Volunteer Speedway
Hill cruises at Bulls Gap, continues Ultimate roll
By Robert Walden
Volunteer Speedway
Vic Hill holds his paycheck high at Volunteer Speedway. (rpmphotos.net)
BULLS GAP, Tenn. (July 9) — Polesitter Vic Hill of Mosheim, Tenn., dominated Saturday’s Showdown at the Gap 50 at Volunteer Speedway for this third consecutive victory on the Ultimate Super Late Model Series. Hill pocketed $5,000 at his home track in leading every lap as he continued a string of strong performances. | Video | Slideshow
“It’s always awesome to win here at Volunteer Speedway in front of these home-track fans,” said Hill, whose previous Ultimate victories came at Smoky Mountain Speedway and Wythe Raceway. "We’ve really got this Warrior Race Car working great anywhere we show up. We were fast when we unloaded for practice tonight, and backed it up with the pole and then led flag-to-flag in the race.
"Counting tonight, over the past three Ultimate races we’ve ran we have three fast times in qualifying and three start-to-finish victories. We’ve led 140 straight laps. We set a new track record in qualifying last weekend up at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., as we were the first car to ever get in the 15s up there at that big half-mile.”
Outside front-row starter Billy Ogle Jr. of Knoxville, Tenn., chased Hill to the checkers while Chad Ogle of Sevierville, Tenn., Riley Hickman of Ooltewah, Tenn., and former track champ Jeff Maupin of Greeneville, Tenn., rounded out the top five.
Hill smashed the loud pedal at the waving of the green flag to get the jump on Ogle, who got out of shape down the backstretch and lost positions to Hickman and Stacy Boles.
Hill was clearly the dominant car as he quickly began to put distance between himself and his closest challengers. The only thing slowing Hill in the early going was minor cautions when Tim Allen slowed with a flat tire and Mark Vineyard looped his mount in turn two on lap 13.
The event’s only major incident occurred on lap 25, when Tyler King suddenly slowed down the backstretch, leaving a hard-on-the-throttle Josh Henry with nowhere to go. Henry attempted to avoid King, but his car violently slammed into the outside wall near the turn-three exit, sustaining extensive damage.
Back under green, Hill led Billy Ogle, Hickman, Boles and Maupin. Hill once again began to pull away out front while Chad Ogle eventually broke into the top five on lap 43 en route to third. But there was no stopping Hill as the five-time track champion cruised to the checkers.
Notes: Hill’s Warrior Race Car has a self-built engine and sponsorship from Landair Transport, Pilot Travel Centers, Preferred Sandblasting & Painting, Outlaw Race Parts and the Orthopaedic Institute of Western Kentucky. ... He also thanked crew chief Shawn Gage, Jordan Casey and his wife Christa for their hard work at Vic Hill Race Engines. ... Jensen Ford of Piney Flats, Tenn., won the night’s Fastrak-sanctioned Crate Late Model feature. ... Next up for Ultimate competitors is a June 16 event at 441 Speedway in Dublin, Ga.
Showdown at the Gap 50: (1) Vic Hill, (2) Billy Ogle Jr., (3) Chad Ogle, (4) Riley Hickman, (5) Jeff Maupin, (6) Stacy Boles, (7) Casey Roberts, (8) Mike Weeks, (9) Brett Miller, (10) David Watts, (11) Casey Barrow, (12) Daniel Baggerly, (13) Rick Rogers, (14) Jeff Franklin, (15) Heath Alvey, (16) Mark Vineyard, (17) Bryan Hendrix, (18) Mark Douglas, (19) Josh Henry, (20) Zach Mitchell, (21) Tyler King, (22) Aaron Ridley, (23) Tim Allen, (24) Terry Wolfenbarger, (25) Jensen Ford. Scratched: Sammie Russell. Fast qualifier (among 26 cars): Hill, 12.261 seconds.
