Louisiana Invitational - New Orleans, LA
Heat Three
Bobby Gallagher, Leo May, Charlie Clayton, Danny Krol, Will Thompson, Darryl Lozier, Don Davis, Bob Alexander
Two of the four alternate drivers were thrown together in the penultimate heat of the day but their exits were sadly swift with Bobby Gallagher, who has history in invitationals with a third place finish in Wisconsin, stalling out at the very start and Don Davis, managing a runner-up spot in his limited time at the Jersey Derby, damaging his car as much as any of the vehicles he was attacking.
One of Davis' prime targets was Danny Krol, he misses out on a sixth final appearance as he took nine hits with three of them coming from Charlie Clayton, and in fifth place after eight minutes was Bob Alexander, the four-time finalist hitting Gallagher twice and Leo May thrice before losing a rough n tumble battle with Will Thompson.
It wasn't until the twelfth minute that the final four became two as the championship leaders exit the stage without picking up any points. Darryl Lozier misses just his fourth final in seventeen weeks of action, the three-time champion (Tampa Open, Jersey Derby, Big Apple Smash Up) has not had the best luck with invitational events with a fifteenth place finish in Idaho and no final at all in Wisconsin. His day started out with a blindside hit from Davis and his rhythm was continually disrupted by brief stalls before the big one hit him and he could not re-fire the engine.
Will Thompson, who was unsurprisingly keen to get at his title rival with four hits, also tangled with Alexander for another four shots, but his joy of seeing Lozier stranded was short-lived as two hits from his opponent started a job that was finished by Clayton and May in short order.
Both finalists had been locked together in the opening five minutes when Clayton initiated contact, but it wasn't long until Bob Alexander came storming through to break them apart. After this incident Leo May, heading into his seventh final but just his second in the last eight weeks, went at Thompson before he and his remaining enemy went at it.
Charlie Clayton started out the heat pummeling Krol into submission before the lock up occurred. AFter they were freed Clayton mixed it up with both Lozier and Thompson and then, despite taking a 2-1 hit deficit at the very end of the heat, Clayton's hit on May was a powerful shot that earned him his first heat victory of the season and his fifth final appearance with a third in a row.
Race Result
1. Charlie Clayton
2. Leo May
3. Will Thompson
4. Darryl Lozier
5. Bob Alexander
6. Danny Krol
7. Don Davis
8. Bobby Gallagher
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