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ARENA RACING USA at Richmond (Va.) Coliseum
Snap-On Tools 200
Race Report

RICHMOND, Va. (Jan. 19) -- Scott Prillaman of Suffolk, Va., took the point on lap 27 and led the rest of the way for the win in the 50-lap Top Dog race, the featured event of Saturday evening's Snap-On Tools 200 for Arena Racing USA's Pro Series at the Richmond Coliseum. The victory was Prillaman's fourth overall of the season and his first in a Top Dog tilt. Tommy Jackson Jr. drew the pole for the evening's finale, sharing the front row with Jordan Wood, who was subbing for Tyler Hughes in the #20 machine. Cody Carlton and Jason Manes made up the second row, while Prillaman and Dylan Loving launched from Row 3. As the race got going, Jackson and Wood went door-to-door with Jackson eking out a slim edge at the end of lap 1. He cleared Wood out of Turn 2 on lap 2 and left the inside lane open for Carlton, Prillaman and Robbie Davis. On lap 5, Carlton slipped underneath Jackson off Turn 4, initiating a battle for the lead. With momentum off the top side, Jackson managed a scant advantage at the end of laps 5-8. On lap 9, though, Carlton nosed ahead. He gained the clear-cut advantage on lap 10, bringing Prillaman and Davis along with him. The first caution flag flew on lap 16 when Manes slapped the outside wall off Turn 4. The second yellow flag waved on the ensuing restart when Wood walloped the wall, also off Turn 4. On the double-file restart, Carlton and Prillaman went side-by-side for a lap with Carlton coming out on top on lap 17. Davis tagged along with Carlton and took over second, dropping Prillaman to third. Joined by fourth-place Jason Styron, Carlton, Davis and Prillaman distanced themselves from the pack. The complexion of the event took a turn on lap 27. As the leaders worked traffic off Turn 2, Carlton got tipped sideways and Davis checked up. Prillaman shot to the inside and into the lead. As the caution flag appeared, Jackson piled into the inside barrier along the frontstretch. Gathering for a restart, Prillaman was the new leader, flanked by Styron. As the race resumed, Prillaman quickly cleared Styron and began to pull away. By lap 31, his lead had swelled to half a straightaway. The fourth caution flag was displayed on lap 32 when Davis overturned off Turn 4. Back under green, Prillaman and Styron drove away, while Wood and Carlton jousted for third. Carlton grabbed the spot on lap 41 and set sail after Styron. Catching up to the second-place car, Carlton ducked underneath Styron on lap 44 and nosed into second on lap 46. The last of the race's five caution flags appeared on lap 48 when Dystany Spurlock and Tripp Thurston tangled off Turn 4. Setting the lineup for the final double-file restart, Prillaman and Carlton occupied the front row, followed by Styron and Wood in Row 2. Coming to the final green flag, Prillaman enjoyed a clean takeoff, while Carlton got jostled a bit from behind. As they reached the start/finish line, Prillaman had already gained the clear-cut edge over his challenger and was well on the way to the checkers. At the finish, Prillaman was the winner by 0.494-second -- about two lengths -- over Carlton. Styron was third, followed by Wood and Jackson. Davis was sixth, while Thurston, Spurlock, Francis Jarrelle III and Pete Hunt rounded out the top 10. Scott Allen, Manes, Loving and Nathan Thomas made premature exits from the event and were shown in the 11th through 14th places, respectively. In the series standings, Prillaman's Top Dog/A Main sweep allowed him to pull even with Davis for the top position. Both drivers have accumulated 125 points. Styron is third, followed by Jackson and Manes.

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Scott Prillaman grabbed the lead on the opening circuit and sailed to victory in the 50-lap Insurance Doctor A Main. The win was his third straight in A Main competition. Series co-leader Robbie Davis drew the pole, starting alongside Prillaman, his teammate. As the race got under way, Prillaman nosed ahead of Davis to take the lead. The two remained side-by-side until lap 7 when Prillaman finally cleared Davis along the backstretch. Dylan Loving, Dystany Spurlock and Cody Carlton filled the remainder of the top-five positions. At lap 10, Prillaman and Davis were nose-to-tail for the lead, separated from third-place Loving by nearly a full straightaway. Deeper in the field, former series champ Jordan Wood cracked the top five. Prillaman waded into slower traffic on lap 19. Efficiently navigating through the pack, though, he maintained a comfortable edge over Davis. The race's only caution flag flew on lap 48 when Cayton Hornberger popped the outside wall on the frontstretch. Bunching for the ensuing restart, fifth-place Wood opted to test his luck on the outside of the leader. Back under green, Prillaman quickly cleared Wood, pulling ahead as they roared toward Turn 1. Wood also gave way to Davis and Carlton, settling into the fourth spot. Over the closing laps, Prillaman held Davis at bay and won by a car-length -- 0.300-second, to be exact. Carlton was third, followed by Wood and Jason Styron. Loving, Pete Hunt and Spurlock were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, taking the final Top Dog transfer openings. Hornberger and Troy Doggett were early retirees and failed to advance to the evening's finale.

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Tommy Jackson Jr. of Poquoson, Va., moved out front on lap 23 and rolled to his third straight win in the 50-lap Pete Rose Landscape Products B Main. After only one yellow flag in the A Main, the B Main competitors made up for lost time with two cautions before the first lap was officially in the books. A third yellow flag followed on lap 2 as Francis Jarrelle III took the lead from pole-sitter Nathan Thomas. On the ensuing restart, Jarrelle opted for the outside lane, ceding the inside to rookie John Alford. Alford took advantage of the opportunity and pushed his machine to the point, bringing Lin O'Neill along with him. On lap 4, O'Neill, the longtime Southside Speedway veteran, poked a fender underneath Alford. Alford and O'Neill swapped the lead on laps 6, 7 and 8 with O'Neill eventually taking command. As O'Neill cleared Alford, Jackson tagged along, moving up to second. The fourth yellow flag appeared on lap 14 when Alford took a wild ride into the outside wall in Turn 2. As the caution flag was flying, Jackson swiped the lead from O'Neill. The pass was negated by the caution flag, though, and O'Neill was returned to the lead for the restart. Back under green, O'Neill got a helpful shove from Jason Manes and quickly cleared Jackson, who had restarted to his outside. Manes couldn't slip past Jackson, though. Pulling away from Manes, Jackson set his sights on O'Neill. On lap 22, Jackson drove underneath the leader off Turn 2. The pair went side-by-side for a lap with Jackson winning the duel off Turn 2 on lap 23. Manes came along with Jackson and snagged second. The last of the race's five yellow flags waved on lap 30 when Jarrelle got shuffled out of a logjam and into the backstretch wall, slowing to a crawl in Turns 3 and 4. On the final restart, Jackson and Manes bolted from the pack. Over the closing circuits, Jackson eased away Manes and won by 1.170 seconds -- about half a straightaway. Scott Allen tailed Jackson and Manes to the checkers, in third. Tripp Thurston and Thomas completed the top five, while Jarrelle was sixth to take the last Top Dog transfer spot. O'Neill, John Seward and Alford were shown in seventh, eighth and ninth, in that order, and missed out on the Top Dog show.

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Garrett Manes of Powhatan, Va., snagged the top spot on lap 6 and cruised to the victory in the 30-lap Youth Series feature, extending his season-opening winning streak to four. Olivia Florian started out front in the single-file lineup and led the first five circuits, which were interrupted by a pair of caution flags. On lap 6, Florian slowed off Turn 2 and Manes flashed past to take the lead. Aubrey Hill also slipped around Florian and grabbed the runner-up spot. Closing in on the finish, Manes enjoyed a commanding advantage over Hill, the only other driver left on the lead lap. His healthy margin was wiped out, however, when Florian and Autumn Weaver locked horns off Turn 4 to bring out the third, and final, caution flag on lap 28. On the last restart, Manes easily outdistanced Hill. By the end, his winning margin had grown to 2.788 seconds -- a full straightaway. Hill was second, followed by Florian, Weaver and early retiree Ryleigh Lemonds. Hunter Taylor was unable to start the event and was credited with sixth place.

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QUALIFYING RESULTS:
Scott Prillaman bagged his third Pro Series pole award of the season in late afternoon qualifying. He clocked in at 7.854 seconds -- 83-thousandths of a second quicker than runner-up Cody Carlton. Robbie Davis, Jordan Wood and Troy Doggett completed the top five. Seventeen drivers posted laps with less than a second separating the fastest and slowest.

In Youth Series time trials, Ryleigh Lemonds nabbed her second straight pole award with a 8.756-second effort. Olivia Florian was second-fastest, 71-thousandths of a second off Lemonds' pace. Garrett Manes, Aubrey Hill, Autumn Weaver and Hunter Taylor rounded out the field.