Smoky Mountain Speedway
Hill wins $5,000, remains perfect at SMS
By Richard Allen
TennesseeRacer.com
Vic Hill heads for his third victory in three starts at Smoky Mountain Speedway. (mrmracing.net)
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (June 16) — Vic Hill of Mosheim, Tenn., continued his dominance at Smoky Mountain Speedway Saturday night, earning a $5,000 Southern All Star Series victory to remain a perfect three for three in all Super Late Model events held at the 4/10-mile oval this season. | Photos
Hill completed another clean sweep at the east Tennessee dirt track, setting fast time and leading every lap as he also did in an SAS race at the track in April and an Ultimate Super Late Model Series event in May.
He topped Ray Cook of Brasstown, N.C., for the victory while hometown driver David Crabtree finished third. Hometown driver Tommy Kerr finished fourth with Mark Vineyard of Knoxville, Tenn., rounding out the top five.
The 50-lap feature had trouble getting started when Mark Douglas’ race car appeared to suffer mechanical trouble in in turn one on the opening lap. That forced reigning SAS champion Billy Ogle of Knoxville, Tenn., high and into the outside wall while nearly half of the field piled into the melee with Pierce McCarter’s machine coming to rest on top of Terry Wolfenbarger’s machine.
No injuries were reported from the accident and the race was red flagged for an extended cleanup period.
With the track cleared, a second start was attempted, but this time Chad Ogle lost control going into turn three and collected Crabtree, but both were able to continue.
Once the race finally got rolling, Hill drove away and left everyone else to battle for second place. It proved to be an intense battle with Cook and Crabtree exchanging the position multiple times throughout the 50-lap feature.
In the end, it was Hill collecting his fourth victory of $4,000 or more in as many weeks.
Hill’s victory ended a two-race win streak for series points leader Randy Weaver of Crossville, Tenn., who finished sixth.
Notes: Hill’s Warrior Race Car has a self-built engine with sponsorship from Landair Transport, Pilot Travel Centers, Preferred Sandblasting and American Racer Tires. … Among drivers failing to qualify for the main event: Roger Best Ellery Leake, Jason McCall, Kelvin White. … Crabtree won the night’s Crate Late Model feature; his victory is pending a protest. … The Southern All Star Series returns to action June 23 with a $3,500-to-win event at Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.
SAS @ Smoky Mountain: (1) Vic Hill, (2) Ray Cook, (3) David Crabtree, (4) Tommy Kerr, (5) Mark Vineyard, (6) Randy Weaver, (7) Billy Ogle Jr., (8) Terry Wolfenbarger, (9) Mike Weeks, (10) Dusty Carver, (11) Donald Bradsher, (12) Rick Rogers, (13) Chad Ogle, (14) Shan Smith, (15) Jeff Franklin, (16) Kayne Hickman, (17) Skip Arp, (18) Bobby Griffin, (19) Ross White, (20) Mark Douglas, (21) Mike Hill, (22) Pierce McCarter, (23) Terry Wolfenbarger, (24) Robby Moses. Fast qualifier (among 28 cars): Hill, 16.151 seconds. Consolation race winners: Mike Hill, Mark Vineyard.
