The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat Three
Scott Hutchins, Ricky Grimes, Steven Redden, Joe Ramage, Lynne Higgins, Norm Gibson, Jamie Eilers, Bambi Rogers, Jason Ingle, Billy Edgington, Ed Smith, Matt Welliver
Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle Derby, 2nd Big Apple Smash Up, 2nd Lobster Nationals) sits 42.5pts behind championship leader Darryl Lozier, losing ground as a result of his failure to qualify for six of the past eight finals, and extends that poor run again by striking Steven Redden to earn the fifth disqualification of the week.
Stalling out Jamie Eilers (2nd Frostbite, 2nd Ides of March) misses his fifth out of the last eight finals as the double-event winner at the Summer Sizzler and Summer National Derby events was shunted by Norm Gibson, leaving his opponent helpless, and Jason Ingle (tied-5th Lobster, 7th Louisiana Invitational) received a DQ from race officials after they noticed a loose fuel tank.
Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana) had a nightmare heat that started with a hit on his blindside by Redden, followed by a disastrous miss that propelled him into the wall where he waited for Joe Ramage to put him out of his misery, and Billy Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) blindsided Bambi Rogers to take himself out, seconds away from a place in the consolation heat, after suffering five hits from the pack.
Joe Ramage, blindsided by Gibson and finished off by Redden; Ed Smith, stalling out while taking five shots; Steven Redden, disqualified for a hit on Lynne Higgins; and Bambi Rogers, missing her target and crashing out after looking dangerous with six hits, all make it through to the consolation heat.
Norm Gibson has not missed more than a single final at a time since his debut at the Big Apple Smash Up, the eleventh event of the season, where he finished seventh. Since then a steady stream of six podiums, two of them wins, have shot him up the rankings into sixth place where, he hopes, he can continue his rise in his tenth final. Taking seven hits, three of them coming from Higgins, Gibson delivered eight shots of his own, two of those revenge attacks on Higgins, on his way to finishing third.
Lynne Higgins, entering her eighth final this year and third in the last four weeks, battled at the end with Matt Welliver who will also feature in his eighth final but first in five. Higgins started looking bright, avoiding a blindside assault before engaging with the pack, sprinkling hits onto Gibson in between contact with other opponents. Welliver suffered a brief stall midway through the eleven minute heat but, after helping to dismantle Rogers, went all out with three quick hits against Higgins who was unable to mount a response. However, the final hit from Welliver resulted in a dead heat, both drivers sharing a point for the heat victory, taking them up to three heat wins each.
Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
1. Matt Welliver
3. Norm Gibson
4. Bambi Rogers
5. Steven Redden
6. Ed Smith
7. Joe Ramage
8. Billy Edgington
9. Ricky Grimes
10. Jason Ingle
11. Jamie Eilers
12. Scott Hutchins
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