Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals Standings

The lead at the top is don to 9.5pts after Lozier's twelfth place finish and Hutchins' ending up in eighth. It got worse for the leader though when he was forced to withdraw from next week's Halloween open with a small injury. Winner Ben Hadsell moves up into ninth place with runner-up John Ruiz making strides much lower down the order, and after claiming fourth Tom Gariepy leapfrogs the pointless Andy Bing.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	165.5	4	4
Scott Hutchens	156	2	4
Will Thompson	139.5	1	5
Tom Gariepy	138.5	3	1
Andy Bing	136	4	3
Joe Ramage	121	2	1
Norm Gibson	118.5	2	1
Chris Henton	118	1	3
Ben Hadsell	103.5	2	4
Jamie Eilers	102	2	3
Will Murphy	102		2
Matt Welliver	72.5	1	4
Lynne Higgins	72		4
Leo May	70		3
John McCrory	62.5		1
Danny Krol	62	1	4
Steven Redden	61.5		1
Darrell Andresen	53		6
Sam Harbin	50		1
Ricky Grimes	49	1	2
John Ruiz	48	1	3
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Jess Yates	40		3
Randy Corson	35		2
Charlie Clayton	32		2
Jason Ingle	30.5		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Philip Ruffin	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Reggie Banks	22	1
Bob Alexander	22		2
Randy Tondreau	22		1
Ed Smith	19		1
Timmy Barnes	14		1
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Billy Edgington	2
Tommy Miller	0

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals Final

Fall Nationals - Bristol, TN
Final
Andy Bing, Phillip Ruffin, Tom Gariepy, Matt Welliver, Randy Corson, Ben Hadsell, Steven Redden, Reggie Banks, Lynne Higgins, John Ruiz, Darryl Lozier, Scott Hutchins

The season has really turned for Darryl Lozier (1st Tampa Open, Jersey Derby, Big Apple Smash Up, Alamo Derby) who finishes last in the final, his second pointless appearance in the past month. As always his vehicle looked well prepared but John Ruiz only needed one hit as he charged up and over the title leader.

It was no better for Andy Bing (1st Idaho Invitational, Indy Nationals, Ohio Derby, Golden Gate Invitational) as he delivered a hit to Ben Hadsell that resulted in a fatal stall to leave without a single point in ten of the last thirteen weeks.

Reggie Banks (1st Firecracker Open, 11th Alamo, 10th Ohio) is the first recipient of the good fortune left behind by the eliminated contenders, picking up a single point. It was not a good performance with blindside hits from Ruiz and Bing, two shots by Redden, and Banks only initiated contact once with a hit on Corson.

In her seventh final in nine weeks Lynne Higgins (4th Arkansas Derby, 3rd Bluegrass National Derby) continues her season form by picking up points in all thirteen appearances. Hits on Redden and Ruffin led to a derby-ending stall, and Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle Derby, 2nd Smash up, 2nd Lobster Nationals, 1st Bluegrass) makes a slight gain on Lozier in the standings but a bad miss results in him leaving in eighth spot due to a stall.

Steven Redden (Tied-2nd Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Indy) did help himself in his first final for some time as a miss on his intended target led him straight into the path of Ben Hadsell who was all too happy to take his man out. Striking Banks twice Redden also got a shots in on Ruiz and Gariepy.

Randy Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa, 6th Alamo) started out with hits on Gariepy and Welliver, but a trip into the barriers allowed the latter to really go to town with three quick shots of his own, continuing his assault after Corson was free to finish the job.

It's back-to-back top five finishes for Phillip Ruffin (8th Smash Up, 8th Mile High, 5th Hickory) as he takes just two hits while delivering four. Corson on the blindside was the second contact after Higgins laid one in earlier; Lozier, Gariepy, Bing and Redden the victims.

Tom Gariepy (1st Wisconsin Invitational, Arkansas, Mile High) claims his eighth top-five finish and he started with two hits on John Ruiz before delivering two hits on Welliver. It was a tough battle for the joint-winner of heat three with four of the six hits against him coming in the first minute, but he kept himself moving and avoided many challenges until Welliver and Hadsell double-teamed him.

A third podium of the year for Matt Welliver (1st Summer National Derby, 4th Ohio, 2nd Golden Gate) started out dodgy with a brief stall but, after re-firing, he went on to rampage over Corson with hits on Bing, Gariepy and Hadsell outside of that onslaught. With just three hits against he may have hoped for a better result, but this will move him several spots up the rankings.

The finale came down to Ben Hadsell and John Ruiz with both men earning derby wins at Frostbite and the Ides of March events respectively, but while Hadsell (3rd Tampa, Tied-2nd Summer National, 2nd Texas) has picked up good points hauls in all but one of his eleven previous finals Ruiz has struggled in his seven appearances with six of the results finishing no better than eighth.

The two competitors did not encounter each other until near the end when Hadsell initiated contact after striking Gariepy, Hutchins and Higgins, taking a blindsider from Corson as well. A return to Gariepy after laying a shot onto Redden then led him into the path of Ruiz who did not need to be invited twice. But Hadsell was able to turn much quicker than his opponent, who had saved two stalls during the final after destroying Lozier, and laid in one final hit to take his second derby win of the season and join the eleven strong pack that have amassed over one-hundred points.

Race Result
1. Ben Hadsell
2. John Ruiz
3. Matt Welliver
4. Tom Gariepy
5. Phillip Ruffin
6. Randy Corson
7. Steven Redden
8. Scott Hutchins
9. Lynne Higgins
10. Reggie Banks
11. Andy Bing
12. Darryl Lozier

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals, Consolation Heat

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

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals, Heat Three

Fall Nationals - Bristol, TN
Heat Three
Leo May, Will Murphy, Timmy Barnes, Phillip Ruffin, Scott Hutchins, Randy Tondreau, Tom Gariepy, Norm Gibson, Charlier Clayton, Ben Hadsell, Andy Bing, Jess Yates

Leo May (4th Wisconsin Invitational, 4th Idaho Invitational, 2nd Indy Nationals), Jess Yates (4th Summer Sizzler, 3rd Alamo Derby, 5th Bluegrass Derby), and Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Big Apple Smash Up, 8th Bluegrass) all met the same fate when they stalled on the start, and then Randy Tondreau's (6th Tampa Open, 3rd Firecracker Open, 7th Alamo) kamikaze approach where he laid out seven quick hits - May and Gariepy two each - resulted in his ninth place dismissal.

Norm Gibson (1st Lobster Nationals, 1st Texas Nationals) misses a third straight final for the first time since he qualified for his first final seventeen weeks ago, appearing in twelve during that span. Avoiding a blindside hit only to be caught on the opposite side by Clayton, Gibson became stuck and easy pickings for Bing.

Andy Bing could do no better than seventh though as he started out with a bad miss before blindsiding Hadsell and then tackling Gibson and Clayton twice. He moves on into the second chance race along with Charlie Clayton who was rampant on Hadsell with five hits, Will Murphy who stalled out after finishing off Bing, and Scott Hutchins who warred with both Tondreau and Gariepy with the latter resulting in seven hits between the two.

After surviving the aforementioned five hit onslaught Ben Hadsell qualifies for his twelfth final, his second in seven weeks, on the back of double-taps to Yates and Murphy with Tondreau, Bing, Clayton, and Gibson also taking contact.

Heading into his fifth final with his first set of back-to-back appearances all year Phillip Ruffin was close to becoming another stall victim when Hutchins started proceedings with a hit to his blindside. Another point of contact with Hutchins resulted in another stall, this one re-fired in the nick of time. A borderline hit to Clayton was followed by a pair of misses before he finally got Hutchins off his back for good with another hit which then led into his first attack on Gariepy.

Tom Gariepy, heading into his tenth final, led the way with eleven hits but he was nit picky about who to target as Barnes, Hadsell and Ruffin accounted for two hits each with the remainder spread around through the pack. He was provided a big favour by Ruffin when the latter removed Hutchins from play who was proving to be a thorn in the side of Gariepy targeting him four times in their battle.

The finale came when both Ruffin and Gariepy charged full on at each other. This collision was one where neither vehicle would be able to survive leaving both men walking to the final with a point each.

Race Result
1. Phillip Ruffin
1. Tom Gariepy
3. Ben Hadsell
4. Scott Hutchins
5. Will Murphy
6. Charlie Clayton
7. Andy Bing
8. Norm Gibson
9. Randy Tondreau
10. Timmy Barnes
11. Jess Yates
12. Leo May

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals, Heat Two

Fall Nationals - Bristol, TN
Heat Two
Jason Ingle, Darrell Andresen, Matt Welliver, Bob Alexander, Danny Krol, Bambi Rogers, Ricky Grimes, Jamie Eilers, Randy Corson, Joe Ramage, Lynne Higgins, Will Thompson

Bambi Rogers was taking no prisoners from the off as she started out by climbing up and over the car of Joe Ramage (1st Valentine's Day Massacre, 1st Bryan Family Open) leaving the four-time runner-up free of injury but missing his fourteenth final in twenty, and Bob Alexander (6th Arizona Derby, 3rd Lobster Nationals, 9th Texas Nationals) got nowhere fast and was soon counted out for his stall.

Danny Krol (4th Jersey Derby, 3rd Summer Sizzler, 1st Hickory Derby) can't make it three finals in a row after Lynne Higgins rammed him into the barriers where he would remain, and ninth place went to Jason Ingle (Tied-5th Lobster, 7th Louisiana Invitational, 3rd Mile High Open) misses out on the eighth final in his last ten tries after six different opponents struck him.

The final competitor to end his event here was Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey, 3rd Texas, 1st Louisiana) who was sandwiched by the two female entrants to finish off what Eilers started on the blindside, but Grimes was otherwise untouched as he led himself to his own demise.

Will Thompson delivered eight hits on his way into the consolation heat along with Jamie Eilers and his nine shots that included a pair of blindsiders, Darrell Andresen who was keenest to get at Eilers and Welliver, and Bambi Rogers who survived a lengthy stall before she was caught out twice to knock her out in fourth place.

After laying six hits on seven opponents Randy Corson needed a small fire extinguished at the end of the heat only to then bounce off Rogers and careen into the wall for a third place finish and an eighth final on the year.

That left Lynne Higgins and Matt Welliver dueling it out for the heat victory on their way to their thirteenth and eleventh finals respectively. Higgins had gone through Krol, Grimes, Andresen thrice, and Corson before taking on both Welliver with three hits and Thompson with two. The final hit to Welliver resulted in a harsh disqualification being handed down from race officials.

Matt Welliver was not complaining though as he is happy to take his fourth heat victory this year with some luck as he knew Higgins was all over him in the finale. Rogers (4) and Corson (2) took up the bulk of his ten hits with Higgins, Ingle, Thompson and Eilers all receiving one shot each.

Race Result
1. Matt Welliver
2. Lynne Higgins
3. Randy Corson
4. Bambi Rogers
5. Darrell Andresen
6. Jamie Eilers
7. Will Thompson
8. Ricky Grimes
9. Jason Ingle
10. Danny Krol
11. Bob Alexander
12. Joe Ramage

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals, Heat One

Fall Nationals - Bristol, TN
Heat One
Reggie Banks, Ed Smith, Chris Henton, Steven Redden, Rob Remaley, Billy Edgington, Bill Malbrough, Sam Harbin, Dick Garrett, John Ruiz, Darryl Lozier, John McCrory

It was a very short return for Rob Remaley (3rd Ides of March, 4th Seattle Derby, Tied-4th Summer Sizzler Derby) as he was involved in a big three-way collision with Billy Edginton and Bill Malbrough in the opening seconds. Both Remaley and Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) were forced to retire due to fires starting in both vehicles, but Malbrough escaped the worst and lives to fight on.

Everyone else continued for at least six minutes before Dick Garrett (6th Ides, 7th Wisconsin Invitational, 5th Seattle) was eliminated by John Ruiz who poached the final hit after Redden (2) and Harbin (3) did all the hard work, and then Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona Derby, 5th Ohio Derby, 2nd Mile High Open) had Redden turn on him, joining forces with Reggie Banks to get the elimination.

Bill Malbrough has four rounds remaining to qualify for a final this year as his triple attack on McCrory was in vain thanks to his favourite victim sandwiching him with help from Banks, but Ed Smith gains a place in the consolation heat, stalling out after going for Harbin three times.

Smith is joined by his final target Chris Henton who became stuck on that same hit, Steven Redden who was blindsided by McCrory who in turn suffered a stall allowing Lozier to swoop in for the kill.

That means it's a twenty-first final appearance for the title leading Darryl Lozier who showcased his survival skills by taking eleven hits before he finally went down. Blindsided twice by McCrory and once by Henton he was also hounded by Harbin, all of which resulted in Lozier getting off his game as he only delivered six shots, the last of which decided the heat. 

Reggie Banks qualifies for a fifth final in ten tries but he very nearly failed to get anywhere after starting with a very long stall he barely managed to re-fire in time. Smith, Malbrough, McCrory (2) and Harbin (2) were all victims but it was Lozier with a blindside attack then a final shot that resulted in both men calling it quits.

This all results in John Ruiz taking his third heat win of the season on his way to an eighth final, but just his third in eighteen weeks. Redden, Henton, and Banks twice were all struck by Ruiz but it was Lozier all bared the brunt of four attacks with the final three coming in quick succession at the end. Ruiz was also his own enemy with two very bad misses that resulted in severe damage midway through the eleven minute contest, but he carried on with aplomb to take the win.

Race Result 
1. John Ruiz
2. Reggie Banks
2. Darryl Lozier
4. John McCrory
5. Steven Redden
6. Chris Henton
7. Ed Smith
8. Bill Malbrough
9. Sam Harbin
10. Dick Garrett
11. Rob Remaley
11. Billy Edgington

Controlled Chaos - Fall Nationals Preview

It is a rare day in Controlled Chaos as Andy Bing and Rob Remaley have fully recovered from their injuries to make it a full roster for this the twenty-eighth event of the year. 

Remaley's return after a nine week absence places the nine-time finalist into heat one along with championship leader Darryl Lozier , and eight placed man Chris Henton with both men coming off top four finishes last week.

Heat two features Will Thompson who looks to improve his form with just two scoring finals in the past six weeks, and he goes head-to-head with Joe Ramage who is pointless in six straight weeks since his win at the Bryan Family Open, and Jamie Eilers who has qualified for five of twelve finals since his back-to-back wins in the Summer. Hickory Derby victor and nine-times finalist Danny Krol also goes in the middle heat.

The third heat in Bristol, Tennessee, is packed with talent as Scott Hutchins looks to continue his electric from that has seen him claim three top five finishes, including a win at the Bluegrass Derby two weeks ago, and get within 12.5pts of Lozier. Andy Bing returns to action after a week out and hopes to come back with improved form as he has two finals in the last seven rounds, but they both resulted in wins. Tom Gariepy the seven-time top-five finisher, Norm Gibson who has eight podiums, and Will Murphy who has finished no worse than sixth in his eleven finals, all go in heat three.