General Lee Captures the Hilltop
by Ken Cunningham

 

MILLERSBURG OH - Sept. 3 George Lee made the short tow from nearby Loudonville Ohio and wasted no time figuring out the perfect setup for unusual track conditions at Hilltop Speedway this past Sunday night, and with a big purse on the line his timing couldn't have been better. Lee powered his immaculate Cowen Truck Lines / Mason Racin' sponsored # 21 dirt Late Model to a fast dash win that earned him the number one starting position in the 35 lap main event which he then led the distance to claim the $2500 Sunday Hilltop Special. In victory lane George Lee was all smiles and graciously thanked his sponsors and crew for making this win possible. Following Lee across the line were Eric Myers, Doug Drown, Keith Berner, and Jeff Gress. Hard Charger goes to Rocky Owens who advanced from the consy to a top ten feature finish.

 

Weekend showers made a muddy mess of the clay racing surface and almost forced speedway staff to postpone the holiday event but heavy equipment was called in from Diversified Services Ltd. and the saturated muck was pushed to the side and racing began right on time. The Late Models are the tracks star attraction and preliminary heats were won by Keith Berner of Millersburg, Mark Gardiner of Massillon, and a career first checkered flag for Jeff Gress of Coshocton. In the fast six race George Lee came from third to win over fifth starter Doug Drown and Eric Myers from the tail which set the starting order for the main event. The "Sunday Sizzler" 35 lap race got off to a slow start as caution flags waved due to a slippery surface and spinouts but no real damage to competitors. With the cars realigned in proper starting positions Ed Fredericks turned the stellar field of competitors loose and George Lee immediately took command of the race and stepped out to a five car lead over second running and current points leader Ryan Markham. Within 7 laps the frontrunners began to encounter lapped traffic which Lee seemed to manuever through with ease. Yellow flags for minor incidents kept the competition close and Markham would then fall to Eric Myers, Doug Drown, then Keith Berner to make up the top five. In the final half of the race Jeff Gress found a line around the race track that worked for him as he "flat footed" his powerful machine around Markham to break into the top five just before the checkers fell, a career best for Gress.

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Hilltop Speedway hosts some of the best weekly auto racing in the area and the Modified divison never fails to give race fans an exciting show. Tim Penley and David Liles scored heat wins while Jess Hartman set fast time for the night but current points leader Kevin Morehouse of Newark Ohio crossed the finish line first of the fast six. Once again the main event got off to a slow start but once underway a fierce side by side battle between Morehouse and Hartman had the capacity crowd cheering their favorite. After several attempts Morehouse finally captured the lead for good as the half way flags were displayed. A yellow flag brought the field close together and set up a move by Kyle Brown to overtake second by moving Hartman up the track, Dave Lile and Barry Jacobs would also take advantage. Morehouse easily went on to further his points lead and capture a third feature win.

The Mini Stock race had more than their share of thrills and spills, upsets and finally a victory. Josh Morrow and Terry Adkins started the race side by side and the two battled much of the race. J. R. Cagle advanced to join the battle followed by a hard charging Ed Ray from the tail. A red flag stopped all action when Joe Yoder upset his racer and landed hard on his roof. Yoder was unhurt and the track cleared only to have the speedy racer of Roger Hunt completely flip over in the opposite corner. Hunt refired his car and drove off the track to a thunderous applause but front runners Adkins and Ray experienced mechanical problems and retired from action leaving only Cagle and Morrow to battle for the win. Josh Morrow lead the entire event and was not to be denied the win tonight. After a brief victory lane celebration the Mini Trucks rolled onto the track to complete the show. Jeff Funk of Bailey Lakes came from mid pack to battle Tim Jensen and Chaz ODell for the lead before taking the win. Dave Caskey and Tiffany Combs completed the top five.

 

Results:

LATE MODELS
1st Heat - Keith Berner, Dave Wirt, Clint Coffman
2nd Heat - Mark Gardiner, Ty Myers, Brad Goff
3rd Heat - Jeff Gress, Rick Bond, Charlie Duncan
Consy - Blaine Aber, Rocky Owens, Eric Smitley
Dash - George Lee, Doug Drown, Eric Myers, Shane McLoughlin, Ryan Markham, Scot Peltz
Feature - Lee, Eric Myers, Drown, Berner, Gress, Markham, Peltz, Gardiner, Rocky Owens, Wirt,
Coffman, Duncan, Ty Myers, Bond, Eric Smitley, Blaine Aber, McLoughlin, Goff

MODIFIEDS
1st Heat - Tim Penley, Allan Baker, Nick Smith
2nd Heat - David Liles, Mitchell Lam, Gary McGregor
Dash - Kevin Morehouse, Jess Hartman, Kyle Brown, Barry Jacobs, David Hittle, Kevin Potts
Feature - Morehouse, Brown, Jacobs, Liles, Hartman, Potts, Lam, Hittle, Mike Lonas, Rory Reed,
Tom Conley, Smith, McGregor, Kyle Cline, Allan Baker, Ernie Scott, Penley, Tim Everhart

MINI STOCKS
Heat 1 - Josh Morrow, Justin Brown, Jeff Theil
Heat 2 - Terry Adkins, John Reasor, Brett Adkins
Heat 3 - J. R. Cagle, Roger Hunt, Al Summers
Feature - Morrow, Cagle, Brown, Thiel, Dustin Cyrus, Jim Appis, Daniel Yoder, Jeremy Lucas, Summers, Mark Myers
Brett Adkins, Hunt, Joe Yoder, Terry Adkins, Ed Ray, Reasor, Josh Hershberger, Dale Beckett Jr.,

MINI TRUCKS
Heat 1 - Dave Caskey, Gail Wallace, Jeff Funk
Heat 2 - Tim Jensen, Chaz ODell, Tracy Mong
Feature - Funk, Jensen, ODell, Tiffny Combs, Wallace, Rick Jensen, Mong, Jeremy Butler