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Dirt Inc.
Chassis - Maxim
Engines -
Driver - Chad
Hillier
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Hillier Flips Out of National Open Finale
MECHANICSBURG , PA
(September 29) – World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year
contender Chad Hillier had high hopes for the 45th Annual
Williams Grove National Open. That optimism was short-lived, however, when
the #5c DIRT Inc. Maxim flipped over the retaining wall in turn two early
in Saturday’s First Heat Race.
The only driver to win
championships in all three sprint car divisions at Skagit Speedway was .362
seconds faster in time trials Saturday than on opening night. As the 29th-fastest
qualifier in the 54-car field, Hillier started eighth in the First Heat
Race.
“We started out about
the same,” Chad
said. “We drew a similar pill and qualified in about the same spot. We were
better, but they had four cars already locked in.
“We got off to a pretty
good start in the heat. We had a competitive racecar and the track was
faster than it was Friday. We got up to sixth place and, when I went into
one and two, the car got tight and bicycled up and flipped out of the park.
It wasn’t a good way to start the night. I was hoping we could race in the
feature or at least the ‘B’ so we could build on what we had been doing. It
bent the frame up pretty bad, so we had to call it a night. If we had
pulled a new car down, we would have had to start at the back of the
features, and it’s practically impossible to come through all that. It was
just a short night for us.”
Luckily for DIRT Inc.,
Hillier escaped injury in the horrific crash.
“I’m fine, but it’s
frustrating,” Chad
said. “Our guys worked really hard. It’s tough the way it ended but, on a
better note, compared to the way we had been running at Williams Grove, we made in
progress. People keep telling me it’s fortunate that I’m OK, but I just
keep wishing it hadn’t happened. I really want to see how it happened on
tape.”
The Williams Grove
National Open finale will be televised between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern
Time October 14th on SPEED.
Hillier and his DIRT
Inc. teammates are looking forward to next weekend’s PolyDome
Princeton Nationals at Princeton
Speedway in Princeton, MN.
“We haven’t been to Princeton this year, but
I’ve raced there before,” Chad
said. “It’s a tight quarter-mile that’s pretty racy. It’s a fun little
place. It will be a change-up for us; we’ve run on big tracks the last
three races. We’ve been gaining confidence as we’ve run better on the big
tracks, but we seem to do better on the small ones. A lot of that has to do
with me as a driver and the fact that the motors don’t come into play quite
as much. You have to run perfect laps on the big tracks; there’s a little
more room for error on the smaller tracks. Hopefully, it will be good and
the weather is warm. It can get pretty cold up there this time of year.”
DeWitt Industries
Racing Team Incorporated invites racing fans to visit its website at www.dirt-inc.com for news, results, sponsorship information and
photographs. The team is sponsored by Jansma
Construction, H.B. Jaeger, Fast Wings, Maxim Chassis, Pro Shocks and Weld
Racing.
Ideas, suggestions, questions or comments can
be sent to: SprintCar PR.
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