Anderson and Drown Tops at Hilltop
by Ken Cunningham

Millersburg Ohio - July 7, 2006 All eyes were on Doug Drown and Corey Conley Friday night as the two raced side by side swapping the lead until the last corner. Doug Drown came out on top winning his second feature of the year at Hilltop Speedway. Drowns Rocket is sponsored by Wooster Glass and Hamlin Automotive. The Pure Stocks rolled out next and with a raised purse of $500 up for grabs a fantastic field of racers were on hand. Troy Anderson wasted no time driving from his sixth starting position to battle Brad Channell and Donna Canode for the lead, and only a late race caution secured the win for Anderson. The Modifieds followed and a heated battle between Allan Baker and Jess Hartman thrilled the fans as Baker pulled alongside in every corner but Hartman would regain on the straights to win his third feature event at Hilltop. It is a refreshing sight to see such close racing and at the end two smiling competitors climb from their machines to congratulate each other. With double points at stake Andy Parks knew what needed done to stay ahead of Mark and Terry Adkins in the points chase and won the Mini Stock feature in convincing fashion. Parks was followed across the line by Dale Beckett, Mark Adkins, Steve Miller, and Terry Adkins. A good turnout of Mini Trucks made for excellent racing that saw Jeff Funk claim a second feature win over last weeks feature winner, Tim Jensen.

 

In Late Model action several drivers broke the previous track record but Doug Drown bested everyone at 14.347 seconds around the 5/16ths mile oval. " I didn't think I was quick out there at all but I guess that old saying is true, sometimes you have to slow down to be fast." The first heat saw Thomas Baker on the pole beside Chad Hina and when the green waved Rick Aukland wanted open track but found a side by side battle with Hina before taking the win. The following heat cars bunched up on a slow start which paved the way for Eric Myers to take the win over Clint Coffman and Ty Myers. Corey Conley took the lead from outside pole during the Dash but it was clear Drown was on his game tonight coming from tail to pass Ryan Markham for second in only four laps. Markham, Mark Gardiner, Rocky Owens, and J.R. Gentry followed. At the start of the feature event Dave Hornikel, Wayne Maffett, and Jeremy Gearhart immediately went three wide for a caution, on the restart Eric Myers slipped just a little and thats all it took for Aukland to move in and take his spot. That all changed when Gentry got sideways in front of Aukland who lost three spots while Gentry quickly recovered not losing anything. Mark Gardiner was an even match for Markham, whenever "Flyin' Ryan" would see that nose he always found the power to close the door. Up front Drown and Conley were dicing back and forth, a lapped car traps the leading Drown allowing Conley to take the lead but Drown retaliates on the high side. Action was everywhere between Aukland and Coffman, Aber and Ty Myers, Maffett and Hornikel but all attention was up front when Drown got the better of Conley at the end of another thrilling race at Hilltop. In Victory Lane Doug replied, " That was incredible, what a good race. When Corey got around me I thought oh no. This place lets you race hard and clean, Corey is one of the best around and that was a lot of fun !" Markham, Gardiner, and Gentry filled the top five.

 

The Pure Stocks captured the fans attention and a $500 to win jackpot attracted a very impressive 25 car field. Jason Rohr lead the first heat to the green when the entire pack bunched up in turn one bringing out the yellow. Fred Snyder suffered a flat left rear tire in the melee which cleared the way for Brad Channel to win. Frank Oriti powered from eigth to claim second ahead of Tom Fultz. Jeff Facemire and Dave Haven paced the second heat with Haven taking the early lead. Donna Canode caught Haven and after a brief battle took the lead and win. Denny Shear followed Donna thru the traffic and passed Haven for second. The third heat saw Brandon Gardner on the pole with Troy Anderson starting deep, the racing immediately went 4 wide in a scramble for position. No one could catch Gardner before the checkers but Anderson climbed to second from sixth, followed by Billy Goerz from seventh. Determined not to be left out of this show Fred Snyder tagged the tail of the B Main and picked off competitors one by one for the win. Hilltop Speedway is gaining a reputation for great racing and 18 reasons why rolled over the high bank to form the Pure Stock feature field. The green flag waved three times before we got a good start but with a clean green Channell, Canode, and Anderson made it a lead swapping three wide battle. Gardner stepped ahead of Canode with Channell still in the lead as lapped traffic narrowed the lanes. Channell found himself trapped allowing Anderson and Gardner to capitalize. Shear, Haven and Snyder were closing in when a yellow flag waved for Paul Murray, momentarily calming the frenzy. With Anderson now in control followed by Gardner, Channell, Canode, Snyder, and Shear, on this restart Haven and Goerz bumped together eliminating Haven. The fans were going wild as Gardner closed in on Anderson just as Canode banged doors with Snyder and spins out. This spelled disaster for Gardner, during the pace laps his machine overheated and went out in a puff of steam. It was now smooth sailing for Anderson and he claimed the victory in only his second visit to the speedway and is sponsored by Tons of Parts in Lodi, William Gill Construction, Carquest, and MAE Trucking. Fred Snyder was the Hard Charger of the night, from tail of the B to the tail of the A Main he ended the night in second. Channell, Oriti, and Goerz made the top five.

 

The Modifieds hit the track at full throttle as Larry Kugel, Rory Reed, Randy Gray, Kevin Morehouse, and Kyle Brown waged their own battles, up front Allan Baker and Jess Hartman stole the show. This pair ran side by side in every corner only to see Hartman pull away on the straights. At the end Hartman claimed his third feature event on the season. Baker, Morehouse, Brown, and Tom Conley filled the top five. Andy Parks is chasing the Holmes Tire Mini Stock Championship and pretty much dominated a top notch field of racers. Dale Beckett was second while Mark Adkins finished third. Steve Miller and Terry Adkins completed the top five. The Mini Trucks came out in force tonight and gave the fans a very entertaining show with Jeff Funk making it 2 out of 3 feature wins on their season. Last weeks feature winner Tim Jensen took second from a strong running Bill Kutz. Rick Jensen and Chaz Odell making the top five.

 

RESULTS

LATE MODELS:
Heat 1 - Rick Aukland, Chad Hina, Thomas Baker
Heat 2 - Eric Myers, Clint Coffman, Ty Myers
Dash - Corey Conley, Doug Drown, Ryan Markham, Mark Gardiner, Rocky Owens, J. R. Gentry
Feature - Drown, Conley, Markham, Gardiner, Gentry, Eric Myers, Owens, Aukland, Coffman, Hina, Ty Myers, Dave Hornikel, Thomas Baker, Wayne Maffett Jr., Blaine Aber, Trevor Phillips, Jeremy Gearhart, Jason Gallagher, Mike Enos, Hiram Baughman

PURE STOCKS:
Heat 1 - Brad Channell, Frank Oriti, Tom Fultz
Heat 2 - Donna Canode, Denny Shear, Dave Haven Sr.
Heat 3 - Brandon Gardner, Troy Anderson, Billy Goerz
Consy - Fred Snyder, Cody Smith, Steve Cunningham
Feature - Anderson, Snyder, Channell, Oriti, Goerz, Shear, Canode, Chad Craver, Fultz, Smith, Kyle Cline, Gardner, Haven Sr., Jeff Facemire, Paul Murray, Cunningham, Aaron Harris, Jason Rohr

MODIFIEDS:
Heat 1 - Larry Kugel, Matt Bee Aber, Pete Grove
Dash - Kevin Morehouse, Jess Hartman, Kyle Brown, Randy Gray, Allan Baker, Rory Reed
Feature - Hartman, Baker, Morehouse, Brown, Tom Conley, Kugel, Gray, Reed, Aber, Bruce Miller, Gary McGregor, Mark Enos, Tim Everhart, Pete Grove

MINI STOCKS:
Heat 1 - Dale Beckett Jr., Rick Maffett, Travis Gray
Heat 2 - Andy Parks, Terry Adkins, Cody Rinard
Heat 3 - Mark Adkins, Brian Dawson, Justin brown
Feature - Parks, Beckett, Mark Adkins, Steve Miller, Terry Adkins, Maffett, Rinard, Brown, Gray, Dawson, Ed Ray, Kevin Lint, Jerry Adkins, Ernest Fortune, Dee Adkins, Jeremy Hudson, Jeremy Madison, Rodney Lint

MINI TRUCKS:
Heat 1 - Bill Kutz, Tim Jensen, Jeff Funk
Feature - Funk, Jensen, Kutz, Rick Jensen, Chaz O'Dell, Tracey Mong, Gerald Pringle, Tiffany Combs, Scott Shaffer, Jesse Combs