Parsons Sweeps The 3rd Annual Michael Rose Memorial
8 min read
Eric Nickelson Photo
With the weather finally cooperating, drivers and fans alike gathered at Hilltop Speedway Friday night for the 3rd Annual Michael Rose Memorial in the mini stock division featuring two twenty-threes.
The first feature out for the night were the Newfast Motorsports Trucks running a feature only. With Zach Hill and Blake Heyder on the front row, the green was out and Heyder would jump out front. Looking to challenge, Dwayne Powell would work the bumper of Heyder, pressuring until ultimately claiming the lead on lap four. Lap for lap, the top three, Powell, Heyder and Rolly Heyder, it was anyones race as they made their way through lap traffic. However, as the checkered flag dropped it was Powell who would be able to fend off his competitors to add to his feature wins for the year. John Large would finish fourth with Darrick Cordia fifth.
Corey Conley would set fast time among seventeen Holmes Tire Late Models with heat race wins going to Thomas Baker and Cody Endlich. Clint Keenan would pick up the dash win to put him on the pole of their 25-lap feature event. With the field set, the green was out and outside pole sitter, Nathon Loney, would take the early lead over the field. Caution, one lap down, would single file the field back to the green, with Loney again claiming the lead. Meanwhile, a battle for second would ensue between Keenan and Conley. Side by side, Conley would secure second off turn four, lap five. Cautions, lap eight and eleven, would bunch the field up to the restart. Back under green, Conley would continue his pursuit to the front, challenging the bumper of Loney lap after lap. Loney running low and Conley high, Conley would get a runoff of turn two to take the lead on lap fifteen. However, undeterred, Loney would charge back, side by side, taking lap sixteen. Eighteen laps in, Conley would look to use lap traffic to his advantage, regaining the lead off four. With seven laps to go, Conley would maintain his position at the front of the field picking up his 50th career feature win at Hilltop Speedway. A hard fought second went to Loney followed by Clint Keenan, Cody Scott and Dave Hornikel.
With an amazing turn out for the 3rd Annual Michael Rose Memorial Race, the mini stock division would see Dakota Graciani, Doug Hensel, Billy Parsons and Corey Staley each pick up a heat race win. Parsons would also claim the night’s dash for cash. Last chance races were picked up by Colten St. John and Tyler Parsons.
A redraw of the top two from heats would set the field for the first of the twin twenty-threes with Doug Hensel and Ed Geary sitting front row. Jumping out front early was Hensel. Meanwhile, Billy Parsons would work his way around Geary for second setting his sights on Hensel. Looking to the outside, Parsons would secure the lead on lap two. Caution would double file the field back to green where Hensel would regain the lead. However, Parsons, not backing down, would pressure Hensel, reclaiming the lead on lap five. With Parsons out front, a three-wide battle for second would ensue between Geary, Hensel and Tyler Parsons by lap eight. Lap twelve, Tyler Parsons would work his way around Geary to secure second, unfortunately, troubles for Tyler with three to go would bring out the caution. Bunched back up to the green, a one lap shoot out for the checker, Billy Parsons would maintain his position at the front of the field picking up the first twin twenty-three of the night. Finishing second was Geary followed by Dakota Graciani, Doug Hensel and Darrin Thornsley.
The Bugs-R-Gone Modifieds would see Chris Basich setting fast time for the division with a 16.309. Heat race winners Robin Duston and Jesse Wisecarver would set front row for their 20-lap feature. With the drop of the green, Wisecarver would take the top spot. Cautions on laps four, nine and twelve would all single file the field back to green with Wisecarver dominating out front. However, a late charge by Zach Johnson who would work his way around DJ Cline to secure third with his sights set on Duston for second. The yellow would again fly with sixteen down bunching the field to the restart. Wisecarver would defend his position out front while Duston and Johnson would battle bumper to bumper for second. As the laps dwindled and the checkered in the air, it was Jesse Wisecarver sitting in victory lane. A hard fought second went to Duston, third to Johnson, fourth DJ Cline and fifth Jeremy Waite.
The Evans Elite Paving street stocks feature a single heat race with the win going to David Potts. Following redraw, the field was set with Jimmy Humphrey and Jeff Lanham on the front row. Racing action under way, Lanham would take the early lead from the outside with Potts looking in. Caution at the halfway mark, would allow Potts to close the gap on Lanham for the restart. Back under green, Lanham would retain the lead with pressure from Potts. With a runoff four, Potts would secure the lead. However, short lived as he would have troubles in one and two, opening the door for Lanham to get under him and regain the lead. Thus, after fending off his competitors to pick up his first feature win it was Jeff Lanham. Finishing second was Potts, third went to Jimmy Humphrey, fourth to Tyler Nicely and fifth went to Trae Schonauer.
With the first feature in the books, the field was set for the second of the twin twenty-threes for the mini stock division with a complete inversion of the first feature’s finish. Josh Ramirez and Wyatt Zimmerman would bring the field to the green where Zimmerman would take the early lead. Tyler Parsons and Jordan James would drive their way to second and third with two laps down. An early caution would double file the field back to the green where James would challenge Zimmerman for the lead. Lap six, James would secure the lead. Meanwhile, after starting tail, Billy Parsons would make his presence known as he would look to challenge James. Ten laps to go, caution would again fly, closing the gap James had on Parsons. With the green in the air, Parsons would again challenge James, ultimately securing the lead on lap fourteen. Parsons in unbelievable skill would go on to pick up the second twin twenty-three of the night, winning every race he was a part of for the night. Rounding out the top five was James, Gary Hensel Jr., Doug Hensel and Dakota Graciani.
Rounding out the night’s events were the Snyder Hot Shot Truck and Trailer modlites where Darrick Hubbard Jr, Blake Morris and Reece Bollinger would each pick up a heat race win. Following redraw, Clint Snyder and Blake Morris would set the pole for the night’s feature. Morris would jump out front early as Chris Robinson worked his way around Snyder to claim second, looking to pressure for the top spot. Morris running low, Robinson high, cautions on laps four and six would single file back to the green. Robinson, pressuring Morris, would get the runoff turn two to secure the lead with seven laps down. Following the restart, Bollinger would look to make his way to the front as he would pass Morris to claim second. Caution with one lap to go, would set up a green checker finish. Single file back to the green Robinson would maintain his position, picking up another win on the season. Bollinger, Morris, Clint Snyder and Darrick Hubbard Jr would round out the top five.
Hilltop Speedway
July 9, 2021
Newfast Motorsports Trucks
Feature- Dwayne Powell, Blake Heyder, Rolly Heyder, John Large, Darrick Cordia, Andy King, Evan Large, Zach Hill, Rob Stambaugh
Holmes Tire Late Models
Fast Qualifier- Corey Conley 14.692
Heat- T. Baker, G. Lee, R. Conley, C. Lillibridge, J. Henderson, B. Stevens
Heat- C. Endlich, C. Black, D. Smith, M. Basich, J. Wages
Dash- C. Keenan, N. Loney, D. Hornikel, C. Conley, D. Dodd, C. Scott
Feature- Corey Conley, Nathon Loney, Clint Snyder, Cody Scott, Dave Hornikel, Thomas Baker, Cody Endlich, Doug Dodd, Caiden Black, Rick Conley, Mike Basich, George Lee, Dustin Smith, Cole Lillibridge, Jeff Wages, Jason Henderson DNS- Brock Stevens
Bugs-R-Gone Modifieds
Fast Qualifier- Chris Basich 16.309
Heat- R. Duston, C. Basich, B. Keckler, B. Jacobs, R. Robey, R. Grogg, J. Waite
Heat- J. Wisecarver, DJ Cline, J. Waite, Z. Johnson, D. Hubbard, C. Coleman, C. Butler
Feature- Jesse Wisecarver, Robin Duston, Zach Johnson, DJ Cline, Jeremy Waite, Brad Keckler, Ryan Robey, Chad Coleman, Darrick Hubbard, Casey Butler, Chris Basich, Barry Jacobs, Josh Waite DNS- Richard Grogg
CPR Mini Stocks
Heat- D. Graciani, S. Lester, W. Zimmerman, K. Markey, K. Petit, A. Parsons, C. Boyd, B. Dawson, B. Hensel
Heat-D. Hensel, E. Geary, J. Cranmore, N. Rhoads, M. Reichard, Z. Hershey, B. Berger, J. Newell, J. Wheeler
Heat-B. Parsons, G. Hensel Jr., D. Thornsley, C. St. John, J. James, B. Markey, R. Aronhalt, JR Graser, J. Fox
Heat- C. Staley, R. Parsons, J. Ramirez, T. Gamble, T. Parsons, W. Lauvray, K. Dewitt, R. Boyd, B. Berger
Dash for Cash- B. Parsons, D. Graciani, E. Geary, N. Rhoads, T. Parsons, K. Markey, S. Lester, R. Aronhalt
Consi-C. St. John, J. James, K. Markey, A. Parsons, K. Petit, B. Markey, JR Graser, J. Fox, B. Dawson, R. Aronhalt
Consi-T. Parsons, M. Reichard, Z. Hershey, N. Rhoads, J. Newell, K. Dewitt, B. Berger, B. Berger, W. Lauvray, T. Gamble DNS- R. Boyd
Feature 1- Billy Parsons, Ed Geary, Dakota Graciani, Doug Hensel, Darrin Thornsley, Gary Hensel Jr., Kevin Markey, Steven Lester, Jordan James, Mitch Reichard, Roger Parsons, Zach Hershey, Corey Staley, Tyler Parsons, Wyatt Zimmerman, Josh Ramirez, Colton St. John, Justin Cranmore
Feature 2- Billy Parsons, Jordan James, Gary Hensel Jr., Doug Hensel, Dakota Graciani, Ed Geary, Kevin Markey, Mitch Reichard, Zack Hershey, Roger Parsons, Darrin Thornsley, Tyler Parsons, Josh Ramirez, Wyatt Zimmerman, Steven Lester
Evan’s Elite Paving Street Stocks
Heat- D. Potts, J. Humphrey, K. Potts, J. Lanham, T. Schonauer, T. Nicely, L. Duncan, D. Shear, B. Hensel
Feature- Jeff Lanham, David Potts, Jimmy Humphrey, Tyler Nicely, Trae Schonauer, Kevin Potts, Denny Shear, Logan Duncan DNS- Brad Hensel
Snyder Hot Shot Truck and Trailer Repair Modlites
Heat- D. Hubbard Jr., C. Snyder, C. Duncil, J. Burkhead, J. Duncil, E. Myers, P. Norris
Heat- B. Morris, C. Robinson, B. Daugherty, T. Morris, S. Nairn, K. McManes, K. Brooks
Heat- R. Bollinger, D. Kolanski, C. Hubbard, B. Chilcote, N. Large, M. Buchanan, T. Callahan
Feature- Chris Robinson, Reece Bollinger, Blake Morris, Clint Snyder, Darrick Hubbard Jr., Joe Burkhead, Dustin Kolanski, Tim Callahan, Cameron Duncil, Carson Hubbard, Shawn Niarn, Bob Chilcote, Nick Large, Emmet Myers, Michael Buchanan, Tim Morris, Ken Brooks, Kody McManes, Brandon Daugherty, Phillip Norris, Jason Duncil
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