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ARENA RACING USA at Richmond (Va.) Coliseum
Race Report

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 9) -- Tyler Hughes of Cordova, Md., came out on top of a side-by-side duel with Pro Series points leader Scott Prillaman and scored his second victory in the 50-lap Top Dog feature, the headlining event of Saturday evening's Arena Racing USA program at the Richmond Coliseum. Cayton Hornberger and Dystany Spurlock drew the front-row positions for the nightcap, duplicating their starting spots in the A Main. As the race got under way, Spurlock nosed ahead, finally clearing Hornberger into Turn 1 on lap 3. Hughes emerged from the shuffle in third place and immediately began to pressure Hornberger for second. On lap 7, Hughes slipped underneath Hornberger and swiped the runner-up spot on lap 8. Three laps later, he edged ahead of Spurlock for the lead, gaining the clear-cut advantage on lap 12. Once out front, Hughes bolted from the pack. By lap 16, his lead had grown to a full straightaway as Spurlock and Hornberger jousted for second. Meanwhile, Prillaman, who started near the rear of the field, had made his way into fourth place and was rapidly closing ground on the second-place battle. After dispensing with Hornberger, Prillaman set his sights on Spurlock and took over second place on lap 21. He faced a steep climb, though, as Hughes had the #20 machine in the wind. Needing a caution to narrow the gap, Prillaman caught a break when the race's first yellow flag waved on lap 28. On the double-file restart, Hughes quickly cleared Prillaman, who was positioned on his flank. Spurlock tagged along and regained second. Exiting Turn 2, Prillaman drove to the inside of Spurlock. The two tangled in Turn 4, creating a momentary logjam, while Hughes pulled away. Prillaman finally took second from Spurlock on lap 33. By then, though, Hughes was a straightaway ahead. The second caution flag flew on lap 36 when Pete Hunt looped his machine in Turn 4. Back under green, Hughes powered ahead of Prillaman into Turn 1. Off Turn 2, Prillaman switched lanes and poked a fender alongside Hughes on the backstretch. He couldn't make the move pay off, though, as Hughes regained command of the point. The last of the race's three caution flags appeared on lap 44 when Spurlock and Jason Manes tangled in Turn 2. Spurlock smacked the outside wall and came to rest in Turn 3, bringing a premature end to an impressive showing for her. On the final restart, Hughes and Prillaman went door-to-door for a lap with Hughes eking ahead in Turn 1 on lap 45. A lap later, Prillaman ducked underneath Hughes in Turn 2 and the battle for the win was on. Over the last five laps, Hughes and Prillaman dueled fender-to-fender with Hughes using the momentum off the top side of the banked oval to retain the top spot each time they passed the flagstand. At the finish, Hughes was the winner by half a car-length over Prillaman. Hunt was third, followed by Hornberger and Nathan Thomas. Manes was sixth, while Francis Jarrelle III, John Alford, Spurlock and Tripp Thurston rounded out the top 10. Lin O'Neill was 11th. Jason Styron, Scott Allen and Robbie Davis all qualified for the Top Dog race, but were unable to make the start. While his runner-up finish in the Top Dog race may have been somewhat of a disappointment, Prillaman was able to pad his lead in the Pro Series standings. Halfway into the 12-event campaign, he holds a 14-point edge over teammate Davis, 192-178. Styron is third, 10 behind Davis, followed by Hunt and Manes.

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Scott Prillaman of Suffolk, Va., moved out front on lap 13 and sailed to his fifth straight win in the 50-lap Insurance Doctor A Main. The victory was his sixth overall. Cayton Hornberger drew the pole for the start, but gave way to front-row colleague Dystany Spurlock on the opening circuit. Hornberger battled back on lap 2, claiming the top spot off the second corner. Pete Hunt grabbed the runner-up position from Spurlock on lap 4, while Prillaman snagged fourth from Troy Doggett. The first yellow flag flew on lap 8 when Doggett, last weekend's Top Dog winner, overturned off Turn 2 and slid all the way down the backstretch. On the restart, Hunt elected to launch from the outside lane and pulled ahead of Hornberger for the lead. Prillaman tagged along with Hunt and took over second. On lap 12, Prillaman went after Hunt for the lead and grabbed the position on lap 13. The race was slowed by three more caution flags, at laps 15, 17 and 25. While Prillaman held a firm grip on the point, Hunt and Tyler Hughes jockeyed for second, swapping the spot a few times. The green flag reappeared for the last time on lap 32 and Prillaman scampered away from the pack. By the finish, his winning margin had grown to 1.569 seconds over Hughes. Hunt was third, followed by Spurlock, who fought off Jason Styron for fourth. Hornberger was sixth, while Francis Jarrelle III took seventh. The top seven, along with early retiree Robbie Davis, claimed Top Dog starting spots. Cody Carlton, Doggett and Dylan Loving missed out on the evening's grand finale.

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Jason Manes of Powhatan, Va., started on the pole and wired the field to capture his first victory of the season in the 50-lap Pete Rose Landscape Products B Main. The event was slowed by three caution flags in the first eight circuits as Manes and Tripp Thurston showed the way. Back under green, Thurston stayed within striking distance of the leader until lap 12 when he two-wheeled the exit of Turn 2, allowing Manes to pull away by half a straightaway. Thurston clambered back into contention on lap 14 when Manes was stymied by a pair of slower machines. As Manes broke free, though, Thurston found himself in the same predicament and Manes' lead grew to a full straightaway. As the laps clicked off, Manes continued to drive away. Passing the halfway mark, his margin had swelled to half a lap over Thurston. On lap 32, Thurston got crossed up in Turn 2 and gave way to Scott Allen and Lin O'Neill. Thurston tried to rally against O'Neill, but the longtime Southside Speedway vet maintained the advantage with momentum off the top side. Nearing the finish, Manes ran up on O'Neill and Thurston, who were jousting for third. Not wanting to push the issue, Manes seemed content to follow those two to the end. With the white flag in the air, the race was interrupted by one last caution as Thurston looped his machine in Turn 2. The incident wiped out Manes' commanding edge and set up a "green-white-checkered" dash to the finish. Bunching for the last restart, Allen pulled out of line and motored alongside Manes. The bid didn't pay off, however, as he gave way to Manes and O'Neill on the restart. At the finish, Manes was the winner by 0.879-second -- about three lengths -- over O'Neill. Allen was third, while Nathan Thomas, Thurston and John Alford snagged the remaining Top Dog transfer positions. Michael Hayes, John Seward and Mike Newewll failed to advance to the Top Dog race, along with Tommy Jackson Jr., who was unable to start the B Main.

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Garrett Manes of Powhatan assumed the lead on lap 9 and showed the way to the finish for his fifth win of the season in a 30-lapper for the Youth Series. Ryleigh Lemonds started on the pole and led the first eight circuits. Her effort went awry on lap 9, however, when Autumn Weaver did a half-flip in Turn 2 and snared nearly half the field. As Weaver's car was hauled into the infield, Lemonds was directed to the back of the pack, along with Timmy Tyrrell and Olivia Florian. Manes, meanwhile, moved to the point. Back under green, Lemonds tried to regaint the third spot from Camden Testerman. Instead, they tangled on the backstretch and the caution flag came back out. One more lap was in the books when Lemonds and Testerman locked horns for a second time. The incident sent Testerman to the sidelines for the evening. As the race resumed, Manes surged to a three-length lead over Tyrrell. Within a few circuits, that advantage had swelled to almost half a straightaway. Manes surrendered much of his lead on lap 25 when he had difficulty with Hunter Taylor's slower machine. Breaking free of Taylor, though, Manes darted away from Tyrrell and was on his way to the win. At the finish, Manes was the winner by 1.123 seconds -- nearly half a straightaway -- over Tyrrell. Florian was third, followed by Lemonds and Taylor. Testerman and Weaver completed the rundown.

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QUALIFYING RESULTS:
Tyler Hughes bagged his first pole award of the season in late afternoon Pro Series qualifying. He circled the tenth-mile oval in 7.845 seconds to nip Robbie Davis by 33-thousandths of a second. Troy Doggett, Scott Prillaman and Cody Carlton were third-, fourth- and fifth-fastest, respectively. Twenty drivers posted timed laps with less than a second separating the quickest and slowest.

In Youth Series qualifying, Ryleigh Lemonds clocked in at 8.534 seconds to nab her third pole award. Olivia Florian was second-fastest, just 19-thousandths of a second off Lemonds' standard. Timmy Tyrrell, Camden Testerman, Autumn Weaver and Hunter Taylor rounded out the rundown. Mechanical problems left points leader Garrett Manes on the sidelines during time trials.