“The General” Captures Hilltop Opener
by Ken Cunningham

 

 

 

Millersburg OH - May 20, 2007 -Hilltop Speedway finally got a break in the weather and a chance to show off a winters worth of improvements to this historic Holmes County speed plant to anxious race fans and a record number of highly talented dirt racers this past Friday night. The newly constructed grandstands were a big hit, new concession trailers were busy all night and track employees were glad to get a regular night of racing in before this upcoming weeks Independent Racing Series “Deadline 50” featuring Super Late Models. “Last year we opened the track up and the place was a cornfield for our first race so we took a more conservative approach last night and that bit us too because now we had too much dust. In a way that’s good because we know exactly what to do to the track next week when the heavy hitters come to town” commented track owner Jeff Norris after unpredictable weather and a record number of race cars took a toll on the racing surface.
(Editors Note: This is newsworthy and included because that does not happen often at Hilltop)

 

Pits were jam packed with talent, over 120 cars and all ready for action! A nice crowd for hot laps, the new grandstands filled in comfortably by the time green flag racing began. WOW it's great to be racing again !

 

 

The night still produced plenty of excitement as Dave Wirt fired off fast time of the night at 14.891 seconds
around the 1/3 mile high banked oval against a stellar field of 28 Late Models. Rick Bond of Mansfield Ohio
looked impressive behind the wheel of his Eddleblute Trucking #007 as he stretched his lead into the first heat win over Eric Myers and J.R. Gentry; the following heat saw Ryan Markham demonstrate how a champion does it over Jeff Esbenshade and Jeff Gress. The third heat saw Rick DeLong of Whitehouse Ohio claim the win over Mark Banal and Larry Smith before the stars and stripes of Wes Morrison topped the last chance race. An all star cast lined up
to compete in the fast dash that saw track record holder George Lee turn every advance by Corey Conley away for the win, a pair of Double D # 12’s driven by Doug Drown and Doug Dodd fill in the middle and Dave Wirt and Robbie Scott tangle and lose their handling on the night. The Cowen Trucking / Maibach Ford driven by George Lee picked up right where he left off with Conley in the featured 25 lap contest and lead every circuit to win on opening night ahead Conley. Drown and Dodd mixed it up together and both would challenge Conley for second but could never succeed. DeLong and Banal were both fierce competitors but equally matche d on this night while further back
J. R. Gentry began to charge ahead from his thirteenth starting spot and battle not only a one groove race track
but both Eric Myers and Ryan Markham before finishing seventh. With the high level of talent Hilltop Speedway draws there is never a shortage of excitement and action.

 

 

 

The first Modified heat rolled over the hill with the top spot occupied by Mini Stock track champion Andy Parks alongside the #99 of Mark Gardiner but a series of bad starts would prevent both from capitalizing on their
positions as Blaine Aber went on to take the heat win in his first ever start driving a Modified. The next heat brought the crowd to their feet as they raced four wide down the front chute with Allan Baker coming out on top of Derrick Hubbard and Gary Clark. The last lap of this heat proved difficult to complete and eliminated enough front runners to give Dave Bucher his first feature start in the Modified division. Top notch drivers made a quick third heat and a happy return to competition with a win for Larry Kugel after battling door to door with Jesse Wardell and Dave Hittle. The fast dash was all about who wanted it the most and defending rookie Brandon Morrow proved a fast study in holding off Kevin Morehouse for the win. The green dropped on the Modified Main Event and the crowd was on their feet before the field could exit the first corners when Norm Aronhalt put the move on Morrow, Morehouse, and Kyle Brown to take the early lead which he would not give back. Morehouse would also not give up second. Close behind Rory Reed and Blaine Aber battled for the same ground but Aber cut turn one too close and was sent airborne after clipping a uke tire but would still finish in the top ten. Reed moved up to join the front runners and a three way battle sees Reed, Baker, and Kugel overtake third runner Morrow down the backstretch only to be called back due to a caution. Baker and Kugel used experience and claimed the position back as soon as racing resumed and a last lap extreme battle saw Reed one length ahead of Morrow then it was Morrow ahead by inches under the checkered flag and knock Reed out of the top five.

 

 

Obviously tired of waiting and disgusted with yellow flags the Mini Stocks came on stage and demonstrated how a green, white, checker race is done. Quickly separating into three groups with all door to door pushing and shoving it was Tim Jensen leading the first group while trying to hold off Roy Halsey and an always hard charging Mark Adkins. Jeremy Lucas and Travis Gray kept their Hondas in the mix all the way to the end. Jensen and Adkins mastered the field when lapped traffic came into play with neither lifting off the throttle. It seemed like one race with two different shows as the second pack was just as exciting as the first with Dustin Hostetler leading Jerry Adkins and Brian Dawson but at the end it was Tim Jensen all smiles in victory lane. Heat races were taken by Jensen, Halsey and Lucas with a special roll over award going to Ben Mott.

 

 

The Mini Trucks closed out the opening night of fast entertainment and Bill Kutz was the class of the field by winning both his heat race and the main event. Early on in the action Kutz was closely trailed by team mate Chaz Odell but Jesse Combs and Dale Mong charged ahead in search of the lead and a possible win but could never catch Kutz. Odell was caught up in lapped traffic and fell back to finish eighth behind Gail Wallace, Tom Garlick, and Ben Brannon.

 

 

RESULTS

 

Dutch Country Stone Late Models

Fast Qualifier: Dave Wirt – 14.891

Heat 1: Rick Bond, Eric Myers, J. R. Gentry

Heat 2: Ryan Markham, Jeff Esbenshade, Jeff Gress

Heat 3: Rick DeLong, Mark Banal, Larry Smith

Consy: Wes Morrison, Chester Elliott, Norm Aronhalt

Dash: George Lee, Corey Conley, Doug Drown, Robbie Scott, Doug Dodd, Dave Wirt

Feature: George Lee, Conley, Drown, Dodd, DeLong, Banal, Gentry, Markham, Myers, Esbenshade,
Bond, Morrison, Smith, Wirt, Gress, Scott, Elliott, Aronhalt

 

Eddleblutes Garage Modifieds

Heat 1: Blaine Aber, Kevin Potts, Rob Melzer

Heat 2: Allan Baker, Derrick Hubbard, Dave Bucher

Heat 3: Larry Kugel, Jesse Wardell, Dave Hittle

Dash: Brandon Morrow, Kevin Morehouse, Norm Aronhalt, Kyle Brown, Rory Reed, Sam Lovejoy

Feature: Aronhalt, Morehouse, Baker, Kugel, Morrow, Reed, Lovejoy, Aber, Wardell, Potts, Brown,
Hubbard, Hittle, Melzer, Tim Roe, Jess Hartman, Gary McGregor, Bucher

 

Holmes Tire Inc. Mini Stocks

Heat 1: Tim Jensen, Josh Hershberger, Lewis McConnell

Heat 2: Roy Halsey, Travis Gray, Brian Dawson

Heat 3: Jeremy Lucas, Mark Adkins, Jerry Adkins

Feature: Jensen, M. Adkins, Lucas, Gray, Halsey, Hershberger, Dustin Hostetler, J. Adkins, Dawson,
Derek Pensly, Kyle McAfee, Stan White, Dusty Lint, Jim Hudson, McConnell, Barney Bowman,
Robert Fronaphel

 

American Payroll Advance Pure Stocks:

Heat 1: Fred Snyder, Jeff Facemire, Brandon Gardner

Heat 2: Jose Marsh, Donna Canode, John Frame

Feature: Snyder, Dave Haven Sr., Canode, John Swinehart, Marsh, Gardner, Frame, Keith Tish,
Facemire, Kevin Sharier, Josh Robinson, Denny Shear, Raymond Hixon, Brian Giaugue, Jim Taylor,

 

Troyers Trail Bologna Trucks:

Heat 1: Bill Kutz, Chaz Odell, Jerry Gardner,

Heat 2: Jesse Combs, Dale Mong, Tim McCloskey

Feature: Kutz, Combs, Gardner, Mong, Gail Wallace, Tom Garlick, Ben Brannon, Odell, Tiffany Combs,
Jim Lewis, Tim Kreishner, McCloskey,