Indiana Open - Winslow, IN
Final
Chris Henton, Bill Malbrough, Lynne Higgins, Joe Ramage, Norm Gibson, Jamie Eilers, John McCrory, Will Thompson, Ed Smith, Jason Ingle, Sam Harbin, Andy Bing
He managed to strike Ingle, Thompson and Eilers but Chris Henton (1st Spring Fling Derby, 2nd Arkansas Derby, 2nd Bluegrass Derby, 2nd Hickory Derby) failed to register a point for the third time in his fourteen finals as Malbrough and Smith both dealt with his presence, and a trio of eliminations started with Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona Derby, 5th Ohio Derby, 2nd Mile High Open) took six shots with Norm Gibson's huge hit causing massive damage by itself.
Andy Bing (1st Idaho Invitational, Indy Nationals, Ohio, Golden Gate Invitational) scrapes his first point in five weeks with John McCrory's blindside one of the three hits on Bing, and Jason Ingle (Tied-5th Lobster Nationals, 7th Louisiana Invitational, 3rd Mile High) finishes his third final in twelve weeks with a ninth place finish as Smith and McCrory hit him twice each.
Norm Gibson (1st Lobster, 1st Texas Nationals, 2nd Louisiana) was rocked by a surprise hit from Eilers at the very start of the final but, after tearing apart Harbin, went on to exact some revenge with a double-tap before a trio of opponents waded in, then Will Thompson (1st Arizona Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan Family Open, 1st Halloween Open) moves within two points of championship leader Darryl Lozier as stalls and an untimely miss conspire to keep him down in seventh place as McCrory helped him along with three straight shots.
After six hits on as many competitors Bill Malbrough (11th Halloween) adds to his debut point earned as co-winner of heat three, finishing in sixth place when Ingle, Ramage and Smith struck him in turn, and Joe Ramage (1st Valentine's Day Massacre, 1st Bryan Family Open) collects his first set of final points for nine weeks with two hits on both Gibson and Malbrough. In return Ramage took seven shots with Higgins and Harbin delivering a pair each.
Jamie Eilers (2nd Frostbite, 2nd Ides of March, 1st Sizzler, 1st Summer National Derby) claims his sixth top four finish this year with a stal ending his run, but not before taking it to some of the bigger names in the final with Gibson, Bing, McCrory (2) and Ramage all feeling his wrath, and Ed Smith (7th Ohio Derby, 4th Mile High, 7th Hickory, 7th Halloween) continues to impress as the season winds down as, in his fifth final out of the last eight, he did not shy away from anyone, running through the pack with impunity with eight hits for and five against; two from McCrory deciding his fate.
That left Lynne Higgins and John McCrory battling it out for the win. Four times a fifth place finisher Higgins (4th Arkansas, 3rd Bluegrass), heading for her best result whatever the outcome, warred hard with Joe Ramage and Jamie Eilers, only striking McCrory late on with the pack thinned out.
McCrory (3rd Seattle, 2nd Ohio, 2nd Halloween), one of those who came out of the consolation heat, took down several entrants with Ingle, Thompson and Smith all taking multiple hits and, like his final opponent, only initiated contact with Higgins very late one with their only contacts resulting in a dead heat handing both drivers their first event victory.
Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
1. John McCrory
3. Ed Smith
4. Jamie Eilers
5. Joe Ramage
6. Bill Malbrough
7. Will Thompson
8. Norm Gibson
9. Jason Ingle
10. Andy Bing
11. Sam Harbin
12. Chris Henton
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