Controlled Chaos - Indy Nationals, Heat Two

Indy Nationals - Speedway, IN
Heat Two
Steven Redden, Randy Tondreau, John McCrory, John Ruiz, Jason Ingle, Ed Smith, Leo May, Jess Yates, Tom Gariepy, Danny Krol, Charlie Clayton, Dick Garrett

Before the second heat could get underway officials went out to inspect Jason Ingle's car and discovered something amiss with the gas tank, leading to a disqualification for Ingle. The starting field of eleven then got to work, but Ed Smith's struggle was short lived when Leo May crushed him on one of the biggest hits of the year.

The remaining entrants then looked to team up on specific drivers as Steven Redden and Randy Tondreau both worked over John McCrory, and three-time finalist Danny Krol (4th Jersey) was battered by a four car pack led by McCrory with Tom Gariepy putting in the elimination hit.

After reaching three in a row (18th Idaho, 8th Seattle, 10th Jersey) John Ruiz will miss his third straight final as McCrory turned his sights onto the Ides of March winner, and Randy Tondreau's long running battle against McCrory ultimately led to both being eliminated; Tondreau suffering two hits from Redden, and McCrory sneaking into the consolation heat after a double-team from Clayton and Garrett.

After being hounded by Tondreau, Jess Yates freed himself from a precarious position on the barriers and chased hard after Charlie Clayton before Leo May eliminated him, while Clayton and Dick Garrett were sent to the second chance race by Gariepy and Redden respectively.

Steven Redden laid out nine hits on just four drivers with McCrory and Tondreau the recipients of three each but he was unable to tackle the problem of two experienced drivers ganging up on him and so ended his heat in third spot to qualify for his sixth final.

Out of the remaining two it was Tom Gariepy who was really on the ball when, after helping take down Redden, quickly got behind his final opponent and proved to be a tricky customer for Leo May to avoid which led to the attacker earning his second heat victory of the year. Both men enter their fifth final this season with Gariepy finishing in the top five in all of his so far, winning the Wisconsin Invitational, and May earning a fourth place at both the Wisconsin and Idaho Invitationals.

Race Result
1. Tom Gariepy
2. Leo May
3. Steven Redden
4. Dick Garrett
5. Charlie Clayton
6. Jess Yates
7. John McCrory
8. Randy Tondreau
9. John Ruiz
10. Danny Krol
11. Ed Smith
12. Jason Ingle (DNS)