Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler Standings

Darryl Lozier's lead remains strong despite missing just his third final all year, and Will Thompson's runner-up spot propels him to tie for second place along with Scott Hutchins who could only manage eighth in Memphis. Summer Sizzler champion Jamie Eilers proves that quality rather than quantity can earn it's own rewards with just five finals to his name but three of them ending no worse than second place.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	111.5	3	2
Will Thompson	91	1	3
Scott Hutchens	91	1	2
Joe Ramage	84	1
Will Murphy	81		2
Tom Gariepy	70.5	1
Andy Bing	67	2
Leo May	59		3
Jamie Eilers	57	1	1
Steven Redden	49.5		1
Ben Hadsell	45	1	3
Lynne Higgins	38		1
Rob Remaley	34		1
John Ruiz	29	1	2
Chris Henton	28	1	1
Danny Krol	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Norm Gibson	25	1
Bobby Gallagher	25		1
Darrell Andresen	24		3
Randy Corson	23		2
Don Davis	23		2
Bob Alexander	20		2
Jess Yates	20		2
Sam Harbin	20
John McCrory	20
Timmy Barnes	11		1
Ricky Grimes	10
Jason Ingle	8.5
Matt Welliver	8		2
Randy Tondreau	6
Charlie Clayton	5
Philip Ruffin	5
Kenny Rose	0

Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler Final

Summer Sizzler - Memphis, TN
Final
Ben Hadsell, Scott Hutchins, Jess Yates, Chris Henton, Don Davis, Matt Welliver, Danny Krol, Jamie Eilers, Steven Redden, Lynne Higgins, Andy Bing, Will Thompson

The fourteenth final of the season began with a disqualification for Matt Welliver who ends his sixth final of the year with a bad hit on Danny Krol, and Andy Bing also leaves without a point to his name for an eleventh place finish, his worst result since he finished twelfth in both the Arizona Derby and Tampa Open at the start of the season.

With the pack starting to thin Chris Henton suddenly became a popular target with Hutchins, Yates and Redden all making their presence felt before Frostbite Winter Nationals victor Ben Hadsell, in his sixth final, fell by the wayside after surviving a tough stall and having Will Thompson clobber him.

This started a sequence of seven quick eliminations and, with championship leader Darryl Lozier not competing, it was a missed opportunity for Seattle Derby winner Scott Hutchins to only come away with three points in his eighth final, all of them coming in the past nine events.

Alternate driver Don Davis (12th Valentine's Day Massacre, 2nd Jersey Derby) ends in seventh place to move up a few places in the standings, taking four late hits from the remaining pack, and Steven Redden takes his third sixth place finish of the year (Frostbite, Wisconsin) after he lost a battle with Lynne Higgins.

Higgins is able to finish in the top five for a fourth time this season, her sixth final of the year almost coming to an end most prematurely with a stall at the very start, but she was able to re-fire and suffer just four hits against as she struck Bing, Redden and Hutchins once each.

Jess Yates, whose previous final results were eighth in Arizona and seventh in Jersey, takes a good fourth place finish and was only stopped by the return of Will Thompson who came back for more after as early hit to leave three competitors, Thompson the only one to have won an event before (Arizona) but Jamie Eilers was the bridesmaid twice before, leaving Danny Krol with his best result of the season after a fourth place at the Big Apple Smash Up.

Krol hit six different opponents while taking four against, the shot on his blindside by Jamie Eilers proving fatal, and that left both Eilers and Thompson in a real fight to the finish. Thompson though would shoot up to tie Scott Hutchins for second in the standings with his second podium of the year. Winner in Arizona Thompson finished in the top five in four of the first five events but would only equal this feat once (5th Big Apple Smash Up) before today.

This means Jamie Eilers takes his debut victory, the eleventh different driver to win out this season, and rocket up into the top ten. His first two qualifications of the season at Frostbite and Ides of March resulted in him finishing second place both times. He then finished seventh at the Idaho Invitational before a ninth place result at the Big Apple Smash Up. His fifth final of the year, almost going pear shaped after his war on Scott Hutchins when he missed his next target, came to a positive end thanks to his three big hits on Will Thompson at the end.

Race Result
1. Jamie Eilers
2. Will Thompson
3. Danny Krol
4. Chris Henton
5. Lynne Higgins
6. Steven Redden
7. Don Davis
8. Scott Hutchins
9. Ben Hadsell
10. Chris Henton
11. Andy Bing
12. Matt Welliver

Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler, Consolation Heat

Summer Sizzler - Memphis, TN
Consolation Heat
Darrell Andresen, Timmy Barnes, Reggie Banks, Bambi Rogers, Dick Garrett, John Ruiz, Randy Tondreau, Chris Henton, Jason Ingle, Darryl Lozier, Lynne Higgins, Andy Bing

It took barely seven minutes for the consolation heat to reach it's conclusion with Reggie Banks and John Ruiz the first to be eliminated at the three minute mark. Banks' hit on Bambi Rogers proving to be a bad call as he finished the job on himself that was started by Chris Henton, and the poor form of John Ruiz continues with a fourth straight event without an appearance in the final; Randy Tondreau and Darryl Lozier making him the filling of a Canadian sandwich.

Darrell Andresen fails to make it three finals in a row after his eighth and fourth place finishes in the Lobster and Indy Nationals respectively, but it was a surprise he lasted as long as he did with seven hits against him, three of them coming from Rogers and Bing each.

Jason Ingle (tied-5th Lobster) misses out on a fifth final in eight events after reaching one (12th Frostbite) in his first six, his avoidance skills lasting a few minutes before Timmy Barnes, Henton and Lynne Higgins all caught onto his game and teamed up to destroy his chances. He is joined on the sidelines by seventh place Darryl Lozier, the eleven-time finalist and winner of three (Tampa Open, Jersey Derby, Big Apple Smash Up) misses his first final since the Wisconsin Invitational eight weeks ago, despite coming into the second chance heat well prepared, with the aforementioned Ingle hitting him twice along with Darrell Andresen.

Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Big Apple Smash Up) became stuck on the scenery just before the finale of the heat where Dick Garrett (5th Seattle Derby) missed out on his sixth final and the chance for a fifth top seven finish, and Bambi Rogers was seconds away from her final debut; her rampages over Andresen then Garrett ending at the hands of Andy Bing who struck her while stalled.

Chris Henton makes it to his first final since reaching three in a row (18th Idaho Invitational, 8th Seattle, 10th Jersey) but it nearly didn't happen when he was struck down by a lengthy stall while battling it out with Garrett. He will be joined by Lynne Higgins who, in her sixth final and first in six events, will be looking to add to her top five record (Arizona Derby, Valentine's Day Massacre, Spring Fling), and Andy Bing who has finished no worse than second in his last three events, winning both the Idaho Invitational and Indy Nationals.

Race Result
Q. Chris Henton
Q. Lynne Higgins
Q. Andy Bing
4. Bambi Rogers
5. Dick Garrett
6. Timmy Barnes
7. Darryl Lozier
8. Jason Ingle
9. Darrell Andresen
10. Randy Tondreau
11. John Ruiz
12. Reggie Banks

Controleld Chaos - Summer Sizzler, Heat Three

Summer Sizzler - Memphis, TN
Heat Three
Jess Yates, Dick Garrett, Phillip Ruffin, Ricky Grimes, Ben Hadsell, Leo May, Sam Harbin, Randy Tondreau, John Ruiz, Rob Remaley, Scott Hutchins, Darrell Andresen

Five-time finalist and runner-up way back at the Arizona Derby Sam Harbin had a short run today as he was blindsided by Randy Tondreau at the very start. The heat was halted so medics could attend to Harbin and looks certain to miss some time through injury.

Rob Remaley (3rd Ides of March, 4th Seattle Derby) misses out on an eighth final with six hits taking their toll on him, five of which coming in the opening minute as he was bounced around by the pack, and his dismissal is quickly followed by the elimination of Phillip Ruffin (9th Ides, 8th Big Apple Smash Up) after his collisions with five other vehicles, four of which were initiated by Ruffinbefore his finla hit on Dick Garrett resulted in a disqualification.

Runner-up at the recent Indy Nationals, Leo May (4th Wisconsin Invitational, 4th Idaho Invitational) misses out on an eighth final through fourteen events with a similar story to Ruffin's, and he will watch the rest of the event along with Ricky Grimes (11th Spring Fling Derby, 3rd Jersey Derby) who missed two targets in quick succession, propelling him into the barriers.

Six-time finalist Darrell Andresen, who finished a season best fourth at Speedway last week, also missed a pair of targets but survived to continue long enough for qualification into the consolation heat along with Dick Garrett who is seeking back-to-back finals for the third time this year. Garrett re-fired an early stall and went for Andresen in a big way with three hits while Jess Yates tailed him for two minutes, inflicting his own damage on the sixth place finisher.

Ides of March winner and five-time finalist John Ruiz enters the second chance race after missing three straight finals, his dismissal coming courtesy of two blindside hits by Scott Hutchins before a triple-shot by Yates, Garrett and Ben Hadsell eventually slowed him to a halt, and Randy Tondreau (6th Tampa Open) looks to improve with just three final appearances this year but not before leaving his mark on Hadsell who took a pair of big hits on his blindside.

Ben Hadsell would not last much longer, the Frostbite Winter Nationals champion reaching his sixth final of the year, Yates finishing off what Tondreau and Leo May had started with their blindside hits, and Scott Hutchins makes it seven finals in a row, the man second in the championship standings missing out on two points thanks to a late stall.

That leaves Jess Yates (8th Arizona, 7th Jersey) taking his second heat win this season, mowing through Remaley and Garrett before sneaking around the arena to avoid a lot of trouble and picking his spots carefully.

Race Result
1. Jess Yates
2. Scott Hutchins
3. Ben Hadsell
4. Randy Tondreau
5. John Ruiz
6. Dick Garrett
7. Darrell Andresen
8. Ricky Grimes
9. Leo May
10. Phillip Ruffin
11. Rob Remaley
12. Sam Harbin

Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler, Heat Two

Summer Sizzler - Memphis, TN
Heat Two
John McCrory, Danny Krol, Matt Welliver, Joe Ramage, Bill Malbrough, Chris Henton, Reggie Banks, Billy Edgington, Timmy Barnes, Bambi Rogers, Tom Gariepy, Jamie Eilers,

With four of the remaining six drivers who have yet to feature in an event final it was surely a safe bet that one of them could make it this time. Right? The first of this exclusive group, Ed Smith who finished last in the opening heat and Tommy Miller the other two, was out in another long start to the race as Billy Edgington was finally put down at the eight minute mark when Bambi Rogers and Tom Gariepy sandwiched him.

This started a chain where twelve became three in the space of just two minutes, and next to go was John McCrory (3rd Spring Fling, 5th Indy) as the four-time finalist took nine hits, five of them coming when he was trapped against the wall.

Joe Ramage's return from injury was short lived when the Valentine's Day Massacre winner and three-time runner-up lost in a long battle with Bill Malbrough, and fellow title contender Tom Gariepy was right behind him when he initiated contact with Timmy Barnes for his ninth delivered hit of the day and the man who finished runner-up behind Ramage at VDM before going on to win the Wisconsin Invitationaldeflected himself straight into the path of Bambi Rogers going full speed for a crunching hit.

Bill Malbrough is the second of the final-less group to be eliminated as he finishes in the unlucky spot of eighth thanks to an ill-timed hit on Danny Krol that took the Canadian out instead, leaving Bambi Rogers to claim seventh place and move on into the consolation heat. After taking two early hits from Ramage, Rogers was able to evade a lot of traffic until Jamie Eilers delivered a fatal blow to her vehicle.

Timmy Barnes also qualified for the second chance after he finished the heat in sixth place, a lengthy stall was re-fired but his joy was short lived as a foursome of drivers all had him lined up for a brutal finish, and Spring Fling Derby champion Chris Henton lives to fight another heat after losing a head-to-head with Matt Welliver. The final consolation heat qualifier is the fourth non-finalist Reggie Banks who managed to free himself from a tough spot in the very early stages before he bounced from Henton to Eilers for his elimination.

That left two-time runner-up Jamie Eilers (Frostbite, Ides of March) battling it out for the heat win with Danny Krol and Matt Welliver who reach their fourth and fifth finals receptively. Eilers makes it to a fifth final by delivering nine hits, three on Banks and a pair on McCrory, while suffering six against; the final blow coming from Matt Welliver who had charged at Eilers earlier in the heat.

With Danny Krol stalled, Matt Welliver turned to face the opponent who had badgered him on and off for the best part of ten minutes and charged. Krol re-fired just in time to engage and the crowd roared when they smashed into each other for the finale. The officials determined that the heat was a draw, giving both men their second heat wins of the season.

Race Result
1. Matt Welliver
1. Danny Krol
3. Jamie Eilers
4. Reggie Banks
5. Chris Henton
6. Timmy Barnes
7. Bambi Rogers
8. Bill Malbrough
9. Tom Gariepy
10. Joe Ramage
11. John McCrory
12. Billy Edgington

Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler, Heat One

Summer Sizzler - Memphis, TN
Heat One
Bob Alexander, Charlie Clayton, Lynne Higgins, Steven Redden, Andy Bing, Darryl Lozier, Will Thompson, Randy Corson, Don Davis, Norm Gibson, Ed Smith, Jason Ingle

The first elimination came quickly when Ed Smith made contact with both Don Davis and Darryl Lozier before Norm Gibson crushed him against the barriers, and five-time finalist Randy Corson was not too far behind when he stalled out after he collided with Gibson.

It was the Lobster Nationals champion Norm Gibson who left in tenth place, but not until the nine minute mark of a sixteen minute heat. Gibson was denied a fourth straight final but his race was an eventful one with a short stall, a brief stop on the barrier, and eight hits against him, two of them coming off Steven Redden.

Quickly after that Bob Alexander (3rd Lobster) was taken out by Jason Ingle having the final say in their battle, but not before the three-time finalist laid on eight hits of his own with Lynne Higgins, Don Davis and Ingle all suffering twice. Charlie Clayton (7th Frostbite) took three shots from Alexander to help the three-time finalist barely miss out on the consolation heat despite re-firing a very long stall.

Andy Bing was hit nine times, becoming  locked up at the bumper with Lozier before Redden laid his fourth hit of the day on Bing to free the drivers and send the double event winner into the second chance race. Championship leader Darryl Lozier will make a rare appearance in the consolation heat after coming out second best on multiple contacts with Will Thompson, and Jason Ingle became a popular guy towards the end to finish his heat in fifth place just behind Lynne Higgins who survived a stall only to become Steven Redden's favourite new target.

Will Thompson becomes the second driver to reach eleven finals (Lozier) and he reaches his fourth in a row by mowing through Randy Corson early on, his first of eight targets in the heat, before ending up in a stall, and Steven Redden makes it seven finals on the year with his first back-to-back qualifications. Redden was relentless against both Bing and Higgins before finishing off Thompson. This, and multiple hits from his remaining opponent, led to a stall of his own where he could only wait for the final blow.

It came courtesy of Don Davis as the replacement driver for Will Murphy claimed his second heat victory of the season to qualify for his third final. Suffering multiple stalls Davis rode both his luck and some late challenges from Thompson to survive until the end and lay a hat-trick on Redden for the result.

Race Result
1. Don Davis
2. Steven Redden
3. Will Thompson
4. Lynne Higgins
5. Jason Ingle
6. Darryl Lozier
7. Andy Bing
8. Charlie Clayton
9. Bob Alexander
10. Norm Gibson
11. Randy Corson
12. Ed Smith

Controlled Chaos - Summer Sizzler Preview

The fine financial line Will Murphy was walking became clear after he failed to qualify for the final, finishing seventh in the consolation heat, as he seeks out an improved sponsorship deal despite missing just five finals all season.

Joining Darryl Lozier in the first heat of the Summer Sizzler is Indy Nationals champion Andy Bing, who is seventh in the standings, fifth place Will Thompson, and ninth place Steven Redden who took third spot at Speedway; Norm Gibson, who won the Lobster Nationals recently and has qualified for three straight finals, also makes his appearance in the event opener.

The second heat features the return of Joe Ramage from his injury as he battles with Tom Gariepy, leaving Scott Hutchins, looking to close that 23.5 point gap at the top, going in the third and final heat against eighth place Leo May, who finished runner-up at the Indy Nationals, and tenth place man Ben Hadsell who is looking to regain his early season form where he won the Frostbite Winter Nationals and finished third in Tampa.