When that mean old boss of mine sent me to Holmes County last Saturday to install some vinyl lettering he had to know I wasn't coming back anytime soon. Not with Hilltop just down the road. I missed opening night at Hilltop for the first time ever, but I wasn't gonna miss this one for sure. I was in desperate need of those racing fumes after all. It may be early in the season and the weather isn't quite ready for racing but it didn't stop the fans and racers from packing the place on just the second night of action for 2013. The packed house was once again treated to a full night of kickass action but the real stand out of the event was some young fella from West Virginia in the Late Models. Tyler Carpenter may not have set fast time but he schooled the stout field of veterans the rest of the night. Winning the dash was just a warm-up for this kid. The 25 lap feature went caution free allowing Carpenter to make many think he'd lap the entire field. Honestly, had he not been as patient as he was with one of the lapped cars he may have pulled it off too. This kid was just plain smooooooth! Leaving guys like Moran, Lee, Conley, and Duncan wondering just where the hell he went by the time the checkers flew was nothing short of impressive. If they had mirrors they might have known where he went. ;-) Hilltop isn't always an easy track to tame but this young gun sure seems to have it figured out. Congrats young man, and I hope to see you on "The Hill" on a regular basis.
The action was great in the other divisions as always and I gotta say it was great to see Rory Reed looking "hungry" again. Rory pulled his race car out of the weeds for the first time just the day before but he sure seemed to be on his game when it came to feature time. Battling for 3rd in the closing laps he got pinched into the infield which ended his strong run but they sure as hell knew he was there to run up front all night long. Reed's racing season may end up with limited racing action but if he stays this hungry I look for many more strong runs.
Speaking of Modifieds, you won't want to miss the action at Hilltop on April 20th as the Renegade Of Dirt Modifieds roll into town to take on the always strong field of Mods for a shot at $2000 to win feature. The Late Models will also be racing for $2000 to win as the gang at Hilltop steps up early and often this year to bring you the best racing action to be found on dirt anywhere. Rumor has it that there will be a special guest racing in the Mods for this event as none other than Kenny Schrader will strap into his own ride to tackle "The Hill" for the first time ever. Schrader is a real class act and known as one hell of a wheel man in any type of race car so this should be worth the price of admission all by itself. Gather your friends and pack the car this Saturday night, and head to Hilltop for a full night of side by side action and maybe even a new favorite memory or two. See ya there!
