The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Final
Chris Henton, Charlie Clayton, Norm Gibson, Sam Harbin, Andy Bing, Danny Krol, Lynne Higgins, Matt Welliver, John McCrory, Joe Ramage, Reggie Banks, Ed Smith
The opening three minutes of blindsides, stalls, and a duel-crusade on Chris Henton all ended in a crescendo of five eliminations, starting with Danny Krol (8th Valentine's Day Massacre, 4th Jersey Derby, 3rd Summer Sizzler) who took just a single hit from Joe Ramage, followed up by two ill-conceived shots of his own on Harbin and Ramage to end his final early.
That sequence played it's part though as Joe Ramage (1st VDM, 1st Bryan Family Open) finished pointless for the second time in his nine finals as the one shot from Krol did the lion's share of damage while Harbin played his part again by riding a hit from Ramage, knocking the attacker out of proceedings.
Reggie Banks (1st Firecracker Open, 11th Alamo Derby) takes home a point after missing his intended victim, smashing his vehicle in to the wall. His demise started when Krol, before he made some rash misjudgments, caught Banks on the blindside and pushed him off kilter for his attack run.
The winner of the Spring Fling Derby Chris Henton (2nd Arkansas Derby, 2nd Bryan, 4th Alamo) was relentlessly pursued by both Lynne Higgins and Matt Welliver who struck him five times between them, the latter with three shots, and then Higgins (5th Arizona, 5th VDM, 4th Arkansas) had her turn as victim with Andy Bing leading the charge with two hits.
Ed Smith (11th Texas Nationals) picks up four points for finishing seventh place, adding to the two points he picked up back in Dallas where he won his heat, and he nearly came away with nothing due to a lengthy stall he suffered against the wall he careened into at the very start of the final. The sharks soon descended upon him once he had re-fired though, eliminating him just prior to Charlie Clayton's (7th Frostbite, 5th Texas, 8th Louisiana Invitational) exit at the hands of Welliver and McCrory who sandwiched him with Clayton looking pretty sharp after five hits on four cars.
After seven finals Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona, 6th Spring Fling, 6th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) picks up his second top five finish of the season. Starting out with a near miss, then a blindside hit on Higgins, Harbin went on to play his part in the early dismissals of Krol and Ramage before going at Norm Gibson twice, then Andy Bing three times; the last of the hits damaging his own car beyond repair after Matt Welliver forced him into the hit at an awkward angle.
In his first final since winning the SidelineStrategy.com Derby, picking up points for just the fourth time in eight finals, Matt Welliver (6th Big Apple Smash Up, tied-7th Texas) powers his way to fourth place with ten hits credited to him. A hat-trick on Henton at the very beginning of the final led into a free-for-all approach as he struck Smith, Harbin, Bing, Clayton, and Gibson once each. With Bing and Gibson hassling him, he ended his jaunt by double-tapping John McCrory before his car finally gave up the ghost.
Norm Gibson (tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Louisiana) earns his seventh podium finish in his tenth final appearance, all of which have come in the past thirteen rounds. Stalling at the start he quickly re-fired only to slam into a barrier and remain there while Sam Harbin hammered him mercilessly. It was this attack that freed Gibson back into the wild where, after striking Clayton, stalled again briefly before finally engaging Bing and Welliver. He took eight shots throughout the final with the finishing blows coming courtesy of McCrory who made contact three times in a row.
John McCrory's (3rd Seattle Derby, 5th Indy, tied-4th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) assault on one of his two remaining opponents held him in little stead for the win as Bing took advantage of his obsession and hammered him into submission. It was a hit on Andy Bing that began McCrory's tenth final of the year, moving on to Banks before torturing Clayton with a trio of hits to help him on his way out. Sam Harbin took one shot, and then it was the turn of Gibson before McCrory turned into a third hit from the event winner.
After winning out in both Idaho Invitational and Indy Nationals Andy Bing (2nd Seattle, 4th Summer National, 2nd Firecracker Open) celebrates his third first placed result after gaining twenty-four points in the previous nine rounds, including three scoreless appearances. A quick shot on McCrory and then Bing was onto Lynne Higgins, striking her either side of a very short stall, before warring with Welliver and taking down his final opponent with another brief engine stoppage in between not harming his cause of moving up the table to fourth.
Race Result
1. Andy Bing
2. John McCrory
3. Norm Gibson
4. Matt Wellliver
5. Sam Harbin
6. Charlie Clayton
7. Ed Smith
8. Lynne Higgins
9. Chris Henton
10. Reggie Banks
11. Joe Ramage
12. Danny Krol
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