Valentine's Day Massacre - Chicago, Illinois
Heat 1
Sam Harbin, Ricky Grimes, Phillip Ruffin, Bob Alexander, Matt Welliver, Rob Remaley, Lynne Higgins, Chris Henton, Joe Ramage, Randy Corson, Will Thompson, Darryl Lozier
There are seventeen drivers yet to qualify for a place in the final this season and Ricky Grimes' search continues into round five as he was first out in Chicago. Six drivers made a point of targeting Grimes with another five taking care of Phillip Ruffin who is also looking to break his final duck.
Those were the only two eliminations through the first five minutes but Arizona Derby runner-up Sam Harbin and three-time finalist Rob Remaley were on borrowed time as they received a lot of attention from the pack. The final driver to miss out on further action at the VDM was Randy Corson who sits fifth in the standings with a pair of top five finishes but, after chasing five different cars, his hit on Matt Welliver led to him becoming stuck on the side and he was counted out just before Welliver was finished off by Bob Alexander for a place in the consolation heat.
Will Thompson, the man on top of the standings with three top four results including his win in Arizona, will also have to take his chances in the consolation heat as after helping dismiss Grimes and Harbin he stopped for good. His last act was to cripple Tampa Open champion Darryl Lozier who survived an early stall and go on to be part of the Harbin assault.
The final consolation driver is Chris Henton who went about his business of hitting six different cars without much in the way of repercussion as he was hit just four times; Bob Alexander's blindside hit the most damaging.
That left the three finalists that soon became two when Lynne Higgins, who was the one to finish off Henton after surviving a Remaley onslaught, mistimed her collision with Joe Ramage and catapulted herself directly into the path of Alexander. The remaining pair were no strangers to each other having spent most of the heat battling hard against one another, knocking aside any who got in their way, but there had to be a winner and Bob Alexander takes his first heat victory of the season.
Race Result
1. Bob Alexander
2. Joe Ramage
3. Lynne Higgins
4. Chris Henton
5. Darryl Lozier
6. Will Thompson
7. Matt Welliver
8. Randy Corson
9. Rob Remaley
10. Sam Harbin
11. Phillip Ruffin
12. Ricky Grimes
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