Summer National Derby - Atlanta, GA
Heat One
Bob Alexander, Jamie Eilers, Danny Krol, Will Murphy, Joe Ramage, John McCrory, Ed Smith, Norm Gibson, Andy Bing, Leo May, Timmy Barnes, Dick Garrett
Currently eighth in the standings Leo May enjoyed a run of form that saw him qualify for five finals in seven events, but his only final in the five events since then saw him pick up his best result, a runner-up spot at the Indy Nationals, but now May is back to the sidelines with an early exit in Atlanta. An early duel with John McCrory proved to be the undoing of both of them as May was subsequently hit by four other drivers with his day ending on a colossal hit from Andy Bing. McCrory was next out after getting stuck when the four-time finalist rebounded off of May to embed himself onto a barrier.
The return of Will Murphy was short lived as he hit Jamie Eilers twice while taking a brace of hits from both Andy Bing and Timmy Barnes with a pair of blindside hits from Joe Ramage really causing damage, and this all results in Murphy missing a third straight final for the first time this season.
Ninth place goes to Bob Alexander (6th Arizona, 10th Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Lobster Nationals) as Danny Krol and Dick Garrett tag-tamed him into submission, and four-time finalist Krol (4th Jersey, 3rd Sizzler) was right behind him when the five hits he dished out contributed to his own downfall.
Almost eight minutes had passed up to this point and Ed Smith earns himself another chance to break his duck and qualify for his first ever final by way of the consolation heat. Smith's exit coming from a sandwiching hit by the pairing of Bing and Garrett, and that was quickly followed by the count-out of Valentine's Day Massacre winner Joe Ramage after he stalled on contact with Eilers,
Dick Garrett laid on eight hits to four different drivers with Timmy Barnes earning three shots, Norm Gibson and Bob Alexander a pair each, but his comeuppance came at the hands of Bing who returned for a second time to finish him off. The final consolation race entrant from this heat is Timmy Barnes, the two-time finalist warring with both Eilers and Bing before an untimely stall led to his dismissal.
It's a fourth final in five events for Norm Gibson as the Lobster Nationals champion survived a pair of stalls and was also quick to free himself from a very vulnerable position against the barriers late on. It was just a case of survival as Gibson only managed to initiate contact twice when he hit both Bing and Eilers late in proceedings.
Jamie Eilers makes it back-to-back finals for the first time this season as the six-time finalist was hit just seven times in the thirteen minute heat as he prowled around the arena distributing hits to whomever left themselves open to attack, not least of all Norm Gibson who earned two hits in quick succession at the end.
That means Andy Bing qualifies for his ninth final this season on the back of his first heat victory. The man seventh in the standings makes it three finals in a row for the second time this year laying out twelve hits and, in a heat where blindside hits were all the rage, avoided a lot of trouble taking just five hits against.
Race Result
1. Andy Bing
2. Jamie Eilers
3. Norm Gibson
4. Timmy Barnes
5. Dick Garrett
6. Joe Ramage
7. Ed Smith
8. Danny Krol
9. Bob Alexander
10. Will Murphy
11. John McCrory
12. Leo May
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