Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby Standings

Despite missing just his fifth final out of twenty event Darryl Lozier is still sitting pretty at the top of the standings with Scott Hutchins who, after his third place finish, is only half a point closer to the leader than Will Thompson who was also absent for a fifth time. Tom Gariepy's win propels him up the order and is just 5.5pts behind Andy Bing in fifth place despite only featuring in six finals all year. Runner-up Chris Henton moves up into thirteenth position, fourth place finisher Lynne Higgins two points behind him.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	129.5	3	2
Scott Hutchens	113	1	3
Will Thompson	112.5	1	3
Joe Ramage	101	1	1
Andy Bing	96	2	3
Jamie Eilers	91	2	2
Tom Gariepy	90.5	2
Norm Gibson	88.5	2	1
Will Murphy	86		2
Ben Hadsell	73.5	1	3
Leo May	70		3
Steven Redden	57.5		1
Chris Henton	51	1	1
Lynne Higgins	49		2
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Ricky Grimes	44	1	2
Darrell Andresen	42		4
John McCrory	38.8		1
Matt Welliver	31.5	1	2
John Ruiz	29	1	2
Danny Krol	28		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Sam Harbin	25
Randy Corson	23		2
Bob Alexander	22		2
Jason Ingle	20.5		2
Reggie Banks	20	1
Jess Yates	20		2
Charlie Clayton	18		1
Randy Tondreau	18		1
Timmy Barnes	11		1
Philip Ruffin	5
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Ed Smith	2		1
Billy Edgington	2

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby Final

Arkansas Derby - Little Rock, AR
Final
Tom Gariepy, Bambi Rogers, Chris Henton, Jamie Eilers, John McCrory, Don Davis, Lynne Higgins, Darrell Andresen, Scott Hutchins, Andy Bing, Norm Gibson, Randy Tondreau

John McCrory (3rd Seattle Derby, 5th Summer Sizzler, tied-4th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) must have been feeling pretty confident early on after catching Jamie Eilers on the blindside, but the officials halted the final to inspect the eight-time finalist and found his gas tank to be illegal, resulting in McCrory's disqualification.

Andy Bing was rough-housed by five different opponents and the winner of both the Idaho Invitational and Indy Nationals events fails to pick up a point, the fifth time in his twelve appearances, and Randy Tondreau (6th Arizona Derby, 10th Seattle) follows up his third place last week at the Firecracker Open with a solitary point in Little Rock after he had Eilers lead a charge against him.

Don Davis (12th Valentine's Day Massacre, 2nd Jersey Derby, 7th Sizzler) went at Bambi Rogers twice but his poor hits led to self-inflicted pain and he was finished off soon after by Darrell Andresen and Chris Henton. Jamie Eilers (1st Sizzler, 1st Summer National Derby) was next out in eight position after his attack on Tondreau, taking seven hits in under five minutes as Henton double-taps him at the start but it is Scott Hutchins who closes the deal.

An untimely miss cost Norm Gibson any improvement on seventh place, the five-time podium finisher and winner of the Texas Nationals flew past his intended target and crashed awkwardly into Tom Gariepy before Hutchins wheeled around to take a second shot at him and end another opponent's final.

The final debut of Bambi Rogers began with a short stall and ended with a top six finish despite the fact only managed to strike Tondreau and Hutchins and took a pair of hits from both Gariepy and Davis, and it is back-to-back fifth place finishes for Darrell Andresen who only had one (4th Indy Nationals) in his previous eight finals; dismissal coming in a Higgins-Hutchins sandwich.

Lynne Higgins' second final in twelve events brings about her best result of the season after finishing fifth on four other occasions, Chris Henton bringing it to her with three hits in quickfire fashion, and that left the three automatic qualifiers from heat two competing for the win.

The winner of that heat was Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle, 2nd Big Apple Smash Up, 2nd Lobster Nationals) who had missed four of the previous five finals (3rd Louisiana Invitational) but a third place here bumps him into second place in the standings, half a point above Will Thompson who failed to get out of heat one. Eight hits on eight different vehicles told the story for Hutchins as he was happy to go at anyone, and it was the same when he was the victim as all five of the shots on his car came from separate drivers.

Two hits on Eilersm one each on Davis and Rogers, then a hat-trick of shots on Higgins made him a strong contender but Chris Henton (1st Spring Fling Derby, 10th Sizzler, 5th Summer National) finished runner-up in both the heat and final as his remaining opponent finished the event with three hits to Henton's one at the very end.

Tom Gariepy (tied-2nd VDM, 1st Wisconsin Invitational) is back in the top seven among the standings with his second event victory this season and first points haul in ten weeks, reversing the order from that second heat where he finished third behind Henton and the winner Hutchins. He had to be alert at the off when he turned his head just in time to avoid a sneaky hit but after that he went on to lay nine hits on five opponents, only taking four in return. Rogers and Andresen were doubled up before Gariepy hit Henton three times, not allowing his opponent much chance to turn around and retaliate.

Race Result
1. Tom Gariepy
2. Chris Henton
3. Scott Hutchins
4. Lynne Higgins
5. Darrell Andresen
6. Bambi Rogers
7. Norm Gibson
8. Jamie Eilers
9. Don Davis
10. Randy Tondreau
11. Andy Bing
12. John McCrory

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby, Consolation Heat

Arkansas Derby - Little Rock, AR
Consolation Heat
Will Murphy, Norm Gibson, Jess Yates, Ricky Grimes, John McCrory, John Ruiz, Dick Garrett, Darrell Andresen, Ed Smith, Matt Welliver, Danny Krol, Steven Redden (DNS)

For the second week in a row there will be eleven cars at the start of the consolation heat due to injuries sustained in an earlier heat. This time it is nine-time finalist Steven Redden who misses out and looks likely to miss more time in the next couple of weeks.

Unlike last week though this second chance race lasted longer, almost double the time at twelve minutes compared to seven last time out. There were three eliminations in the opening minutes with Danny Krol (4th Jersey Derby, 3rd Summer Sizzler) taking big hits from Murphy and Grimes to put him down in eleventh, and Matt Welliver (6th Big Apple Smash Up, tied-7th Texas Nationals, 1st SidelineStrategy.com Derby) re-firing from an early stall only to have Ed Smith finish his quadruplet of hits for an early exit.

After Jess Yates (8th Arizona Derby, 7th Jersey, 4th Sizzler) was double teamed by Murphy and McCrory after taking two blindside shots from Ricky Grimes, it was Grimes (3rd Jersey, 3rd Texas, 1st Louisiana Invitational) who turned his attentions onto McCrory but could take no more when Andresen was all over him.

Ed Smith (11th Texas) had eliminated four drivers in one event but was once again to miss out on another final, Andresen again the enforcer, and the next three eliminations brought the heat to an abrupt climax starting with Dick Garrett (6th Ides of March, 5th Seattle Derby) missing a tenth final our of eleven thanks to John McCrory taking full advantage of his opponent being stuck.

John Ruiz makes it ten in a row without a final appearance as the Ides of March champion a hit from seven different drivers but his real mistake was missing a target and crashing into the wall. The final man out was Will Murphy, the nine-time finalist's sixth place finish last week at the Firecracker Open his only appearance in eight rounds; elimination came at the wheels of Andresen as he sat helpless and stalled.

Norm Gibson bounces back from his failure last week to make it eight finals in ten weeks, but a miss and a blindside hit against him almost put him down before he could start on his eight hit heat with McCrory and Ruiz earning double trouble.

John McCrory hits an eighth final of the year and it is the first time he has made three in a row. He managed this feat by also missing a target and taking it twice to Ruiz, also avoiding a hit on his blindside.

Darrell Andresen is 4.5pts behind McCrory in the standings but he still has one more final by matching his rival with a third straight final. A brilliant performance with eleven hits on five opponents saw him through by laying some of the hits onto the best prepared cars of Ruiz, Grimes and Garrett, the latter two earning two shots along with Smith, Murphy and Gibson as all three qualifiers came from heat one.

Race Result
Q. Norm Gibson
Q. John McCrory
Q. Darrell Andresen
4. Will Murphy
5. John Ruiz
6. Dick Garrett
7. Ed Smith
8. Ricky Grimes
9. Jess Yates
10. Matt Welliver
11. Danny Krol
12. Steven Redden (DNS)

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby, Heat Three

Arkansas Derby - Little Rock, AR
Heat Three
Sam Harbin, Ricky Grimes, Lynne Higgins, Jamie Eilers, Tommy Miller, Darryl Lozier, Bob Alexander, John Ruiz, Dick Garrett, Timmy Barnes, Don Davis, Ed Smith

A dramatic start to the third and final heat saw championship leader Darryl Lozier take a hit from Lynne Higgins that propelled him start into the path of Tommy Miller. The heat was stopped so medics could check on Lozier (1st Tampa Open, 1st Jersey Derby, 1st Big Apple Smash Up) but he was able to walk off under his own steam and misses his fifth final all year, and the second failed qualification in four.

Straight after that incident Bob Alexander (6th Arizona Derby, 3rd Lobster Nationals, 9th Texas Nationals) rocketed up and over the barriers when Ed Smith slammed full speed in to him, but things calmed down and there would not another elimination for over five minutes when there would be four in arow.

Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Big Apple Smash Up) was all about chasing down Don Davis, hitting him three times, but seven hits against him, including a double-tap at the very start from Dick Garrett and then later a triple attack from Harbin, Eilers and Miller, with Ed Smith bringing it for the final shot.

Seconds later and both Sam Harbin and Tommy Miller narrowly missed out on the consolation heat. Harbin (2nd Arizona, 6th Spring Fling, 6th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) has just one final in nine weeks now, elimination coming as another victim of Smith's rampage, and Miller stalled out.

John Ruiz, taking his eight hits in groups of two or three at a time, lives to fight another day, as does Ed Smith who had eliminated three opponents before Don Davis hit him four times in quick succession. The final consolation heat entrants are Ricky Grimes, coming off worse when he struck Davis for his seventh hit on as many different cars, and Dick Garrett who started on Barnes before he also spread himself around throughout the pack; his end coming thanks to two quick hits from Higgins.

Jamie Eilers makes it to his first final in three rounds, fourth in seven, as he failed to re-fire the stall he suffered when Garrett blindsided him, and Don Davis is in his fourth final of the season as an alternate driver. His first final in six weeks comes after four hits on Smith and three on Higgins who responded in kind after striking Ruiz and Garrett multiple times to reach her sixth final, but just the second in twelve rounds.

Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
2. Don Davis
3. Jamie Eilers
4. Dick Garrett
5. Ricky Grimes
6. Ed Smith
7. John Ruiz
8. Tommy Miller
9. Sam Harbin
10. Timmy Barnes
11. Bob Alexander
12. Darryl Lozier

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby, Heat Two

Arkansas Derby - Little Rock, AR
Heat Two
Scott Hutchins, Randy Corson, Tom Gariepy, Chris Henton, Jess Yates, Jason Ingle, Joe Ramage, Matt Welliver, Phillip Ruffin, Leo May, Steven Redden, Danny Krol

The second heat started with a triple elimination as Randy Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa Open) collided with Jason Ingle (tied-5th Lobster Nationals) and both cars would stay locked together until they were counted out. Joe Ramage was the first man out however as he struck Ingle, which did not change the situation of the connected vehicles, and that started a fire in his own car forcing the winner of the Valentine's Day Massacre and four-time runner-up to miss a tenth final in the last twelve weeks.

Phillip Ruffin's (9th Ides of March, 8th Big Apple Smash Up) final-less streak reaches nine rounds after a hit from Matt Welliver stalled the pair of them - Welliver able to re-fire unlike his opponent - and eight-time finalist Leo May (4th Wisconsin Invitational, 4th Idaho Invitational, 2nd Indy Nationals) just misses out on a place in the consolation heat, again the elimination coming on a stall caused by contact with Welliver.

Danny Krol has a second chance to qualify for the final, joining Jess Yates and Matt Welliver in the consolation heat. Krol was savagely struck by Steven Redden to eliminate them both, the latter through another injury just as he comes back from his last one, while Yates and Welliver were rough-housed throughout with Chris Henton hitting them both a combined five times.

Tom Gariepy became the third driver to stall out in the heat after Krol and Scott Hutchins double teamed him for several minutes, the latter ending with four hits against his opponent, but he makes his way into his first final for six weeks, and that left Hutchins and Henton to battle for the heat victory points.

Both men hit laid out a combined twelve hits before they began their duel. Scott Hutchins fired the first salvo when he caught Henton unawares earning his victim's dedicated wrath in response. They continued hitting back and forth until finally Henton stopped dead but makes a fifth final of the season, and Hutchins, third in the standings and on his way to an eleventh final, takes his third heat win of the year.

Race Result
1. Scott Hutchins
2. Chris Henton
3. Tom Gariepy
4. Matt Welliver
5. Jess Yates
6. Steven Redden
7. Danny Krol
8. Leo May
9. Phillip Ruffin
10. Randy Corson
10. Jason Ingle
12. Joe Ramage

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby, Heat One

Arkansas Derby - Little Rock, AR
Heat One
Reggie Banks, John McCrory, Will Thompson, Andy Bing, Darrell Andresen, Will Murphy, Billy Edgington, Ben Hadsell, Charlie Clayton, Randy Tondreau, Norm Gibson, Bambi Rogers

With five members of the top ten present in the opening heat it came as a surprise to many that only one of them would automatically qualify for the final and two would fail to even make it as far as the consolation heat.

Since winning the opening round of the season in Edmonton Ben Hadsell has gone to finish third once (Tampa Open) and runner-up twice (Summer National Derby, Texas Nationals) with all nine of his final appearances ending with him no lower than tenth and all of this puts him in ninth place in the standings. But today it's a third missed final in four weeks since his back-to-back second place finishes thanks to a tough hit on Clayton that resulted in him picking up a DQ.

Charlie Clayton (7th Frostbite, 5th Texas, 8th Louisiana Invitational) never recovered from the rough-housing he received and was soon demolished by the pack, and Reggie Banks coming off an event win in his final debut stalled at the start was counted out.

There will be no threat to Darryl Lozier at the top of the tree this week as Will Thompson goes down in ninth place, the Arizona Derby winner and points collector in all fifteen of his finals took a beating from John McCrory and Billy Edginton who struck him twice each before he was disqualified for a hit on Will Murphy, and then Edgington gets wedged in a tight spot and misses out on a chance for his second ever final in as many weeks.

Norm Gibson was all over Bambi Rogers throughout the heat striking her four times, the second of which locked them together briefly, and his elimination came after Randy Tondreau freed the cars and bumped him again for good measure, and Will Murphy looked dead in the water after stalling in the latter stages of the race but Andy Bing took it upon himself to finish the job before the count-out.

John McCrory also moves on into the consolation heat and he was allowed to sit there in a stalled vehicle unmolested and wait for his marching orders after attacking Thompson twice, and he is joined by Darrell Andresen who battled with McCrory for a short time before Bing once again took advantage and eliminated a helpless and stranded opponent.

After the two first timers last week in Banks and Edgington, Bambi Rogers is going in to her first ever final after finishing third in heat one. A missed shot at the start catapulted her into the contact with Gibson that locked them up before Tondreau came barging in a minute later and then she too was happy to go after McCrory with a double-tap prior to Bing's blindside attack and Tondreau's two-hit assault to finish her off.

Andy Bing and Randy Tondreau were guaranteed to take part in their twelfth and fifth finals respectively but they would both have to share the points for winning a heat as they went full-on straight at each other to end it. Bing did not just attack drivers when they were helpless as he struck Murphy twice and Andresen three times in all, suffering a couple of short stalls himself. Tondreau was more liberal with his hits but he did make contact twice in quick succession on both Gibson and Rogers, also having to survive a stall and in his case it was a long one that if not re-fire would have ended his heat in seventh.

Race Result
1. Andy Bing
1. Randy Tondreau
3. Bambi Rogers
4. Darrell Andresen
5. John McCrory
6. Will Murphy
7. Norm Gibson
8. Billy Edgington
9. Will Thompson
10. Reggie Banks
11. Charlie Clayton
12. Ben Hadsell

Controlled Chaos - Arkansas Derby Preview

Steven Redden returns to action after his short layoff as the field moves to Little Rock for the Arkansas Derby. Bobby Gallagher, who qualified for the Fircracker Oprn final finishing twelfth, makes way for the returning man, and both Rob Remaley and Bill Malbrough are absent through long term injury and financial reasons respectively; Don Davis will race in place of Malbrough.

The first of the three heats is set up to be a real thriller with half of the top ten involved along with the winner in Daytona Reggie Banks. Will Thompson and Andy Bing, currently sitting second and fifth place in the standings, join Will Murphy who just reached his first final in almost two months, Norm Gibson who hopes he can return to the final after missing out last week, and Ben Hadsell who has six finals in the last nine rounds.

Heat two has third and fourth place men Scott Hutchins and Joe Ramage, the former reaching just one final in five events and the latter two finals in eleven, and they will go head-to-head against another out of form driver in Tom Gariepy who has missed six straight finals with one appearance in the last nine.

Finally, the top dog Darryl Lozier's biggest rival in the third heat is Jamie Eilers who has missed three of the last four finals but sits in sixth position 41.5pts behind the leader.