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Dirt Inc.
Chassis - Maxim
Engines -
Driver - Chad
Hillier
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Hillier Runs 15th in Brad Doty Classic
LIMA , OH
(July 11) – Chad Hillier drove the #5C DIRT Inc. Maxim into 15th
place in Wednesday’s 19th Annual Brad Doty Classic at Limaland
Motorsports
Park .
Hillier, who is racing
for the World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year award Doty received in 1982,
ranks second in the standings behind Australian Kerry Madsen.
The DIRT Inc. team got
off to a fast start as Hillier recorded the third-fastest qualifying lap in
the 42-car field, only .024 seconds off fast-qualifier and eventual feature
winner Jac Haudenschild’s
pace. Hitting the outside retaining wall at the beginning of the Third Heat
Race broke the #5C’s front axle, however, and resulted in an eighth-place
finish.
“Qualifying went well,
but we broke our front axle when we got into the wall on the initial start
of the heat race,” Hillier said. “On one of the other starts, we got our front
wing hooked on Daryn Pittman’s rear bumper and it
tore it off.”
Starting next to NASCAR
Nextel Cup star and fellow Washingtonian Kasey Kahne on the front row in the “B” Feature, Hillier
finished fourth to earn the privilege of starting the 40-lap main event
inside the sixth row.
“It was good to have Kasey race with us,” Hillier said. “Having him there
helps bring out more fans, and he actually ran really well. We used to race
together on the West Coast;
he was just able to get off the West Coast before I did. Dave (DeWitt, the DIRT
Inc. team owner) was actually one of his sponsors when he raced out there.
Dave’s done a lot for West
Coast drivers.”
Hillier passed Kahne during the opening lap of the “A” Feature, and
battled Pittman for 12th place during the race’s middle stages.
“We were just kind of
free all night, and the track was pretty slick,” Hillier said. “We were
pretty decent at the start of the ‘A,” but we should have been tighter. We
got loose toward the end and lost most of our positions in the final 10
laps.
“Daryn
and I were sliding each other every lap. It got to the point where one of
us had the let the other one go. He seemed to be a little bit better, and
he started way back. So, instead of racing him every lap, I let him go and
tried to get in behind him. We just weren’t that good toward the end, and
he managed to pass a few more cars. If you’re just racing one guy, the
whole field can get away from you.
“It wasn’t too bad, but it would
have been better to finish in the top 10 since we had a good starting
position.”
Everybody at DIRT Inc.
is looking forward to this weekend’s races at two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup
champion Tony Stewart’s
Eldora Speedway: Friday’s “Knight Before the Kings Royal” and Saturday’s
$50,000 “Kings Royal.”
“We picked up a fresh
(Don) Ott motor for the Eldora races,” Hillier
said. “We hope everything goes well there. We’re going to do our best to
stay away from early mistakes. We want to make sure everything is running
right Friday and then have a really good run Saturday. We’ve been getting
better at Eldora, so I feel a lot more confident going there this time.
It’s not a guessing game now; we know how we need to start with the chassis
and motor.
“The guys (Crew Chief
Tyler Swank, Mechanic Pete Stephens and Crewman Curtis Bye) are working
really hard and they’re doing a good job in the pits. Curtis (who joined
DIRT Inc. last week) is getting the hang of it, and everybody’s working
well together. We’re in good spirits.”
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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