Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals Standings

Scott Hutchins finishing one place above Darryl Lozier means he is one point closer to the leader, and Will Thompson is back in the top three after his heat win and eighth place finish. With another runner-up spot Chris Henton continues to climb the ladder, moving up to eighth in the standings, and Danny Krol's debut win pushes him into the top fifteen.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	165.5	4	4
Scott Hutchens	153	2	4
Will Thompson	139.5	1	5
Andy Bing	136	4	3
Tom Gariepy	128.5	3
Joe Ramage	121	2	1
Norm Gibson	118.5	2	1
Chris Henton	118	1	3
Jamie Eilers	102	2	3
Will Murphy	102		2
Ben Hadsell	83.5	1	4
Lynne Higgins	70		4
Leo May	70		3
John McCrory	62.5		1
Danny Krol	62	1	4
Matt Welliver	60.5	1	3
Steven Redden	57.5		1
Darrell Andresen	53		6
Sam Harbin	50		1
Ricky Grimes	49	1	2
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Jess Yates	40		3
Charlie Clayton	32		2
John Ruiz	31	1	2
Jason Ingle	30.5		2
Randy Corson	30		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Bob Alexander	22		2
Randy Tondreau	22		1
Reggie Banks	21	1
Ed Smith	19		1
Philip Ruffin	18		1
Timmy Barnes	14		1
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Billy Edgington	2
Tommy Miller	0

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals Final

Hickory Nationals - Hickory, NC
Final
Joe Ramage, Danny Krol, Lynne Higgins, Will Thompson, John McCrory, Chris Henton, Charlie Clayton, Darryl Lozier, Phillip Ruffin, Scott Hutchins, Darrell Andresen, Ed Smith

Four-time runner-up Joe Ramage (1st Valentine's Day Massacre, 1st Bryan Family Open) continues to fade as the season wears on by failing to register a point in a third of of the five finals he has qualified for in the past nineteen weeks. Going hard after Danny Krol he was under pressure from McCrory, Henton and Hutchins, taking just three shots before he was eliminated.

After that third minute exit there would be an eleven car battle for several more minutes when Charlie Clayton (5th Texas Nationals, 6th Ohio Derby, 6th Bluegrass Derby) took his fifth hit while taking on anyone in range, striking four different opponents, and in his first final for five weeks Darrell Andresen (4th Indy Nationals, 5th Firecracker Open, 5th Arkansas Derby) started out with a huge miss that crippled his vehicle but not enough to prevent him laying two hits on Smith, the second of which laid the attacker out.

Ninth place goes to heat three winner Lynne Higgins (4th Arkansas, 3rd Bluegrass) as the six-time top five finisher was crunched by Krol after re-firing from a lengthy stall that started on contact initiated by Andresen and Smith, and then Will Thompson (1st Arizona Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan) was out after hitting Higgins, Ruffin, and Clayton twice, then taking hits from Hutchins and Smith (2) to finish him off.

Ed Smith (11th Texas, 7th Ohio, 4th Mile High Open) ends his third final in five weeks with four hits in a couple of minutes after spending the early stages dishing out all the contact. McCrory, Lozier, Ruffin, and two each from Hutchins and Andresen providing the hits, and John McCrory (3rd Seattle Derby, Tied-4th Summer National Derby, 2nd Ohio) ends his dry spell of three final-less weeks with multiple contact on Lozier and Henton; his hit on Hutchins the final act his vehicle could take.

Phillip Ruffin (9th Ides of March, 8th Big Apple Smash Up, 8th Mile High) takes his best result of the season in his fourth final appearance but he started out on the wrong foot when Krol caught him off guard, smashing into his rear. After that it was Chris Henton who brought the noise with three consecutive hits before returning later and finishing the job. During the lull in attacks Ruffin struck Andresen and Smith before laying three hits on Hutchins

Championship leader Darryl Lozier (1st Tampa Open, 1st Jersey Derby, 1st Big Apple, 1st Alamo) takes his best result for five weeks after missing three of the last seven finals and failing to score in one he did qualify for. It was his second stall that ultimately did for him as Chris Henton showed no quarter for the stranded driver with two hits, and Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle, 2nd Big Apple, 2nd Lobster Nationals, 1st Bluegrass Derby) gains a point on his title rival by claiming a third straight top five finish and his eighth podium in his fourteenth final. The two hits to Smith late on were his only repeat visits as he was otherwise engaged with all-comers, ending his run in third place thanks to heavy hitting from Ruffin and Lozier.

Chris Henton's (1st Spring Fling, 2nd Arkansas, 2nd Bluegrass) impressive eight straight finals earns him a third runner-up spot in that time and a sixth top-five finish. Starting with a hit on Ramage he then moved all of his efforts into tackling Phillip Ruffin before a shot on Andresen started a fire that had to be contained before he was cleared to continue. The damage from the flames caused a brief stall but he re-fired and first dispatched Ruffin then Lozier, with that final hit slowing him right down until he was counted out.

That means Danny Krol (4th Jersey, 3rd Sizzler, 4th Bluegrass) takes his first event win, despite only delivering four hits to Clayton, McCrory, Higgins, and Lozier. A double-tap from Ramage at the very start caused his first stall, his own initiated contact with Lozier created the second, and the nine-time finalist barely re-fired from both to take a fortunate win.

Race Result
1. Danny Krol
2. Chris Henton
3. Scott Hutchins
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Phillip Ruffin
6. John McCrory
7. Ed Smith
8. Will Thompson
9. Lynne Higgins
10. Darrell Andresen
11. Charlie Clayton
12. Joe Ramage

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals, Consolation Heat

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

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals, Heat Three

Hickory Nationals - Hickory, NC
Heat Three
Phillip Ruffin, Leo May, Reggie Banks, Jason Ingle, Bob Alexander, Timmy Barnes, Lynne Higgins, Will Murphy, Charlie Clayton, Steven Redden, Matt Welliver, Randy Corson

After Steven Redden (Tied-2nd Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Indy Nationals) stalled at the start he was rushed by four opponents, crippling any chance he had of re-firing the engine, and Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Big Apple Smash Up, 8th Bluegrass Derby) was hammered seven times - twice each from Ruffin and Alexander - with Lynne Higgins providing the killer blow on his blindside.

Those eliminations came in the first few minutes but it wasn't until the eighth minute that a rush of exits occurred, taking the pack from ten down to one in just five minutes. Jason Ingle (Tied-5th Lobster Nationals, 7th Louisiana Invitational, 3rd Mile High Open) has now missed eight of the last nine finals, the latest miss coming in no small part from blindside hits by Alexander and Higgins with Ruffin and Banks getting their late shots in. 

It was a brutal day at the office for Matt Welliver (1st SidelineStrategy.com Derby, 4th Ohio Derby, 2nd Golden Gate Invitational as he was struck five times by Charlie Clayton alone, the two misses also did not help Welliver's cause as he hunted down Ingle, and Will Murphy (2nd Tampa Open, 3rd Spring Fling, 3rd Idaho Invitational, 3rd Big Apple) was rammed into the barriers by Timmy Barnes early on and freeing himself only to get blindsided twice by Clayton. The second of those shots resulting in a halt in proceedings as Clayton's car went up and over Welliver who walked away unharmed.

Bob Alexander delivered five hits and survived a long stall, Randy Corson failed to re-fire his stall after laying three of his seven shots onto Clayton, Reggie Banks barely escaped a tight spot among the barriers at the start, going on to hit five cars, and Leo May was credited with eight hits before the wrecking crew known as Charlie Clayton made him another victim. All four eliminations result in their inclusion into the consolation heat.

Phillip Ruffin looked a strong contender by laying on eight hits in as many minutes with  Barnes, Ingle and May all receiving two, but focus from May, Banksand Corson provided a pair of hits each on the third place man. Clayton claimed yet another scalp but Ruffin makes it four finals on the year with his second qualification in four weeks.

With nineteen hits between them Lynne Higgins and Charlie Clayton were deserving of their place in the final; Higgins' eleventh and Clayton's tenth. While Clayton was busy decimating Matt Welliver, Lynne Higgins was not fussy over she was hitting as Redden, Ruffin, May and Banks were all targets before Higgins showed how on her game she was by avoiding a fast attack on her blindside.

A pair of short stalls and a war against Reggie Banks, who did manage to connect on her blindside, ended with Banks eliminated and Higgins stuck. She was able to quickly extricate herself and engage with Clayton who had swept through the pack eliminating Welliver, May, Murphy and Ruffin, taking on Higgins in between his devastating attacks. In the end though Higgins was able to connect with a massive shot to the rear of Clayton, earning her fourth heat victory.

Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
2. Charlie Clayton
3. Phillip Ruffin
4. Leo May
5. Reggie Banks
6. Randy Corson
7. Bob Alexander
8. Will Murphy
9. Matt Welliver
10. Jason Ingle
11. Timmy Barnes
12. Steven Redden

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals, Heat Two

Hickory Derby - Hickory, NC
Heat Two
Ed Smith, Bill Malbrough, Tommy Miller, Danny Krol, Scott Hutchins, Chris Henton, Billy Edgington, John McCrory, Bambi Rogers, Norm Gibson, Ricky Grimes, Ben Hadsell

Like the previous heat this one had a solid five minutes of action before anyone was eliminated with Bambi Rogers particularly rampant as she smashed into Norm Gibson three straight times; Grimes, Edgington, Krol, and Hutchins also joined the hunt.

But Gibson survived better than others as one of his attackers Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana Invitational) had his own problems with Hutchins, McCrory and Hadsell forcing him into barriers where, upon freeing himself, only found Rogers waiting for him.

Ben Hadsell (1st Frostbite, Tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Texas) was not so lucky as he remained embedded in the scenery that Tommy Miller pushed him into, and Bill Malbrough is running out of time if he is to reach a final this season. His latest attempt ending with him in tenth pace as Smith, Hutchins, and Gibson all rocked him twice each.

Billy Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) misses an eighth straight final since his lone qualification, Chris Henton and Danny Krol sealing his fate with four and two hits respectively, and Norm Gibson (1st Lobster Nationals, 1st Texas) was done in eighth place to make him miss back-to-back finals for the first time since he missed out on the opening ten rounds of the season. A blindside from Grimes really crippling his chances after all of the early attention from the pack.

Second in the standings Scott Hutchins will follow the title leader Lozier into the consolation heat after Miller provided the fifth hit against him while he was stalled, and he is joined by Ed Smith who also stalled after blindsiding Miller allowing his last victim and Rogers to finish him off in sixth. Bambi Rogers survived mere seconds after that, John McCrory winning the rabid war between the two of them by rolling her over, and then Tommy Miller lost his own heat-long battle against Danny Krol after five hits were exchanged between the pair.

Victory over Miller and ten hits delivered earned Danny Krol a place in his ninth final and fourth in six weeks. Rogers, Gibson and Smith were forced to ride his challenges before Krol chased down Billy Edgington with a smart one-two shot. Then after taking a second hit from Miller he turned his focus onto his rival before losing out in the final three.

John McCrory, heading towards his eleventh final and second in six, was on a mission as he showed no sign of letting up with massive hits to Grimes and Rogers, but this approach brought it's own share of problems as his engine stalled twice and required timely re-firings. After his brutal dispatch of Rogers McCrory turned his attention to Krol and took one last scalp before Chris Henton charged in to take the heat.

Winning his third heat of the year Chris Henton was all about demolishing Billy Edgington from the start. Four hits and a bad miss later he had one less opponent to worry about. Smith, McCrory and Miller became his next targets and all three would have a second visit from Henton as he swept through them all to reach his eighth straight final; thirteenth for the year.

Race Result
1. Chris Henton
2. John McCrory
3. Danny Krol
4. Tommy Miller
5. Bambi Rogers
6. Ed Smith
7. Scott Hutchins
8. Norm Gibson
9. Billy Edgington
10. Bill Malbrough
11. Ben Hadsell
12. Ricky Grimes

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals, Heat One

Hickory Nationals - Hickory, NC
Heat One
Darrell Andresen, Sam Harbin, Dick Garrett, Tom Gariepy, Will Thompson, Bobby Gallagher, Darryl Lozier, Jess Yates, John Ruiz, Randy Tondreau, Joe Ramage, Jamie Eilers

The first five minutes consisted of the kind of full-on action Controlled Chaos fans have come to expect as all twelve entrants went at it. Tom Gariepy was struck three times at the very start, John Ruiz was knocked seven times in the opening period, while Randy Tondreau (6th Tampa Open, 3rd Firecracker Open, 7th Alamo Derby) took four hits including a second bite from Andy Bing's stand-in Bobby Gallagher (8th Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Wisconsin Invitational) that took them both out of the running.

The punishment inflicted upon John Ruiz (9th Arizona Derby, 1st Ides of March, 8th Seattle Derby) saw him finished in a sandwich between Sam Harbin and Dick Garrett, and Jamie Eilers (1st Summer Sizzler, 1st Summer National Derby) misses out on a sixth final out of the last ten as he waged a war with Darrel Andresen that consisted of five collisions where Andresen got in the final word.

Dick Garrett (6th Ides, 7th Wisconsin, 5th Seattle) makes it fourteen weeks without a final appearance to his name, seven hits from the pack doing him in, but Sam Harbin progresses to the consolation heat after delivering five hits, including that one that finished Garrett, and escaping a tight squeeze with seconds to spare on his count-out.

Another entrant that moves on into the consolation heat is Tom Gariepy who was indiscriminately motoring through the pack with seven hits before a combination of hits from Harbin and Garrett crippled him enough that his final hit on Joe Ramage put an end to his own ambitions. Joining him and Harbin will be Jess Yates who battled hard with and defeating Ruiz, and Darryl Lozier who yet again must survive the second chance race in order to make it to the final. His path ended in a stall after Will Thompson wiped him out hard on a blindsider with the championship leader chasing down both Ramage and Yates.

After missing on his first attempt Darrell Andresen composed himself and struck seven cars nine times with Ramage and Harbin earning his wrath twice. His late battle with Will Thompson was too much and he places in third, meaning he qualifies for his twelfth final and first since making five in a row over a month ago.

Will Thompson had already found himself under constant harassment from Joe Ramage as he took four shots from him, three of which came late in the twelve minute heat after Thompson initiated things by blindsiding Ramage. Joe Ramage though was just unable to find enough and win the heat, but he survived a very long stall early on before going all-out on Thompson.

Will Thompson then takes his fifth heat victory and guarantees he will at least move above Andy Bing in the standings as he enters his twentieth final of the year and fourth in a row. A late stall and a mid-race miss could have proved costly, but he survived those problems and the head-to-head conflict against Andresen while he had Ramage hounding him throughout.

Race Result
1. Will Thompson
2. Joe Ramage
3. Darrell Andresen
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Jess Yates
6. Tom Gariepy
7. Sam Harbin
8. Dick Garrett
9. Jamie Eilers
10. John Ruiz
11. Bobby Gallagher
11. Randy Tondreau

Controlled Chaos - Hickory Nationals Preview

There are five more events until the top twenty drivers head to Indiana to compete for double points, and today the top seven drivers are separated by just thirty-eight points, with the next three competitors a further 16.5pts back. Rob Remaley is cleared to return to action next week, so Tommy Miller has one last chance to impress, and Andy Bing is out for the Hickory Nationals with a minor leg injury; he will also return next time out but four-time finalist Bobby Gallagher will fill in here.

The first heat is stacked with talent as five of the top eight feature with Darryl Lozier looking to improve upon his recent form against Will Thompson who has made three straight finals, Tom Gariepy who has won to of the last seven, Joe Ramage who has a single points-scoring appearance in the last six weeks when he won the Bryan Family Open, and Jamie Eilers who after winnig back-to-back rounds has qualified for five out of eleven.

After winning out last week and reaching second in the standings Scott Hutchins will go in heat two, the Bluegrass Derby champion going head-to-head with Norm Gibson who has twelve finals in the last sixteen weeks, and Chris Henton who took runner-up spot last week as part of his seven consecutive weeks of appearances.