leyda, Graber, Myers
Feature Lee, Drown, Z. Dohm, Maffett Jr., De. Moran, Hornikel, T. Dohm, Nicastri, Gardiner, Berner, Smitley, Do. Moran, Duncan, Malcuit, Conley, Casey, Hutchinson, Frohnapfel, Burdette, Phillis

STREET STOCKS (20)
Heat 1 Kenny Daughriety Jr., Joe Spearman, Tyler Sines, Quinten Lewis, Jason Shairer, Mark Ferguson, Shawn Page
Heat 2 Bob Chilcote, Billy Goerz, Colt Maxwell, John Wilson, Robert Smith, Jeremy Dickerson, Skip Bright
Heat 3 Kyle Dickinson, Timmy Glassburn, Tony Cline, Dave Giaugue, Tom Wilson, Ron Lute
Feature Daughriety Jr., Dickinson, Glassburn, Cline, Goerz, Lewis, J. Wilson, Smith, Giaugue, Shairer, Lute, Sines, Chilcote, T. Wilson, Maxwell, Spearman, Ferguson, Dickerson (dns), Bright (dns)

MINI STOCKS (17)
Heat 1 Gary Hensel Jr., Matt Kemp, Dustin Daugherty, JR Carpenter, Blaine Markey, Arlen Kemp
Heat 2 Kevin Markey, Jerry Adkins, Jason St. John, Moose Workman, Terry Adkins, Zach Foss
Heat 3 Jordan James, Brett Adkins, Tanner Neel, Greg Thompson, Tim Workman
Feature J. Adkins, Hensel Jr., James, St. John, M. Workman, B. Adkins, Carpenter, M. Kemp, Daugherty, Foss, A. Kemp, Neel, T. Workman, K. Markey, B. Markey, T. Adkins, Thompson

BUGS-R-GONE TRUCKS (10)
Heat 1 Kevin Potts, Cole Lillibridge, Jerry Gardner, John Large, Ken Duncan
Heat 2 David Potts, Gordon Zimmer, Tom Garlick, Jim Large, Brad Phillips
Feature D. Potts, Lillibridge, K. Potts, Zimmer, Jo. Large, Gardner, Garlick, Duncan, Phillips, J. Large (dns)

PUTT-N-STUFF WEDGES (16)
Heat 1 Levi Bowen, Taylor Huggins, Tristen Brown, Tristen Lillibridge, Braxton Wilson, Cody Stillion
Heat 2 Blake Morris, Landon Wetzel, Destinie Bates, Nick Large, Brayden Morey
Heat 3 Hannah Rose, Tanner McLoughlin, Levi Roberts, Josey Lillibridge, Logan Burns
Feature #1 Wetzel, Morris, Bates, McLoughlin, Rose, Bowen, Huggins, Brown
Feature #2 Stillion, Wilson, T. Lillibridge, J. Lillibridge, Roberts, Burns, Morey, Large