Fall Nationals - Bristol, TN
Consolation Heat
Bambi Rogers, Chris Henton, Ed Smith, Charlie Clayton, Will Murphy, Scott Hutchings, Andy Bing, John McCrory, Will Thompson, Jamie Eilers, Steven Redden, Darrell Andresen
Will Thompson (1st Arizona Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan Family Open) sees his current final appearance streak end at four, taking a hit in his title aspirations as a result, thanks to a crippling fire that started when Hutchins, Redden and Smith all converged onto his position, and Bambi Rogers (6th Arkansas Derby, 11th Bryan) stalled out after she struck McCrory.
Jamie Eilers (2nd Frostbite, 2nd Ides of March, 1st Sizzler, 1st Summer National Derby) took six hits in less than five minutes to force him out of a third straight final, and Charlie Clayton (5th Texas Nationals, 6th Ohio Derby, 6th Bluegrass Derby) hit Henton twice before Smith, following up on shots by Hutchinsand Andresen, eliminated him.
Ed Smith (7th Ohio, 4th Mile High Open, 7th Hickory) survived an early stall to take on all-comers, Henton's hounding and Andresen's final shot doing for him in the end, and then Darrell Andresen (4th Indy Nationals, 5th Firecracker Open, 5th Arkansas) followed up his elimination hit by running straight into Will Murphy who, in his previous hit on Andresen, was close to being disqualified.
It's the first time Chris Henton (1st Spring Fling Derby, 2nd Arkansas, 2nd Bluegrass, 2nd Hickory) has missed a final in nine weeks, a run that has taken him into the top ten of the standings. His early attacks were directed at Ed Smith but a stall left him open to strikes from Murphy and Redden that did enough damage where, upon his re-firing, he could be dispatched by another shot to Smith.
Will Murphy (2nd Tampa Open, 3rd Spring Fling, 3rd Idaho Invitational, 3rd Big Apple Smash Up) misses a thirteenth final out of the past sixteen, this after starting the season with eight in twelve. He escaped repercussions on an early hit to Andresen that looked as though it clipped the driver's side door, but from there he continued to lay his eight hits on six cars, with victim Scott Hutchins getting his revenge with two hits to take out his opponent.
It's one final in five with a tough fourth place finish for John McCrory (3rd Seattle Derby, Tied-4th SidelineStrategy.com Derby, 2nd Ohio) as he was beaten up on the blindside by Hutchins and Redden, also missing a target and knocking himself for six before the second surprise hit finished him off.
Scott Hutchins joins the standings leader Darryl Lozier by qualifying for his fifteenth final, knocking Thompson and Bing twice each as part of his nine hits, and he took six in return with McCrory seeking revenge with a pair of hits.
It is also fifteen finals for Andy Bing who delivered nine hits on five opponents as he took it to Murphy and Eilers twice each with McCrory riding three hits. Only taking four hits in return, two of them coming from Hutchins, Bing did a good job staying clear of trouble.
Finally, Steven Redden's seven hits were almost indiscriminately distributed among the pack as he qualified for his tenth final in a very businesslike manner only taking a pair of shots in return. This will be Redden's first appearance for eleven weeks.
Race Result
Q. Scott Hutchins
Q. Andy Bing
Q. Steven Redden
4. John McCrory
5. Will Murphy
6. Chris Henton
7. Darrell Andresen
8. Ed Smith
9. Charlie Clayton
10. Jamie Eilers
11. Bambi Rogers
12. Will Thompson
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