Bluegrass Derby - Louisville, KY
Heat One
Dick Garrett, Jason Ingle, Tom Gariepy, Jamie Eilers, Andy Bing, Scott Harbin, Will Murphy, Chris Henton, Scott Hutchins, Randy Tondreau, Randy Corson, Matt Welliver
Dick Garrett (6th Ides of March, 7th Wisconsin Invitational, 5th Seattle Derby) was an early favourite of the pack, but his dismissal was spectacular as after Jason Ingle struck him, Matt Welliver crashed into him for a second time, spinning him around for Ingle to return and fly up and over Garrett.
After removing Garrett safely from his vehicle free of injury, Randy Tondreau (6th Tampa Open, 3rd Firecracker Open, 7th Alamo Derby), the other whipping boy through the first five minutes, was finished off by Sam Harbin after a double-tap from Chris Henton, and Matt Welliver (6th Big Apple Smash Up, 1st SidelineStrategy.com Derby, 2nd Golden Gate Invitational) failes to make it four finals in a row as he stalled straight after making contact with Garrett again.
Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona Derby, 5th Ohio Derby, 2nd Mile High Open) played his part in early eliminations, but his own came in ninth place after Will Murphy returned to finish the job he started with a blindside hit, and Tom Gariepy (1st Wisconsin, 1st Arkansas Derby, 1st Mile High) cannot extend his season-high two finals in a row as he took on Jamie Eilers and Andy Bing, hitting them twice each, before Henton took his scalp; just the fourth hit Gariepy had taken.
Andy Bing was blindsided twice by Murphy, the second hit resulting in an undisclosed injury; Jason Ingle's aggression was ended by a hard shot from Randy Corson; after laying on nine hits, three of them blindsiders, Will Murphy had struck Bing and Eilers twice before the latter houned him to the ground over several minutes; and Jamie Eilers then missed out on an automatic place in the final as Scott Hutchins nudged him off his line when he was charging at Corson, damaging the attacker too much to continue. All four drivers with the exception of a slightly injured Andy Bing move on into the consolation heat.
That means after taking ten hits, delivering eight of his own, Randy Corson qualifies for his seventh final of the year, but just his third in eighteen events. In the early going Corson took just four shots, but the second half of the heat saw him under heavy attack by his eventual co-finalists as Chris Henton went for him twice before Scott Hutchins rounded on him four times; his last two shots eliminating Corson in third position.
The final two came together sieven times with Chris Henton, who moves on into his twelfth final this season and seventh in a row, initiating contact no less than five of those times. Starting out with a double-tap to Randy Tondreau, Henton went through Murphy, Hutchins, Corson twice, and Gariepy before he began his crusade on Hutchins where an untimely miss and crash into the wall was his undoing.
Scott Hutchins' thirteenth final appearance marks the first time he has qualified for back-to-back appearances since his seven in a row came to and end twelve weeks ago. Since then he has finished third twice, and taken fifth in the Night of Champions. Claiming his fourth heat victory, Hutchins did not have a smooth path to the end with two misses he escaped serious damage on and a stall which could have finished him off in tenth spot but for a successful re-firing. Bing, Henton, Ingle, Eilers, and Corson four times made up his nine hits, with Henton's assault making up four of the five hits against the heat winner.
Race Result
1. Scott Hutchins
2. Chris Henton
3. Randy Corson
4. Jamie Eilers
5. Will Murphy
6. Jason Ingle
7. Andy Bing
8. Tom Gariepy
9. Sam Harbin
10. Matt Welliver
11. Randy Tondreau
12. Dick Garrett
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