Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin Invitational Standings

Will Thompson continues to lead the standings despite missing his second final in three events, and Tom Gariepy and Joe Ramage shoot up twelve and four places respectively after finishing first and second at the first invitational of the season. Darryl Lozier, Will Murphy and Ben Hadsell were all absent from the Wisconsin final and lose two places each.

Bobby Gallagher's third place moves him up just outside the top ten while fourth place Leo May, fifth place Scott Hutchins and sixth place Steven Redden move up into that top group.

Name	Pts
Will Thompson	55
Joe Ramage	54
Tom Gariepy	52
Darryl Lozier	46
Will Murphy	35
Ben Hadsell	33
Leo May	31
Jamie Eilers	31
Steven Redden	31
Scott Hutchens	30
Bobby Gallagher	25
John Ruiz	23
Rob Remaley	19
Randy Corson	18
Lynne Higgins	17
Sam Harbin	15
Dick Garrett	13
Darrell Andresen	10
Andy Bing	10
Bob Alexander	8
Randy Tondreau	5
Danny Krol	5
Charlie Clayton	4
Jess Yates	3
Don Davis	2
John McCrory	2
Philip Ruffin	2

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin Invitational Final

Wisconsin Invitational - Green Bay, WI
Final
Leo May, Tom Gariepy, Bobby Gallagher, Andy Bing, Dick Garrett, Steven Redden, Scott Hutchins, Jow Ramage

Several drivers and their teams found it difficult to be prepared for the first invitational final as three drivers would stall out and Steven Redden would barely re-fire his engine after failing to get away at the start. Andy Bing was the first among this select group to stop for good, Redden, Gariepy, Hutchins and May all taking advantage of the fact to rip into him, but with only eight cars competing there would be guaranteed and doubled points for all.

The second qualifier out of the consolation heat would be next to go as Dick Garrett, all over a stalled and helpless Redden, was finished off by his victim after the successful re-fire before he too bit the dust in sixth place. Scott Hutchins more than doubles his points haul for the year with a fifth place finish in Green Bay, his second top five finish of the year after grabbing third at Frostbite.

Leo May also breaks the thirty point mark with his third top ten finish but he wasn't on his game as both Gariepy and Hutchens managed to blindside him hard ultimately leading to a race ending stall to leave the final three going at it.

Bobby Gallagher knows that his regular time on the circuit will be limited once injured drivers return to action but he has shown what he is capable of with a couple of top ten finishes in the past three events (8th, VDM). Gallagher re-fire quickly from a couple of stalls and mainly focused his efforts on May and Joe Ramage, the latter of which was all too happy to fight back.

With a third straight final (1st VDM, 7th Ides of March) Ramage shoots straight up into second position in the championship standings just one point behind Will Thompson. A serious of mechanical failures led to two long stalls, the second of which was the death knell.

That means Tom Gariepy, joint runner-up at the Valentine's Day Massacr, makes it six different winners in six events, taking the massive forty point victory and is now just three points behind the leader. The victor made repeat targets of Hutchins and Ramage - his two earlier shots on the runner-up giving him a clear advantage at the end - and he rode the challenges from Gallagher, Garrett, Redden and Hutchins well.

Race Result
1. Tom Gariepy
2. Jow Ramage
3. Bobby Gallagher
4. Leo May
5. Scott Hutchins
6. Steven Redden
7. Dick Garrett
8. Andy Bing

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin International Consolation Heat

Wisconsin International - Green Bay, WI
Consolation Heat
Randy Tondreau, Andy Bing, Darryl Lozier, Jamie Eilers, Randy Corson, Darrell Andresen, Dick Garrett, Charlie Clayton, Lynne Higgins

It seemed like every minute of the nine car consolation heat that passed saw one driver victimised more than the others. It started with Randy Corson taking four shots before the pack moved on to the Canadians Randy Tondreau and then Darryl Lozier.

It took five minutes for the well prepared roster to lose it's first competitor in Tondreau before the trio of Charlie Clayton, Jamie Eilers, and Corson fell by the wayside; the latter managing to re-fire from a long stall only for Eilers to take them both out.

Lynne Higgins managed to steer clear of the chaos while creating her own by laying seven hits on six different drivers, Darrell Andresen earning two hits as a result of his hit on her being the only successful shot she suffered throughout the derby. Despite her alertness she would finish in fifth place leaving a tense battle between four drivers for just two qualification places in Green Bay.

Lozier had earlier helped Eilers on his way out but also missed his intended targets twice, the second miss proving disastrous with Andresen all over him to finish the job. The British entrant would be the unlucky third-placed driver which meant that Andy Bing and Dick Garrett would move on to the final eight.

Bing (-, 12th, 12th, 7th, -) survived a stalling scare early on in the heat after a back-and-forth with Higgins to move on into his foruth final, and Garrett's path to his second final in as many weeks (6th, Ides of March) saw him go hard after both Canadian drivers and generally following the herd in who to target.

Race Result
Q. Andy Bing
Q. Dick Garrett
3. Darrell Andresen
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Lynne Higgins
6. Randy Corson
7. Jamie Eilers
8. Charlie Clayton
9. Randy Tondreau

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin International Heat 3

Wisconsin International - Green Bay, WI
Heat 3
Darryl Lozier, Rob Remaley, Darrell Andresen, Will Thompson, Tom Gariepy, Leo May, Randy Corson, Jess Yates

The final heat in Green Bay had all eight entrants surviving past the five minute mark but Rob Remaley was struck by a quick series of hits from Gariepy, May and Corson before championship leader Will Thompson succumbed to a vicious assault from both Remaley and Jess Yates.

Yates was next out as, after cleaning up Thompson, he refocused on his early target Randy Corson but was too eager in his final attack leading to his disqualification, and Remaley finally bit the dust; Gariepy, May and Corson all returning to finish the job they had started.

The three consolation heat entrants are Corson, who was badly damaged after eliminating Remaley; Darryl Lozier, who will be hoping to reach the final and take advantage of double points with Thompson out; and Darrell Andresen who ended up losing his fight against Leo May.

Tom Gariepy finished sixth at Frostbite and tied for second at the Valentine's Day Massacre and will now compete in his third final of the year as runner-up of his heat. A strong start against Thompson led to some problems as the race wore on with a short stall that knocked him off his game as Leo May blindsided him and he then missed a retaliatory hit. May (7th Tampa, 10th Ides of March) picks up his third heat victory in six events and will hoping for a big final this time around.

Race Result
1. Leo May
2. Tom Gariepy
3. Darrell Andresen
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Randy  Corson
6. Rob Remaley
7. Jess Yates
8. Will Thompson

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin Invitational Heat 2

Wisconsin Invitational - Green Bay, WI
Heat 2
Bob Alexander, Lynne Higgins, Dick Garrett, Bobby Gallagher, Steven Redden, Will Murphy, Danny Krol, Charlie Clayton

Danny Krol did not seem to be well prepared for this derby as he was left alone for the opening few minutes meaning that the hits he put on Steven Redden and Lynne Higgins did him more damage than good. Swiftly following this was another departure when a very popular Bob Alexander, who was eager to chase down Higgins and give her a couple of shots, was put down by a seventh hit.

The remaining pack lasted until the eighth minute of action when Will Murphy, third in the current standings, lost a hard battle with Steven Redden while Bobby Gallagher was also very keen to get at him, and Lynne Higgins was the girl everyone wanted to dance with with Alexander (2), Garrett, Gallagher, Krol and Charlie Clayton all charging in on her. She managed to blindside Gallagher and survive a couple of short stalls before her elimination and her fifth place finish puts her into the consolation heat.

Clayton re-fired a lengthy stall in the early going before hunting down Garrett, the pair finishing fourth and third respectively, leaving Gallagher, who was looking for his second final (8th VDM)  and Redden (6th Frostbite, Tied-2nd VDM) fighting it out for the heat win. They had stayed out of each others' path until this moment and it was Gallagher who managed to get a jump on Redden, who had previously been preoccupied with Clayton. In the end Redden rode his luck a little and came out top dog.

Race Result
1. Steven Redden
2. Bobby Gallagher
3. Dick Garrett
4. Charlie Clayton
5. Lynne Higgins
6. Will Murphy
7. Bob Alexander
8. Danny Krol

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin Invitational Heat 1

Wisconsin Invitational, Green Bay, WI
Heat 1
Joe Ramage, Ben Hadsell, Jamie Eilers, Sam Harbin, Scott Hutchins, John Ruiz, Andy Bing, Randy Tondreau

The quest for double points begins with over three minutes of hard-hitting action before Sam Harbin is wiped out. After missing his intended target he became entangled on the barrier making himself a sitting duck for Scott Hutchins, eventually working his way free only to run straight into Hutchins again and Andy Bing.

Ben Hadsell was looking to stay a threat to the title contenders after two top three finishes, including a win at the season opening Frostbite Winter Nationals, but heavy contact with John Ruiz resulted in a stall he was unable to recover from. This was one of several stalls in the first five minutes with everyone bar Hadsell able to continue.

Winner of the Ides of March John Ruiz failed to build momentum by finishing in sixth place, thanks in no small part to Hutchins who brought the pain on three occasions, and two time runner-up Jamie Eilers will have a second chance at reaching the final after Randy Tondreau and Joe Ramage finally made their numerous hits count.

With Andy Bing all over Tondreau the Canadian would fall next after turning on his recent partner Ramage who in turn went hard after Bing. While those competitors were busy Scott Hutchins was desperately trying to re-fire his engine after his last heavy collision with Eilers. He avoided the count out just in time and dueled hard with Ramage as they both sought out the doubled points for winning a heat; a first for either driver.

Race Result
1. Scott Hutchins
2. Joe Ramage
3. Andy Bing
4. Randy Tondreau
5. Jamie Eilers
6. John Ruiz
7. Ben Hadsell
8. Sam Harbin

Controlled Chaos - Wisconsin International Preview

The first invitational event of the year is in Green Bay and the top twenty-four drivers will compete for double points. The three heats will feature eight entrants each where only the top two progress on to the final. Those who finish in third, fourth or fifth will compete in a nine car consolation heat for the remaining two final spots.

After winning Frostbite and taking third in Tampa Ben Hadsell will be looking to build upon his current standings position of fourth as he returns after his absence at the Ides of March event, and both Billy Edgington and Reggie Banks continue on the road to recovery.

Don Davis (Heat Winner, 12th VDM), John McCrory (9th Tampa, 11th VDM) and Phillip Ruffin (9th Ides of March) are among those who miss cut.