Bluegrass Derby - Louisville, KY
Final
Jason Ingle, Timmy Barnes, Chris Henton, Randy Corson, Danny Krol, Charlie Clayton, Will Thompson, Darryl Lozier, Jess Yates, Ricky Grimes, Lynne Higgins, Scott Hutchins
Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana Invitational) would have hoped for better than last place with a history of four scoring finals in his previous six appearances, but a five car pack led by two hits from Jess Yates soon dashed those hopes.
After securing a very impressive qualification in the consolation heat thanks to an excellent preparation, Jason Ingle (Tied-5th Lobster Nationals, 7th Louisiana, 3rd Mile High Open) also missed out on taking away any points with Timmy Barnes and Chris Henton double-teaming him into submission, and Darryl Lozier (1st Tampa Open, 1st Jersey, 1st Big Apple Smash Up, 1st Alamo Derby) claims just a single point; his only reward in the past month and the fourth time he has finished ninth or worse in nine weeks.
Randy Corson's (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa, 6th Arkansas Derby) third final in eighteen weeks started with a blindside hit from Danny Krol which caused a stall. Upon re-firing, Corson took charge at Charlie Clayton before another surprise hit, this time from Henton to end his four shot salvo, cleaned up.
Eighth place goes to Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Big Apple) as he stalled out after blindsiding Will Thompson (1st Arizona Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan Family Open) who himself was wiped out in seventh position on the fifth hit against him, coming from Krol.
Charlie Clayton (5th Texas, 8th Louisiana, 6th Ohio Derby) performed well coming out of the consolation heat, riding six hits and striking Scott Hutchings twice before the final came down from Henton, and Jess Yates (7th Jersey, 4th Sizzler, 3rd Alamo) claims his third top five finish in a row, albeit thirteen weeks apart, as he doubled up on Grimes, Thompson, and Higgins, taking five in return during his eight minutes of work.
Danny Krol (8th Valentine's Day Massacre, 4th Jersey, 3rd Sizzler) backs up his heat victory with a third top four finish on the year, surviving an early stall and crashing through Clayton twice and helped take down Corson and Thompson.
It's a personal best finish for Lynne Higgins (4th Arkansas Derby) as the four-time fifth place finisher goes down in third, bouncing off a seemingly bullet-proof Scott Hutchins. He was Higgins' favourite victim striking him on three occasions, but Lozier, Grimes, Corson, Yates, and a huge hit on Barnes made the rest of her contribution to her eleventh final.
Seconds later and the results were in after Chris Henton also targeted Hutchins while the latter was happy to return the favour. Competing in his seventh consecutive final Henton (1st Spring Fling, 2nd Arkansas) takes his second runner-up spot in that span, with another three top five finishes thrown in. His rabid attack on Corson where he laid on four hits in quickfire fashion made up 40% of his shots, and Jess Yates received a pair of his own. Runner-up in heat one Henton rode just four hits against but it was the final two from Hutchins in addition to his own failed contact that decided matters.
That gives Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle, 2nd Big Apple, 2nd Lobster) his second derby win and ninth top five finish this season. A slight stall in the latter stages of his thirteenth final was not enough to earn him the win and push him up into second in the standings, 13.5pts behind Lozier. Until his encounter with Henton at the very end Hutchins laid six hits on as many competitors and taking just two hits from Clayton until the finale where both Higgins and Henton came at him for four shots.
Race Result
1. Scott Hutchins
2. Chris Henton
3. Lynne Higgins
4. Danny Krol
5. Jess Yates
6. Charlie Clayton
7. Will Thompson
8. Timmy Barnes
9. Randy Corson
10. Darryl Lozier
11. Jason Ingle
12. Ricky Grimes
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