Chad Hillier Williams Grove Saturday summary

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."

-credit: dirt-inc