Kyle Strickler Kicks Off “Ohio River Shootout Weekend” With Win At Legendary Hilltop Speedway!
5 min read
(Middlebourne, WV) The Renegades of Dirt Modified Tour presented by Arizona Sport Shirts visited the Legendary Hilltop Speedway in Marietta, OH for the first time ever last evening. The awesome “grassroots” venue played host to night #1 of the “Ohio River Shootout” presented by Adrenaline Performance Products of Williamstown, WV. A $1,500 dollar winners prize awaited the “Beasts of the East” and the thirty five open wheel modified entries set to vie for the Renegade of Dirt Modified Tour win.
When action got underway it was Stanley, NC’s Taylor Cook who would set the events overall fast time at a 14.734. Tyler Nicely would set the fast time for Group B at a 15.052. Cook would draw the ZERO for the evenings heat race invert.
Immediately following the Renegade of Dirt Modified Tour presented by Arizona Sport Shirts time trials it was the first of four preliminary heat races set to get underway. In OVDTR.com Heat Race #1 Taylor Cook continued to terrorize the field. Cook got out to an early lead that he never relinquished earning the win by nearly a straightaway. In DirtCast.com Heat Race #2 it was Rich Michael who would continue his red hot summer with the Renegades of Dirt grabbing the point and never looking back to take the win.
Furthermore, ModFury.com Heat Race #3 took to the track led by Tyler Nicely. Nicely shot out to the early lead and held back all chargers to earn the heat race win. In Slicker Graphics Heat Race #4 it was another youngster in Travis Dickson who would jump to the early lead and hold off a hard challenge from Shane Crotty to take the heat win. In Flag to Flag sponsored B-Main action it “Dirt Modified Hall of Famer” Mark Dickson who would follow suit of his son’s (heat three win) by grabbing the early lead and holding back the rest of the pack. Following Dickson across the line in the B-Main was Bret Hamilton from Powhatan, VA and Kevin Miller of Toronto, OH. Accepting the evenings Renegade of Dirt high points provisionals were Jon Sluka and Kevin Miller.
When the 30 lap Renegades of Dirt Modified Tour presented by Arizona Sport Shirts ‘A-Main’ rolled onto the speedway it was Rich Michael Jr. and Tyler Nicely who would lead stellar field of Renegade of Dirt and regional racers to the green. Seven states (NY, WV, OH, PA, NC, KY, VA) made up the twenty two car field set to take the eleventh green of the season. When the green fell the top three immediately went three wide for the lead. The trio battled neck and neck for the first five laps before Taylor Cook would take the top spot. Meanwhile the rest of the pack was battling for positioning with several local favorites on the move. Kyle Strickler utilized an early pass to get into the second spot and went to work on reeling in the leader (Cook). Cook and Strickler navigated the tight confines of Marietta, OH’s dirt oval as each rode side by side for several laps.
However, like much of 2014 Strickler used momentum of the turn to take the lead from Cook as the pair of North Carolina racers began to close in on heavy lap traffic. As the duo diced their way through traffic Taylor Cook went to the top shelf to take the lead back from Strickler. Although just a few laps later Cook would make contact with the turn one/two wall to end his evening. The mishap by the youngster was all that Kyle needed to go the rest of the distance for the $1,500 win. The seventh Renegade of Dirt Modified Tour win in 2014 for Mooresville, NC’s Kyle Strickler. “The High Side Tickler” continues his stronghold on the seasons championship point standings. Following Strickler to the line was Rich Michael, Travis Dickson, Jason Brookver, and Tyler Evans.
“What a great crowd this evening. This is a really cool place. Places like these there tight but racey with three wide action and that’s always awesome” stated Strickler. “I’ve heard some people say it was just a small hole in the wall but it’s not this place was a lot of fun and thank you to all the fans for coming out tonight” concluded Strickler.
Friday August 1st, 2014
Legendary Hilltop Speedway – Marietta, OH
“Ohio River Shootout Weekend” Night #1
Car Count: 35 / States: 7
Qualifying: #21 Taylor Cook, Stanley, NC 14.734
Inversion Pill: 1
Heat Results:
Slicker Graphics Heat #1 Finish: Taylor Cook, Tyler Evans, DJ Cline, Robin Ours, Bret Hamilton, Kevin Dotson, Tyler Hendrick, Jeremy Blake, Robert Garnes
DirtCast.com Heat #2 Finish: Rich Michael, Kyle Strickler, Robbie Evans, Jason Brookover, Mark Dickson, Dusty Boley, Curt Reck, Tom Arnott
ModFury.com Heat #3 Finish: Tyler Nicely, Dan Davies, Kenny Johnson, Mike Conkle, Kevin Miller, Mark Martin, Blake Eddy, KC Burdette, Nick Corbitt
OVDTR.com Heat #4 Finish: Travis Dickson, Shane Crotty, Roy Roush, Mike Smith, Mike Stevens, Jon Sluka, Michael Robinson, Chris Dickson
Flag to Flag Consolation Transfers:
B-Main #1: Mark Dickson, Bret Hamilton, Kevin Miller, Tyler Hendrick, Curt Reck, Blake Eddy, Tom Arnott, Jon Sluka, Mark Martin, Dusty Boley, Kevin Dotson, Mick Stevens, Jeremy Blake.
Provisionals: Jon Sluka, Kevin Miller
The Ohio Valley Speedway is located on WV Rt. 68 south of Lubeck at the intersection of WV Rt. 68 and Wadesville Road in Lubeck, WV. For more information you can contact the speedway by calling(304)489-1871, (740)989-0019, or (304) 861-0299 (track). You can also visit them online at www.ohiovalleyspeedway.com or onFacebo0k at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ohio-Valley-Speedway/1418120678428244. Gates open for the “Ohio River Shootout” at 4pm with racing getting underway at 7pm. Pit admission for the event is set at just $30 dollars with general admission priced at just $15 dollars, kids 10& Under FREE. Also running AMRA Super Late Models, Pure Stocks, FWD 4Cylinders, and Mini-Wedges.
The Tyler County Speedway is located just three miles south of Middlebourne, WV at the Tyler County Fairgrounds. Race fans will also be treated to a complete program of JJK Mineral MWRA Mini Wedges, a FASTRAK Northeast Touring Late Model special, a Bud Weigle Memorial Late Model special, EDGE Hotmods, Modlites and FWD 4 Cylinders will also be in action. General admission is just $15, with pit passes at $35, children 10 and under free. Gates open at 4, MWRA Mini Wedges get underway at 6:15 with hotlaps/qualifying beginning at 7. For more information contact John Watson at 304-771-6874 or visit www.tylercountyspeedwayonline.com.
The inaugural “Ohio River Shootout” is proudly presented by Adrenaline Performance Products. A family run business owned by Steve Eddy, a local area businessman. Adrenaline Performance is conveniently located at 112 East Fourth Street, Williamstown, WV 26187 and is a one stop shop for all your needs whether on a dirt late model, open wheel modified, stock car, and/or vintage hotrod. You can contact them on the phone at 304-375-7223 or email them at adrenalineperformanceproducts@gmail.com. Adrenaline Performance Products store hours are; Monday – Thursday ( 9:00am- 6:30pm ) Friday – Saturday ( 9:00am – 12:00PM ) they also service area race tracks and can be reached by phone at anytime.
For more information regarding the Renegades of Dirt Modified Tour presented by Arizona Sport Shirts visit the Renegades of Dirt online at www.renegadesofdirt.com. You can also call Renegade Offices anytime for further information @ 304.771.5051. Like us on Faceb0ok at www.faceb0ok.com/rodconnector on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rodconnect.
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