Hickory Nationals - Hickory, NC
Consolation Heat
Randy Corson, Leo May, Reggie Banks, Bambi Rogers, Ed Smith, Darryl Lozier, Tommy Miller, Sam Harbin, Scott Hutchins, Bob Alexander, Tom Gariepy, Jess Yates
With three of the top five involved in the consolation heat, including the leading pair, it was always going to be tough for the rest to earn their place in the final. But it took a few minutes for Reggie Banks (1st Firecracker Open, 11th Alamo Derby, 10th Ohio Derby) to bite the dust, missing back-to-back finals after his recent form of three out of four, as Leo May and a bad miss took him down.
Next out was Bob Alexander (6th Arizona Derby, 3rd Lobster Nationals, 9th Texas Nationals) who took nine hits in just a few minutes, Leo May who blindsided Hutchins and Corson ending his own race, Bambi Rogers (6th Arkansas Derby, 11th Bryan Family Open) who had Lozier to thank for the stall that left her wide open for him to turn around and finish the job, and Tommy Miller (13th Bryan) who finished in eighth after delivering six hits, two of them on Harbin, and doing as much damage to himself as to others along the way.
Randy Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa Open, 6th Alamo) took just two hits throughout the heat. The first came from Miller at the very start and then a blindside assault from May in retaliation for an earlier strike really upset things, leading to his final contact against Gariepy putting down Corson and produced a controversial moment.
Tom Gariepy (1st Wisconsin Invitational, 1st Arkansas, 1st Mile High Open) was looking good as he struck Alexander either side of attacks on Smith, missing his next target and then connected with Miller. This started a small fire that the race officials safely dealt with before Corson gave him a bump that pushed him slightly off line and into the driver's door of Darryl Lozier earning him a disqualification. Video showed slight contact with that area of the target vehicle, but closer incidents have been allowed to pass in previous events.
Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona, 5th Ohio, 2nd Mile High) could not escape the heat from Hutchins, the man responsible for three of the six hits upon Harbin with Miller accounting for another two, and it was a stall midway through the heat where a lot of the damage came.
The final man out was Jess Yates (4th Summer Sizzler, 3rd Alamo, 5th Bluegrass Derby) who delivered a grand total of two hits during the eight minute heat as stalls and blindside hits, provided by Corson and Miller, only made his exit look inevitable when Smith charged in on him for the third time.
Ed Smith also went for Alexander twice and Lozier once as he reaches his third final in five weeks and fourth overall, taking four shots along the way. Darryl Lozier also rode four challenges as he struck Miller, Alexander, Yates, Corson, and Rogers twice to qualify for a twentieth final. And Scott Hutchins sticks with his title rival, entering his thirteenth final, with only three hits, two of which came from Harbin.
Race Result
Q. Ed Smith
Q. Darryl Lozier
Q. Scott Hutchins
4. Jess Yates
5. Sam Harbin
6. Tom Gariepy
7. Randy Corson
8. Tommy Miller
9. Bambi Rogers
10. Leo May
11. Bob Alexander
12. Reggie Banks
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