When a feature winner tells the crowd that he'll see them again in a few minutes for another interview, some may think that driver is a little "cocky". Anybody that has ever talked to Fast Freddie Carpenter knows better though. You'd be very hard pressed to find a more down to earth and respectful driver anywhere. This guy just loves doing what he does, and it helps that he's damn good at it too. The entire Carpenter gang are always a pleasure to have in the pits and they're damn sure there to put on a great show on the track. Freddie won the feature last week while putting on a clinic on how to drive hard but clean while door to door with Corey Conley for much of the race. This week would seem like a continuation of that same race. Carpenter slowly and patiently worked his way to the front only to find himself door to door with Conley once again. After trying to find enough room to complete the pass on the bottom for a few laps, Freddie decided to try the high side. It didn't take long to see that was the smart move as Conley was unable to hold him off with all that momentum from the top groove. Seeing these guys and many others run 2 and 3 wide for many laps without contact is exactly what makes Hilltop the place to be on Saturday night.

Now back to that interview. This Saturday night Fast Freddie would do double duty by climbing into the R88 Modlite owned by Larry Reed. It was obvious early that this veteran driver can wheel anything on dirt when he ran away with the heat race win. The Modlite feature was lined up next after the Late Model feature so he barely got to catch his breath before jumping into his borrowed ride where he'd start on the front row. The opening laps provided a pretty good battle for the lead but once Carpenter found his rhythm he was gone. I swear I could see his grin through the helmet as he came off turn 4 to take the checkers! All I could think was it couldn't happen to a nicer guy. It's more than a little refreshing to see a very talented and successful driver doing what he does for the right reasons. He honestly seems to race for the love of the sport more than he does for the success and reputation. I sure hope to see more drivers notice this and follow his lead.