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Mike Swanger
MILLERSBURG, Ohio (April 9) - A beautiful April evening had the pits and grandstands packed for the 2011 season opener at Hilltop Speedway as the action on the track was in mid season form. Fast qualifier George ' the General' Lee and Eric' Spud' Myers had the fans on their feet with side by side action in the Holmes Tire Late Model dash as Lee would edge out Myers for dash win. Those two started on the front row of the feature and Lee, in his Cowen Truck Line and LSI #21, would keep a two car length lead over Myers until late in the race as lapped traffic would come into play as Loudonville's Lee got slowed a little bit and that allowed Myers to sneak into the top spot as the white flag flew, but he got hung up by another slower car that enabled Lee to reclaim the lead on the back stretch and then hang on for the win over Myers. Third place was a hotly contested race as heat winner Alan Baker and Shane McLoughlin went back and forth throughout the race with Baker taking third and McLoughlin in fourth as Dave Hornikel was close behind in fifth at the checkered flag.
Kevin Morehouse won the Tri-State Modified dash to start on the pole of the feature but it was Kenny Johnson taking the point at the drop of the green and for the first half of the race was the man to beat but during a caution at that point in the race, Johnson developed a flat tire and went pitside to change it and restarted seventh, the last car on the lead lap. On the restart, Zanesville's Jesse Wisecarver, who had just passed Kevin Morehouse for second, led the field back to the green flag. Wisecarver battled off Morehouse's attempt to get the lead back with Anthony Kincaid showing the front runners his nose with three wide action. With the racing close, Morehouse's car received some right rear quarter panel damage that was rubbing his tire that slowed his pace down with two laps to go. That would give the New Vision and Denny's #101 of Wisecarver some breathing room to the finish line for the victory. Johnson worked his way back to second as he passed three cars in the last two circuits to claim second. Heat winners Kincaid and Larry Kugel secured third and fourth as quick timer Jess Hartman took fifth. Gary Clark also won a heat as Rory Reed and John Sluka topped the two last chance races.
Winning the second heat, Zanesville's Tim Glassburn started alongside first heat winner and last years track champion, Todd Swim in the Street Stock main and when the checkered flag waved at the end, Glassburn and his Matco Tools #190 had breezed to a more than a straightaway win over Swim to collect his first ever win. With Glassburn out front, eyes were watching the battle for third between Kenny Daughriety Jr., Brandon Gardner and Bob Chilcote as they would finish in that order at the end of the fifteen lap event as they were closing in on second place finisher Swim.
Ending the 2010 season with his first ever win, Ashland's Tom Garlick starts the 2011 season with his second win in the Circle Track Truck feature aboard the Steve Rogers Life #77. Early on in the race, Jack Large set the pace with Garlick in tow with the father and son family feud between Kevin and David Potts dueling for third. After a lap five caution, Kevin Potts and Large played tag with each other and that allowed Garlick to get by both to stake his claim to the lead. As the twelve lap feature wound down, Large came up short of passing Garlick at the finish line with Kevin Potts in third but with no yellows following the the lap five caution, KP was docked two places for jump starting the restart so David Potts was third as Brad Phillips grabbed fourth followed by Kevin Potts. Garlick and John Large won the heats.
Twenty two Mini Stocks took the green for their main event and when the checkered flag flew, Killbuck's Terry Adkins was in victory lane with a flag to flag win in the #49 machine. Gary Hensel Jr. kept Steve Miller at bay for second with Chase Alexander taking fourth and Dustin Daugherty rounding out the top five. Heat wins went to Hensel Jr., Adkins and Josh Gentry.
Hannah Rose of Jeromesville made her debut in the Mini Wedge feature a memorable one by grabbing the checkered flag while Taylor Huggins recorded her best finish of second. Duncan Dickerson led two different times but had trouble negotiating turn four as he spun around on three different laps in the fourth corner and settled for third. Evan Large and Blake Morris filled out the top five. Bryant Worthy won the heat.
Regular race action continues next Saturday with the Ohio Outlaw Motorsports moving in on Sunday. The Super Late Models will be chasing after the $2000 winners share on Saturday, April 23 with all divisions on the racing card that night.
HILLTOP SPEEDWAY SUMMARY
Saturday, April 9, 2011
HOLMES TIRE SUPER LATE MODELS
Fast Qualifier George Lee 14.48
Dash Lee, Eric Myers, Bryan Casey, Shane McLoughlin, Dave Hornikel, David Liles
Heat 1 Alan Baker, Keith Tish, Korey Kimble, Travis Mensching, Todd Brennan, Larry Bellman, Randy Pollock, Scott Smith, Ted Johnson Jr., Steve Prince
Feature: Lee, Myers, Baker, McLoughlin, Hornikel, Casey, Tish, Prince, Bellman, Johnson, Liles, Pollock, Smith, Kimble, Brennan, Mensching
TRI- STATE MODIFIEDS
Fast Qualifier Jesse Hartman 15.64
Dash Kevin Morehouse, Kenny Johnson, Hartman, Wisecarver, Jimmy Smith, Matt Samples
Heat 1 Larry Kugel, Robin Duston, Vic Hotlinger, Rory Reed, Aaron Phillis, Nathan Loney, Brad Crose, Eddie Wilson, Josh Pyers, Dustin Wheeler
Heat 2 Anthony Kincaid, Darrick Hubbard, Rob Stambaugh, John Sluka, Jeff Dovenbarger, Joe Spearman, Virgil Eaches, Josh Cairati, Tim Rager, #94, Ty Samples
Heat 3 Gary Clark, Hilton Eppley, Tanner Wilson, Beau Bradley, Rick Mardis, Dave Bodkins, Jeff Votaw, Chad Hamilton, Eric Arledge, Brock Burcher
L.C. #1 Reed, Bodkins, Bradley, Hamilton, Dovenbarger, Wilson, Eaches, Loney, Burcher, Rager, Wheeler
L.C. #2 Sluka, Phillis, Pyers, Votaw, Mardis, T. Samples, Cairati, Arledge, Spearman, Crose, #94 (dns)
Feature Wisecarver, Johnson, Kincaid, Kugel, Hartman, Morehouse, Stambaugh, Eppley, Duston, Wilson, Reed, Hubbard, Sluka, Hotlinger, M. Samples, Clark, Bodkins, Smith, Phillis
STREET STOCKS
Heat 1 Todd Swim, Kenny Daughriety Jr., Brandon Gardner, Bob Chilcote, Brandon Craver, Danny Gotschall, Joey Spearman, Tim Workman, Victor Bunt
Heat 2 Tim Glassburn, John Wilson, Bob Fry, Dave Giaugue, Robert Smith, Mark Bee, Jack Large, Kevin Wright, Kodie Daughriety
Feature Glassburn, Swim, Daughriety Jr., Gardner, Chilcote, Craver, Wright, Wilson, Spearman, Giaugue, Gotschall, Smith, Daughriety, Fry, Workman, Bee, Large (dns), Bunt (dns)
CIRCLE TRACK TRUCKS
Heat 1 Tom Garlick, David Potts, Rolly Heyder, Kyle Cline, Brad Phillips, Stan Braxton, Tony Wengerd
Heat 2 John Large, Jack Large, Kevin Potts, Scott Gray, Ken Duncan Sr., Steve Large
Feature Garlick, Ja. Large, D. Potts, Phillips, K. Potts, Braxton, Heyder, Wengerd, Gray, Cline, S. Large, Jo. Large, Duncan
MINI STOCKS
Heat 1 Gary Hensel Jr., Blain Markey, Doug Hensel, Bob Fry, #82, Josh Garrett, Matt Kemp, Kenny Long
Heat 2 Terry Adkins, Dustin Daugherty, Chase Alexander, Jerry Adkins, Jordan James, Tyler Rose, Desi McHenry
Heat 3 Josh Gentry, Steve Miller, Chris Priebe, Brad Hensel, Jason St. John, James Priebe, Kevin Markey
Feature T. Adkins, Hensel Jr., Miller, Alexander, Daugherty, C. Priebe, B. Markey, Fry, D. Hensel, James, J. Adkins, B. Hensel, St. John, J. Priebe, K. Markey, Garrett, McHenry, #82, Kemp, Rose, Gentry, Long (dns)
MINI WEDGES
Heat 1 Bryant Worthy, Blake Morris, Duncan Dickerson, Taylor Huggins, Hannah Rose, Evan Large, Levi Bowen
Feature Rose, Huggins, Dickerson, Large, Morris, Bowen, Worthy (dns)
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