Aukland Awesome on the Hill
by Ken Cunningham

 

MILLERSBURG OH, Aug 18 - Rick Aukland of Zanesville Ohio demonstrated how its done at Hilltop Speedway by setting a new Late Model track record and winning both the Late Model and Modified feature events in front of a top quality field of competitors Friday night. Aukland dominated the Late Model feature from the start but had to battle Allan Baker in a side by side battle for much of the Modified event. Aukland is now tied with Corey Conley with 6 feature wins each between the two divisions. Fans of the Pure Stocks were treated to a classic battle between veteran racers Dave Haven Sr. and Fred Snyder with Snyder taking the late race point and the win. The EZ Team came to Hilltop in full force and claimed 4 of the top ten Mini Stock finishes with team leader Andy Parks claiming an incredible seventh feature win. An unfortunate incident eliminated Jeff Funk early in the Mini Truck feature leaving only Chaz ODell to challenge the dominance of Tim Jensen. ODell held off several attempts by Jensen to win his first feature of the year and a beautiful trophy courtesy of Village Motors of Millersburg.

 

 

The track was right tonight as Corey Conley and Rick Aukland both topped the previous track record of 14.347 seconds set by Doug Drown with Aukland fastest at 14.184. Ryan Markham and Ty Myers won the heats and Lance Elson of Wellsburg WV bested the fast six. An impessive feature field lined up with Elson and Mark Gardiner inside front two rows, Aukland and Conley outside with 3 tries before a clean green was achieved and Aukland taking the lead point. Rocky Owens and Ryan Markham wasted no time joining the front runners and lapped traffic came into play within 5 laps. A brutal exchange between JR Gentry and Chester Elliott ultimately eliminated both players clearing the way for Ty Myers, Eric Otto, and Trevor Phillips to join the lead pack. In the late stages Owens challenged Gardiner for fourth but the move cost him a top five when Markham moved in. The final top five - Aukland, Conley, Elson, Gardiner, and Markham.

 

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Modified race fans certainly got a show on this action packed night. The first red flag waved for Denny Benjamins flip on the backstretch during a consolation race, the second in the main event when Kevin Potts jumped the gaurdrails and came to rest outside turn two as cries from the crowd could be heard over the roar of engines. Those gasps quickly changed to cheers when both drivers emerged unhurt. Matt Aber and Jess Hartman won heat races and Allan Baker victorious in the dash. Rory Reed overcame brake problems to win the consolation race. The feature lined up with Rick Aukland outside of Baker and thats how those two ran most of the feature. Corey Conley chose the extreme outside rail trying to keep pace and often found himself side by side with Kevin Morehouse. The final stages saw Baker lose ground first to Aukland then to Conley and settle for third. Kevin Morehouse and David Hittle held position to complete the top five. Rory Reed was the nights hard charger coming from the last chance race to finish sixth in the main.

 

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A memorable race between two veterans was a highlight to the evening. Dave Haven Sr. claimed the early lead while Fred Snyder gave chase and eventually a side by side lead swapping battle ensued. At the checkers Snyder claimed victory followed by Haven, Rich Frame from mid pack, Paul Holmes and Donna Canode. It was smooth sailing for Andy Parks after an early race skirmish eliminated the two front running Mini Stocks of Dale Beckett and Dustin Hostetler. The EZ1 machine pulled into victory lane for the seventh time. A Mini Truck upset was accomplished when Chaz ODell took home the hardware over Tim Jensen and all feature winners were awarded trophys courtesy of Village Motors located in Millersburg

 

 

 

RESULTS

FAST TIME - Rick Aukland 14.184 / NTR

Dutch Country Stone LATE MODELS:
1st Heat - Ryan Markham, Dave Wirt, Eric Otto
2nd Heat - TY Myers, J. R. Gentry, Blaine Aber
Dash - Lance Elson, Rick Aukland, Mark Gardiner, Corey Conley, Chester Ellliott, Rocky Owens
Feature - Aukland, Conley, Elson, Gardiner, Markham,Owens, Myers, Otto, Trevor Phillips, Mike Mohler,
Jeremy Canada, Kyle Bates, Gentry, Elliott, Allen Warner, Brandon Russell, Aber, Wirt, Terrence Metz

McComb Logging MODIFIEDS:
Heat 1 - Matt Aber, Anthony Kincade, Kevin Potts
Heat 2 - Jess Hartman, Bruce Miller, Randy Ridgeway
Dash - Allan Baker, Rick Aukland, Kevin Morehouse, Corey Conley, David Hittle, Brandon Morrow
Feature - Aukland, Conley, Baker, Morehouse, Hartman, Rory Reed, Hittle, Mitchel Lam, Kincade, Rick Wolford
Dave Bodkins, Randy Ridgeway, Kyle Cline, Miller, Derrick Hubbard, Morrow, Aber, Potts

American Payroll Advance PURE STOCKS:
1st Heat - Dave Haven Sr. Paul Holmes, Jeff Facemire
2nd Heat - Billy Goerz, Fred Snyder, Donna Canode
Feature - Snyder, Haven Sr., Rich Frame, Holmes, Canode, Denny Shear, Facemire, Tom Fultz, Bob Clantz, Randy Nisley,
Raymond Hixon, Goerz, Steve Cunningham, Aaron Harris, John Weller, Keith Tish, Willie Coblentz

Holmes Tire MINI STOCKS:
1st Heat - Andy Parks, Dale Beckett Jr., JIm Appis
2nd Heat - Dustin Hostetler, Jeremy Hudson, J. R. Cagle
Feature - Parks, Hudson, Appis, Terry Adkins, Mark Adkins, Cagle, Joe Yoder, Chaney Beagle, Kyle McAfee, Lewis McConnell,
Gary Curtis, Jim Hudson, Josh Hershberger, Ron Tipton, Dan Yoder, John DeVoll, Hostetler

Hilltop MINI TRUCKS :
Heat 1 - Jesse Combs, Jeff Funk, Chaz ODell
Feature - Chaz ODell, Tim Jensen, Jese Combs, Dale Mong, Tiffany Combs, Rick Jensen, Gail Wallace, Jeff Funk