Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Standings

The top trio in the standings remain static as only Joe Ramage qualified for the final in Cincinnati, just one of three drivers in the top ten to do so, but all could manage was a pointless eleventh place. Andy Bing, celebrating his third event win this season, moves up three spots into fourth, just five points back of third place Ramage and 39.5pts back of leader Darryl Lozier.

John McCrory's finish in runner-up spot for his second podium finish this year bumps him up the table, and Norm Gibson, claiming his seventh podium and second third place finish in three weeks, keeps hold of sixth position by virtue of leaping past Tom Gariepy.

Name	Pts	Derby Wins	Heat Wins
Darryl Lozier	155.5	4	4
Will Thompson	127.5	1	3
Joe Ramage	121	2	1
Andy Bing	116	3	3
Scott Hutchens	113	1	3
Norm Gibson	108.5	2	1
Tom Gariepy	105.5	2
Jamie Eilers	96	2	2
Will Murphy	94		2
Ben Hadsell	83.5	1	4
Chris Henton	71	1	1
Leo May	70		3
Steven Redden	57.5		1
John McCrory	57.5		1
Lynne Higgins	54		3
Darrell Andresen	52		6
Rob Remaley	45.5		2
Ricky Grimes	44	1	2
Matt Welliver	41.5	1	3
Sam Harbin	35		1
Danny Krol	31		3
Jess Yates	30		2
John Ruiz	29	1	2
Randy Corson	28		2
Bobby Gallagher	27		2
Charlie Clayton	27		2
Dick Garrett	27		1
Don Davis	25		2
Bob Alexander	22		2
Randy Tondreau	22		1
Reggie Banks	21	1
Jason Ingle	20.5		2
Timmy Barnes	11		1
Ed Smith	6		1
Philip Ruffin	5
Bambi Rogers	5
Kenny Rose	2		1
Billy Edgington	2
Tommy Miller	0

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Final

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Final
Chris Henton, Charlie Clayton, Norm Gibson, Sam Harbin, Andy Bing, Danny Krol, Lynne Higgins, Matt Welliver, John McCrory, Joe Ramage, Reggie Banks, Ed Smith

The opening three minutes of blindsides, stalls, and a duel-crusade on Chris Henton all ended in a crescendo of five eliminations, starting with Danny Krol (8th Valentine's Day Massacre, 4th Jersey Derby, 3rd Summer Sizzler) who took just a single hit from Joe Ramage, followed up by two ill-conceived shots of his own on Harbin and Ramage to end his final early.

That sequence played it's part though as Joe Ramage (1st VDM, 1st Bryan Family Open) finished pointless for the second time in his nine finals as the one shot from Krol did the lion's share of damage while Harbin played his part again by riding a hit from Ramage, knocking the attacker out of proceedings.

Reggie Banks (1st Firecracker Open, 11th Alamo Derby) takes home a point after missing his intended victim, smashing his vehicle in to the wall. His demise started when Krol, before he made some rash misjudgments, caught Banks on the blindside and pushed him off kilter for his attack run.

The winner of the Spring Fling Derby Chris Henton (2nd Arkansas Derby, 2nd Bryan, 4th Alamo) was relentlessly pursued by both Lynne Higgins and Matt Welliver who struck him five times between them, the latter with three shots, and then Higgins (5th Arizona, 5th VDM, 4th Arkansas) had her turn as victim with Andy Bing leading the charge with two hits.

Ed Smith (11th Texas Nationals) picks up four points for finishing seventh place, adding to the two points he picked up back in Dallas where he won his heat, and he nearly came away with nothing due to a lengthy stall he suffered against the wall he careened into at the very start of the final. The sharks soon descended upon him once he had re-fired though, eliminating him just prior to Charlie Clayton's (7th Frostbite, 5th Texas, 8th Louisiana Invitational) exit at the hands of Welliver and McCrory who sandwiched him with Clayton looking pretty sharp after five hits on four cars.

After seven finals Sam Harbin (2nd Arizona, 6th Spring Fling, 6th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) picks up his second top five finish of the season. Starting out with a near miss, then a blindside hit on Higgins, Harbin went on to play his part in the early dismissals of Krol and Ramage before going at Norm Gibson twice, then Andy Bing three times; the last of the hits damaging his own car beyond repair after Matt Welliver forced him into the hit at an awkward angle.

In his first final since winning the SidelineStrategy.com Derby, picking up points for just the fourth time in eight finals, Matt Welliver (6th Big Apple Smash Up, tied-7th Texas) powers his way to fourth place with ten hits credited to him. A hat-trick on Henton at the very beginning of the final led into a free-for-all approach as he struck Smith, Harbin, Bing, Clayton, and Gibson once each. With Bing and Gibson hassling him, he ended his jaunt by double-tapping John McCrory before his car finally gave up the ghost.

Norm Gibson (tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Louisiana) earns his seventh podium finish in his tenth final appearance, all of which have come in the past thirteen rounds. Stalling at the start he quickly re-fired only to slam into a barrier and remain there while Sam Harbin hammered him mercilessly. It was this attack that freed Gibson back into the wild where, after striking Clayton, stalled again briefly before finally engaging Bing and Welliver. He took eight shots throughout the final with the finishing blows coming courtesy of McCrory who made contact three times in a row.

John McCrory's (3rd Seattle Derby, 5th Indy, tied-4th SidelineStrategy.com Derby) assault on one of his two remaining opponents held him in little stead for the win as Bing took advantage of his obsession and hammered him into submission. It was a hit on Andy Bing that began McCrory's tenth final of the year, moving on to Banks before torturing Clayton with a trio of hits to help him on his way out. Sam Harbin took one shot, and then it was the turn of Gibson before McCrory turned into a third hit from the event winner.

After winning out in both Idaho Invitational and Indy Nationals Andy Bing (2nd Seattle, 4th Summer National, 2nd Firecracker Open) celebrates his third first placed result after gaining twenty-four points in the previous nine rounds, including three scoreless appearances. A quick shot on McCrory and then Bing was onto Lynne Higgins, striking her either side of a very short stall, before warring with Welliver and taking down his final opponent with another brief engine stoppage in between not harming his cause of moving up the table to fourth.

Race Result
1. Andy Bing
2. John McCrory
3. Norm Gibson
4. Matt Wellliver
5. Sam Harbin
6. Charlie Clayton
7. Ed Smith
8. Lynne Higgins
9. Chris Henton
10. Reggie Banks
11. Joe Ramage
12. Danny Krol

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Consolation Heat

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Consolation Heat
John Ruiz, Leo May, Bambi Rogers, Ed Smith, Joe Ramage, Steven Redden, Bob Alexander, Ben Hadsell, Dick Garrett, Will Murphy, Chris Henton, Randy Tondreau

Continuing his descent down the standings John Ruiz (9th Arizona Derby, 1st Ides of March, 8th Seattle Derby) has qualified for just one final out of the last thirteen, his appearance at the Bryan Family Open resulting in a pointless twelfth position. Obviously a big target as his elimination happened in quick order with nine hits against in less than three minutes.

Ben Hadsell (1st Frostbite, tied-2nd Summer National Derby, 2nd Texas Nationals) misses a fifth final out of the last seven after stalling out, and Bambi Rogers (6th Arkansas, 11th Bryan) is absent for a second straight week, this after qualifying for the first two times in back-to-back attempts, when Leo May had his revenge for a blindside hit by Rogers seconds before.

Nine-time finalist Steven Redden (tied-2nd Valentine's Day Massacre, 3rd Indy Nationals) misses out on a sixth straight appearance as another who successfully blindsided May, but it was that surprise hit which resulted in a stall-out, and Will Murphy, who had two finals (6th Firecracker Open, 5th Alamo Derby) in the last four weeks after the four-time podium finisher missed six in a row, became trapped in the barriers where he would remain.

The sneak attacks on Leo May (4th Wisconsin Invitational, 4th Idaho Invitational, 2nd Indy) weakened him enough that both Chris Henton and Randy Tondreau spotted his difficulty and combined their efforts to eliminate their opponent, and then Tondreau (6th Tampa Open, 3rd 3rd Firecracker, 7th Alamo) had no time to react to Henton's attack as the latter man quickly turned on his temporary accomplice.

Dick Garrett (6th Ides of March, 7th Wisconsin, 5th Seattle) has one final appearance (7th Indy) in the last fourteen rounds, this after he barely re-fired from a very long stall early on before Bob Alexander took no prisoners in his triple-attack on the fifth place man, but it was for naught as Alexander (6th Arizona, 3rd Lobster, 9th Texas) had Joe Ramage come around for a second attack of the heat, finishing him off.

Ed Smith qualifies for his second final of the season, a late stall not enough to stop him, as he strikes six different opponents, also extracting himself from an early encounter into the barriers.

Joe Ramage, entering his ninth final and second in three weeks, was more focused in his attacks as he struck Ruiz and Alexander twice each, Henton and Rogers suffering his wrath just the once. Also embedding himself into a sticky position, Ramage did miss a target but, like Smith, was able to free himself swiftly.

Finally, Chris Henton, made it a complete set of finalists who survived encounters with the track scenery when Garrett shunted him firmly into place. Henton's fortune came when Alexander was finished off as time was running down on his being counted out. Tondreau took two shots from him, four others just the one, and Henton himself, entering his ninth final and a season-high fourth in a row, took six good shots.

Race Result
Q. Ed Smith
Q. Joe Ramage
Q. Chris Henton
4. Bob Alexander
5. Dick Garrett
6. Randy Tondreau
7. Leo May
8. Will Murphy
9. Steven Redden
10. Bambi Rogers
11. Ben Hadsell
12. John Ruiz

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat Three

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat Three
Scott Hutchins, Ricky Grimes, Steven Redden, Joe Ramage, Lynne Higgins, Norm Gibson, Jamie Eilers, Bambi Rogers, Jason Ingle, Billy Edgington, Ed Smith, Matt Welliver

Scott Hutchins (1st Seattle Derby, 2nd Big Apple Smash Up, 2nd Lobster Nationals) sits 42.5pts behind championship leader Darryl Lozier, losing ground as a result of his failure to qualify for six of the past eight finals, and extends that poor run again by striking Steven Redden to earn the fifth disqualification of the week.

Stalling out Jamie Eilers (2nd Frostbite, 2nd Ides of March) misses his fifth out of the last eight finals as the double-event winner at the Summer Sizzler and Summer National Derby events was shunted by Norm Gibson, leaving his opponent helpless, and Jason Ingle (tied-5th Lobster, 7th Louisiana Invitational) received a DQ from race officials after they noticed a loose fuel tank.

Ricky Grimes (3rd Jersey Derby, 3rd Texas Nationals, 1st Louisiana) had a nightmare heat that started with a hit on his blindside by Redden, followed by a disastrous miss that propelled him into the wall where he waited for Joe Ramage to put him out of his misery, and Billy Edgington (9th Firecracker Open) blindsided Bambi Rogers to take himself out, seconds away from a place in the consolation heat, after suffering five hits from the pack.

Joe Ramage, blindsided by Gibson and finished off by Redden; Ed Smith, stalling out while taking five shots; Steven Redden, disqualified for a hit on Lynne Higgins; and Bambi Rogers, missing her target and crashing out after looking dangerous with six hits, all make it through to the consolation heat.

Norm Gibson has not missed more than a single final at a time since his debut at the Big Apple Smash Up, the eleventh event of the season, where he finished seventh. Since then a steady stream of six podiums, two of them wins, have shot him up the rankings into sixth place where, he hopes, he can continue his rise in his tenth final. Taking seven hits, three of them coming from Higgins, Gibson delivered eight shots of his own, two of those revenge attacks on Higgins, on his way to finishing third.

Lynne Higgins, entering her eighth final this year and third in the last four weeks, battled at the end with Matt Welliver who will also feature in his eighth final but first in five. Higgins started looking bright, avoiding a blindside assault before engaging with the pack, sprinkling hits onto Gibson in between contact with other opponents. Welliver suffered a brief stall midway through the eleven minute heat but, after helping to dismantle Rogers, went all out with three quick hits against Higgins who was unable to mount a response. However, the final hit from Welliver resulted in a dead heat, both drivers sharing a point for the heat victory, taking them up to three heat wins each.

Race Result
1. Lynne Higgins
1. Matt Welliver
3. Norm Gibson
4. Bambi Rogers
5. Steven Redden
6. Ed Smith
7. Joe Ramage
8. Billy Edgington
9. Ricky Grimes
10. Jason Ingle
11. Jamie Eilers
12. Scott Hutchins

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat Two

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat Two
John Ruiz, Leo May, Andy Bing, Bill Malbrough, Sam Harbin, Tommy Miller, John McCrory, Timmy Barnes, Dick Garrett, Will Thompson, Phillip Ruffin, Ben Hadsell

A rough and ready heat started with Phillip Ruffin (9th Ides of March, 8th Big Apple Smash Up) immediately being escorted away when his car caught on fire, and the last remaining competitor without a final appearance Bill Malbrough was next out, but not until the five minute mark, when he missed his first target and was unable to free himself from the barriers.

Timmy Barnes (12th Spring Fling Derby, 4th Smash Up) stalled out in tenth place after he was blindsided by Dick Garrett, and Will Thompson (1st Arizana Derby, 2nd Summer Sizzler, 2nd Bryan Family Open) misses out on a big chance to take advantage of Darryl Lozier's failure to get out of the first heat as his poor choiceon hitting Tommy Miller in a vulnerable spot resulted in the first of seven disqualifications in Cincinnati.

Tommy Miller (13th Bryan) then did exactly what was done to him less than a minute beforehand, John McCrory suffering the shot to his driver's side door, and this allows John Ruiz to move on into the consolation heat. Despite attacking Leo May three times, Ruiz was evicted in seventh place by a combination of May and Andy Bing who had also suffered a shot from Ruiz.

Ben Hadsell had set up Ruiz for his eventual downfall by hitting him twice, but his main focus was on temporary partner against Ruiz, Dick Garrett, hitting him three times as the pair of them went back and forth with Garrett coming out of it in motion.

Leo May and Dick Garrett, however, both miss out on a top three finish. May, leading the field with eight hits, going through Harbin twice before turning on Bing in an overly eager fashion that resulted in a DQ, and Garrett slowing to an eventual halt after his war with Hadsell.

Andy Bing, entering his thirteenth final, was another creature of habit as he attacked Bill Malbrough and John Ruiz twice each, and striking Sam Harbin three times as they dueled in the closing stages.

Even with just six hits to his credit John McCrory had his head on a swivel on his way to a runner-up spot and ninth final this year with five of them coming in the past six weeks, avoiding two attacks in quick succession as Tommy Miller was all over him like a rash, but suffered from the same rush of blood to the head as several before him as, with one hit on Harbin a success McCrory turned to go at him again only to catch him awkwardly and earn a disqualification.

Sam Harbin, winning his first ever heat on his way to a seventh final and just his second appearance in twelve events, was also very alert in avoiding two attempts to hit him from Miller. He struck five cars, Andy Bing's three times, and, if not for McCrory's rash challenge, might well have finished in second place as he was stalled at the time.

Race Result
1. Sam Harbin
2. John McCrory
3. Andy Bing
4. Dick Garrett
5. Leo May
6. Ben Hadsell
7. John Ruiz
8. Tommy Miller
9. Will Thompson
10. Timmy Barnes
11. Bill Malbrough
12. Phillip Ruffin

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby, Heat One

The Ohio Derby - Cincinnati, OH
Heat One
Jess Yates, Charlie Clayton, Darryl Lozier, Will Murphy, Danny Krol, Randy Corson, Chris Henton, Reggie Banks, Tom Gariepy, Darrell Andresen, Bob Alexander, Randy Tondreau

Randy Corson (5th Frostbite, 5th Tampa Open, 6th Alamo Derby) struck Chris Henton twice, Andresen and Yates once each, before the five hits against him took their toll, and, despit currently sitting fifth in the standings, Tom Gariepy (1st Wisconsin Invitational, 1st Arkansas Derby) is still without back-to-back final appearances with his hit on Corson his only real contribution before he stalled out.

Jess Yates (7th Jersey Derby, 4th Summer Sizzler, 3rd Alamo Derby) sabotaged his own cause early on when he missed his target and crunched into the wall before the pack took him apart, and four-time event winner and championship leader Darryl Lozier gives the rest of the field hope again by missing out on a sixth final this year, his third absence in seven week. While spreading the pain around with five hits on as many opponents Lozier took some very heavy hits in reply, two of which came from  Reggie Banks, and he ends his heat in ninth place.

The streak ends at five finals in a row for Darrell Andresen (4th Indy Nationals, 5th Firecracker Open, 5th Arkansas Derby), his vehicle not holding up to the nine points on contact it participated in, six of which were initiated by Andresen himself, but his loss is Bob Alexander's gain as he creeps into the consolation heat after he and Randy Tondreau took each other out in a brutal battle. Alexander took it to his rival three times while Tondreau came back with a vicious hit on the blindside in between stalling and assaulting Lozier and Clayton with two hits on each.

Will Murphy survived until the eighth hit against him as he tried to take out both Clayton and Banks with a pair of shots on both, the pack descending upon him rapidly at the end with Clayton leading the charge on two hits, and Chris Henton just misses out on an automatic place in the final as Danny Krol finishes the job started by blindside hits from Murphy and Alexander.

Starting out with a stall and then a bad miss that catapulted him into a barrier, Danny Krol then takes his frustration out on five opponents with seven shots finding their mark; Clayton and Murphy taking two. It's back-to-back appearances for Krol after missing five straight and he now makes his way into a seventh final this season.

Reggie Banks was battered in the first half of the ten minute heat as five of the seven hits on him were in the opening four minutes. Surviving that pressure Banks helped get Lozier out of the way with two hits, the latter causing a brief stall, and then battling with Clayton for the heat victory on his way to a third final of the year; all of them coming in the last five weeks.

Charlie Clayton moves above the Firecracker Open champion Banks for the time being after earning his second heat victory this season. Stalling at the start Clayton re-fired and went on to bounce through the pack before settling on Will Murphy, hitting him thrice and badly missing on a fourth attempt. His car was obviously well prepared as his excursion into the wall added to the nine hits he had to take, Murphy, Krol, Banks and Tondreau all coming back for a second shot, but resilience was the word of the day for Clayton who makes it eight finals on the year.

Race Result
1. Charlie Clayton
2. Reggie Banks
3. Danny Krol
4. Chris Henton
5. Will Murphy
6. Randy Tondreau
7. Bob Alexander
8. Darrell Andresen
9. Darryl Lozier
10. Jess Yates
11. Tom Gariepy
12. Randy Corson

Controlled Chaos - The Ohio Derby Preview

Kenny Rose steps aside as Steven Redden returns from injury, slotting into third heat, but Rob Remaley is still missing for the next six weeks.

Winner of the Alamo Derby Darryl Lozier goes in heat one along with his final opponent of last week: Tom Gariepy. The pair have six event wins between them, and their closest rival in the heat is Will Murphy who, in just his second final in ten weeks, took fifth place in San Antonio.

Will Thompson, missing two of the last three finals, looks to get back at championship leader Lozier as he goes in heat two along with Andy Bing, who has missed out on four of the last seven finals, with two of his appearances yielding no points, and Ben Hadsell who remains inside the top ten but has only two finals in the past six weeks.

Heat three. Joe Ramage and Scott Hutchins, third and fourth in the standings respectively and separated by just eight points, have Jamie Eilers for company. Eilers missed out on the final last week but the two-time event winner had back-to-back appearances in the fortnight before.