Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals, Standings

One event down, thirty-one to go, and the first ten points scorers are on their way. Ben Hadsell leads with a near perfect start to the season as he won the final and tied for first in his heat with Rob Remaley who rounds up the standings with a point in both the heat and final. Will Thompson finished a place behind Scott Hutchins in the final but is a place ahead of him by virtue of winning his heat.

Name Pts Ben Hadsell 21 Jamie Eilers 15 Will Thompson 11 Scott Hutchens 10 Randy Corson 8 Darrell Andresen 5 Steven Redden 5 Charlie Clayton 4 Danny Krol 2 Rob Remaley 2

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals Final

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Final
Danny Krol, Scott Hutchins, Matt Welliver, Rob Remaley, Ben Hadsell, Jamie Eilers, Charlie Clayton, Will Thompson, Jason Ingle, Steven Redden, Darrell Andressen, Randy Corson

The first ever final saw two of the qualifiers from the consolation heat burn out early without taking any points. Jason Ingle was made a victim by Eilers, Andressen, Thompson and the third qualifier from the consolation heat Steve Redden, while Matt Welliver did not even move once the race got under way due to stalling.

Out of the three heat winners Rob Remaley was the first to depart but also the first to score a point in tenth position thanks in part to Scott Hutchins' rabid attention, and he was soon followed by heat one winner Darrell Andressen after missing his intended target and crashing into the wall. Between those exits Danny Krol also had an incident involving the scenery as he was unable to free himself from the barrier he had become caught up on.

The final seven became four in a blink of an eye with Charlie Clayton, who had only been hit once but inflicted his own downfall by coming off second best in many attacks, Steven Redden and Randy Corson all falling by the wayside. The remaining drivers saw Will Thompson finished off before Scott Hutchins was double-teamed until he too was eliminated.

This left heat one runner-up Jamie Eilers and the winner of heat three Ben Hadsell going head to head with an extra five points up for grabs available to the last man standing. Both men had focused on finishing off Hutchins but Eilers had garnered more attention throughout the derby than his remaining opponent and this proved to be the difference earning Hadsell a cool twenty points, in addition to the two he claimed for winning a heat, to start of the season.

Race Result
1. Ben Hadsell
2. Jamie Eilers
3. Scott Hutchins
4. Will Thompson
5. Randy Corson
6. Steven Redden
7. Charlie Clayton
8. Darrell Andressen
9. Danny Krol
10. Rob Remaley
11. Matt Welliver
12. Jason Ingle

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals, Consolation Heat

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Consolation Heat
Chris Henton, Steven Redden, Andy Bing, Timmy Barnes, Jess Yates, Reggie Banks, Randy Tondreau, Matt Welliver, Will Murphy, Ed Smith, Jason Ingle, Darryl Lozier

Both Chris Henton and Darryl Lozier stalled at the start with Steven Redden making it a stationary trio but all three were able to quickly refire before Randy Tondreau also stalled yet unable to get going again. Tondreau's exit was quick on the heels of Reggie Banks calling it day after the three collisions he was involved in proved too much for his engine.

A helpless Ed Smith was wiped out by Will Murphy after becoming entangled along the wall and his attacker was also done by one of the three qualifiers Matt Welliver. Timmy Barnes and Andy Bing had no interaction during their time together in heat one but Bing was all over Barnes throughout the consolation ultimately damaging both cars enough to end their days in sixth (Bing) and eighth (Barnes).

After refiring successfully early on Darryl Lozier was blindsided by both Jess Yates and Murphy before Jason Ingle finished the job on his way to the final. The final qualification place went to Steven Redden who got himself involved in the Bing/Barnes battle while contributing to the downfall of Chris Henton who survived a second stall only to run into Jess Yates and eliminate each other.

Race Result
Q. Steven Redden
Q. Matt Welliver
Q. Jason Ingle
4. Jess Yates
5. Chris Henton
6. Andy Bing
7. Darryl Lozier
8. Timmy Barnes
9. Will Murphy
10.Ed Smith
11. Randy Tondreau
12. Reggie Banks

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals, Heat 3

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Heat 3
Randy Corson, Rob Remaley, Tom Gariepy, Reggie Banks, Ricky Grimes, Ben Hadsell, Sam Harbin, Matt Welliver, Bambi Rogers, Randy Tondreau, Leo May, Chris Henton

The first few minutes of the final heat saw several drivers focus on one target. Sam Harbin hassled Bambi Rogers, and Randy Tondreau was targeted by Tom Gariepy but this backfired on the American as he was the first driver out at around the four minute mark. 

It was from this point on that a driver fell out of the race per minute with Rob Remaley finishing off a stalled and stranded Leo May before Sam Harbin was taken out by a barrage of hits Ben Hadsell, Ricky Grimes and Reggie Banks. The remaining nine soon become six as Banks brutalised Grimes before he himself was out of the race, but not before Bambi Rogers fell out in eighth place to give Banks a second chance in the consolation heat. 

Matt Welliver was happy to hit anyone with seven of his rivals feeling the brunt of his strategy but in the end it would be a driver who he had blindsided earlier in the race as Ben Hadsell chased him around for several minutes before finally ending the one-man carnage. The final two consolation places went to Chris Henton who enjoyed a on/off duel with Hadsell, and Randy Tondreau who had an unfortunate habit of missing his intended target on more than one occasion, stalling twice along the way. Tondreau's fellow competitors had no such bad luck though as he was ganged up on towards the end of the race.

The final three were quickly two as Randy Corson stalled for good, but his save from a previous stall much earlier in the race proved to be the difference between finishing tenth and going to the final. The finale had the faithful fans baying for more as Rob Remaley and Ben Hadsell turned their cars towards each other for a car shattering finish where both men were judged to tie for the win. 

Race Result
T1. Rob Remaley
T2. Ben Hadsell
3. Randy Corson
4. Randy Tondreau
5. Chris Henton
6. Matt Welliver
7. Reggie Banks
8. Bambi Rogers
9. Ricky Grimes
10. Sam Harbin
11. Leo May
12. Tom Gariepy 

Controlled Chaos - Forstbite Winter Nationals, Heat 2

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Heat 2
Darryl Lozier, Danny Krol, Jason Ingle, Scott Hutchens, Lynne Higgins, Joe Ramage, Will Murphy, John McCrory, Will Thompson, Ed Smith, John Ruiz, Phillip Ruffin

The second heat had an early victim in Joe Ramage as, after he blindsided Jason Ingle at the start, he was taken down by a group effort consisting of Will Murphy, John Ruiz and a double-shot by Lynne Higgins, the latter of which would be the next to exit due to stalling.

Several minutes passed without any other dismissals and numerous drivers took it upon themselves to partner up with Darryl Lozier blindsided twice by Danny Krol after the Canadian opened the derby with a hit on Krol, and Ed Smith taking a beating from Scott Hutchins and then Will Murphy.

John Ruiz garnered a lot of attention resulting in him finishing tenth just before Phillip Ruffin was ruled out of the race after a final big hit from Smith. Smith just about made his way into the consolation heat by lasting a little longer than John McCrory who was disqualified for his misplaced hit on Darryl Lozier.

Will Murphy and Jason Ingle were keen on repeat custom as they both focused eight hits each on six cars but did as much damage to themselves as eveyone else which resulted in them finishing sixth and fifth.  Lozier and Krol resumed their feud which ended when both cars stalled and only Krol would refire his engine to go on and finish in second place, Lozier ending his race in fourth for a place in the consolation heat.

Scott Hutchins was hit no less than eight times throughout the heat but he was able to avoid a lot of early action, only suffering one hit in the first seven minutes before the pack wised up to his tactical avoidance and putting him down in third place; the final two hits came from heat winner Will Thompson who had suffered two stalls earlier in the race, missed two targets and became stuck in the wall for a brief period. Thompson was hit eight times but managed to keep out of trouble late on, dealing out the violence rather than taking it.

Race Result
1. Will Thompson
2.Danny Krol
3. Scott Hutchins
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Jason Ingle
6. Will Murphy
7. Ed Smith
8. John McCrory
9. Phillip Ruffin
11. Lynne Higgins
12. Joe Ramage

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals, Heat 1

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
Heat 1
Jess Yates, Charlie Clayton, Andy Bing, Jamie Eilers, Norm Gibson, Timmy Barnes, Darell Andresen, Bill Malbrough, Bob Alexander, Billy Edgington, Dick Garrett, Steven Redden

It didn't take long for the first driver to be eliminated as Billy Edgington was hit extremely hard by fellow Brit Darrell Andresen and the heat had to be suspended so Edgington could be removed by stretcher. After that it was Andy Bing and Steven Redden who became the whipping boys with numerous impacts on their cars, but they would last a while longer unlike Dick Garrett who suffered an early stall and was unable to restart.

Norm Gibson and Bill Malbrough became entangled and despite some outside contact from other cars they remained locked together and were removed from the derby by race officials. Five minutes had come and gone before there were just six drivers remaining as Bob Alexander was disqualified for targeting Redden's door and Jess Yates's vehicle was too badly damaged to continue after being hit by five different cars.

Yates would finish seventh and so would move on to the Consolation Heat and he would be joined by Andy Bing, who had a lot of attention from Charlie Clayton, Timmy Barnes - who was then hunted and put down by Jamie Eilers - and Steven Redden who recovered from an early stall before going to war against Jess Yates and ultimately finishing fourth.

The top three spots, and automatic qualifiers for the final, had a real scrap to end the opening heat as they were all hungry for the two points gained for winning a heat. Jamie Eilers was double-teamed by his rivals yet it was Clayton who was the next to stop but not before contributing to Eilers downfall. The race was ultimately decided when Eilers stalled for a third time allowing Darrell Andresen to pick his spot and win the heat.

Race Result
1. Darrell Andresen
2. Jamie Eilers
3. Charlie Clayton
4. Steven Redden
5. Timmy Barnes
6. Andy Bing
7. Jess Yates
8. Bob Alexander
T9. Norm Gibson
T9. Bill Malbrough
11. Dick Garrett
12. Bill Edgington

Controlled Chaos - Frostbite Winter Nationals Preview

Frostbite Winter Nationals - Edmonton, Alberta
There is a full roster available for the start of the North American season with four alternate drivers waiting in the wings to replace those who are injured or financially unable to attend a derby. The three heats have been drawn at random. The first heat sees both British entrants together while the two female drivers, Lynne Higgins and Bambi Rogers, are in heats two and three respectively.

                          (Click image for larger version)

Heat 1		Heat 2		Heat 3
Jess Yates		Darryl Lozier		Randy Corson
Charlie Clayton		Danny Krol		Rob Remaley
Andy Bing		Jason Ingle		Tom Gariepy
Jamie Eilers		Scott Hutchens		Reggie Banks
Norm Gibson		Lynne Higgins		Ricky Grimes
Timmy Barnes		Joe Ramage		Ben Hadsell
Darrell Andresen		Will Murphy		Sam Harbin
Bill Malbrough		John McCrory		Matt Welliver
Bob Alexander		Will Thompson		Bambi Rogers
Billy Edgington		Ed Smith		Randy Tondreau
Dick Garrett		John Ruiz		Leo May
Steven Redden		Phillip Ruffin		Chris Henton