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

RICHMOND, Va. (Feb. 16) -- Scott Prillaman of Suffolk, Va., captured the lead at the halfway mark and rolled to the win in the 50-lap Pro Series Top Dog race, the headlining event of Saturday evening's Arena Racing USA program at the Richmond Coliseum. The victory was Prillaman's seventh overall and his second in Top Dog competition. Pete Hunt was the pole-sitter for the start, flanked by Cody Carlton, who was at the wheel of the #8 machine normally piloted by Tommy Jackson Jr. Brenden "Butterbean" Queen, in Carlton's regular #94 ride, lined up third, alongside Prillaman. After the first attempt at a start went awry, the race got under way with Hunt taking the lead from Carlton out of Turn 2. Davis tagged along with Hunt and moved into second. Three laps later, Davis went for the lead when Hunt got crossed up out of Turn 2. He successfully made the pass on the backstretch and brought Prillaman along with him, to second. The second caution flag appeared on lap 5 when Michael Hayes rolled to a halt in Turn 3. On the double-file restart, Davis quickly cleared Prillaman, who found Carlton to his inside. Carlton nabbed the runner-up spot on lap 6. The third caution flag flew on lap 7 when Tyler Daniels and John Seward locked horns in Turn 4 and Seward overturned. Contrary to how it looked, Daniels got the worst of the exchange as he retired to the infield and Seward rejoined the field. Only one more lap was completed before the fourth yellow flag was displayed as Hayes and Seward tangled in Turn 2. On the ensuing restart, Davis and Carlton remained side-by-side until they reached Turn 4. Davis gained the upper hand in the corner and surged ahead, bringing Prillaman to second and leaving the lane open for Dylan Loving, who pulled underneath Carlton in a bid for third. While Loving and Carlton duked it out, Davis and Prillaman pulled away, stretching their advantage over the rest of the pack to half a straightaway. Prillaman remained in Davis' tire tracks until lap 25. In traffic, Prillaman slipped to the inside along the backstretch and drew even with Davis. He edged ahead at the stripe to take the lead and cleared Davis on lap 26. Within five laps, Prillaman had driven away by almost half a straightaway. The last of the race's five yellow flags was unfurled on lap 46 when fan favorite Dystany Spurlock flipped on her lid off Turn 4. Officials righted her #23 machine and she rejoined the field for the final green flag. Under green for the last time, Prillaman and Davis stayed door-to-door until they motored onto the backstretch. Off Turn 2, Prillaman powered ahead, while Davis slipped in line on his rear bumper. Behind them, Loving and Carlton renewed their tussle. At the checkers, Prillaman was the winner by 0.575-second -- about three lengths -- over teammate Davis. Loving was third, followed by Loving and Queen. Jason Styron was sixth, while Jason Manes, Spurlock, Francis Jarrelle III and Seward rounded out the top 10. Hunt, Hayes and Daniels were 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively. Scott Allen qualified for the race, but was unable to make the start. He was credited with 14th. With a month-long hiatus in the offing, Prillaman owns a 15-point lead over Davis in the Pro Series standings, 257-242. Styron is third with 229, while Hunt and Manes are deadlocked for fourth with 217 apiece.

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Jason Styron of Chesapeake, Va., assumed the lead four laps from the end and survived the final restart to nail down his first victory of the season in the 50-lap Insurance Doctor A Main. Tyler Daniels drew the pole and paced the first six circuits before giving way to Tripp Thurston, his front-row colleague, on lap 7. Dystany Spurlock took over second on lap 8, then surrendered the spot to Cody Carlton on lap 9. Two laps later, Scott Prillaman swiped third from Spurlock, bringing Robbie Davis along with him. The race's second caution flag waved on lap 15 when Cayton Hornberger overturned in Turn 2. Bunching for the ensuing restart, Carlton, Prillaman and sixth-place Dylan Loving opted to launch from the outside lane. Back under green, Thurston successfully fought off Carlton to retain the lead. Davis moved up to second, then went after Thurston for the point on lap 16, grabbing the spot along the backstretch. Caught to the outside, Thurston could only watch as Carlton and Prillaman also steamed past him. On lap 21, Prillaman took second from Carlton. The move was negated, however, when the third yellow flag flew for a three-car tangle in Turn 4. As the race resumed, Davis led Carlton, Prillaman and Loving in a four-car breakaway at the head of the field. The top four remained nose-to-tail until lap 27 when Prillaman ducked underneath Carlton in Turn 2. He edged ahead of Carlton at the flagstand and gained the clear-cut advantage on lap 28. The shuffle allowed Davis to extend his margin to four lengths. Within five laps, Prillaman had erased Davis' lead and was parked on his rear bumper. Prillaman continued to follow in Davis' tire tracks until lap 45 when he dipped to the inside of the leader at the end of the front straightaway. Returning to the start/finish line, Prillaman eased ahead to take the lead for the first time. The complexion of the event took a drastic turn on lap 47 when Spurlock spun off Turn 2 and collected Prillaman, Davis, Carlton and Loving. All five cars were relegated to the rear of the field for the ensuing restart, passing the lead to Styron. As the field was aligned for the dash to the finish, only Styron and Pete Hunt were not involved in the caution-causing incident, so Prillaman was able to restart from third place. Prillaman's chances to rally got even better when Hunt chose the outside lane for the restart. Under green for the last time, Styron quickly dispensed with Hunt and brought Prillaman along with him, to second. Over the remaining circuits, Styron carefully guarded his inside flank and held Prillaman at bay. At the checkers, Styron was the winner by a single car-length -- 0.303-second, to be exact -- over Prillaman. Davis was third, followed by Carlton and Loving. Hunt was sixth, while Spurlock and Daniels were seventh and eighth and locked up the last Top Dog transfer spots. Thurston and Hornberger made premature exits from the festivities and missed out on Top Dog starting positions.

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Francis Jarrelle III of Chesterfield, Va., took the lead under caution on lap 20 and led the rest of the way for his first win of the season in a caution-filled 50-lap Pete Rose Landscape Products B Main. Scott Allen and Brenden "Butterbean" Queen shared the front row for the start and ran 1-2 for the first 19 circuits. On lap 20, the two made contact off Turn 2 and Queen went sailing into the inside barrier along the backstretch, prompting the race's first yellow flag. Allen and Queen both earned trips to the back of the pack for their parts in the accident. As the two early leaders retreated, Jarrelle moved to the point, followed by Michael Hayes, Jason Manes, Joey Moore and John Seward. In short order, though, the yellow flag made five more appearances and officials began scoring the caution laps to move the event along to its conclusion. Gathering for the final restart, Manes, who had taken over second place, pulled to the outside of Jarrelle in a bid for his third straight B Main victory. Returning to green, Jarrelle pulled ahead of Manes, who quickly found Queen to his inside. Queen grabbed second place as the top three roared away from the rest of the field. On the white-flag lap, Queen tried to root Jarrelle aside off Turn 2. Jarrelle held a firm grip on the lead, though, and headed on to the checkers. Off the final corner, Queen's machine lurched up on two wheels, providing Manes with an opening down low. At the finish, Jarrelle was the winner by a car-length over Manes, who slipped ahead of Queen at the stripe. Seward was fourth, followed by Hayes and Allen, who claimed the last Top Dog starting spots. Moore and John Alford failed to advance to the evening's grand finale.

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Camden Testerman of Richmond started out front and led all the way for his second straight victory in a 30-lapper for the Youth Series. For most of the way, the event was a two-car duel between Testerman and Timmy Tyrrell. Nearing the finish, the lead duo was up by more than half a lap over third-place Garrett Manes, the division leader. On lap 27, though, Tyrrell went after Testerman for the top spot at the end of the backstretch and ended up plowing into and through the foam-rubber barricade along the inside of the track, part of which wound up in Turn 4. As the caution flag waved, Tyrrell was motioned to the rear of the field, while Manes closed up on Testerman's rear bumper. Back under green, Testerman eked out a one-length margin over Manes. Doing all he could to catch up to the leader, Manes spun out on what would have been the final lap. Instead, the second caution flag flew and the field braced for a "green-white-checkered" sprint to the end. On the last restart, Testerman grabbed a one-length advantage over Olivia Florian. By the finish, his winning margin had grown to 0.477-second -- two lengths. Florian was second, followed by Autumn Weaver, Manes and Aubrey Hill. Tyrrell was sixth, while Hunter Taylor completed the rundown. In the Youth Series points rundown, Manes leads Florian by seven, 230-223. Weaver is third with 211, followed by Taylor with 201 and Hill with 188.

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QUALIFYING RESULTS:
Qualifying ace Scott Prillaman claimed his sixth pole award in late afternoon time trials for the Pro Series, finishing off a Friday/Saturday pole sweep. He clocked in at 7.838 seconds, nipping Dylan Loving by 56-thousandths of a second. Robbie Davis, Cody Carlton and Jason Styron rounded out the top five.

In Youth Series qualifying, Garrett Manes of Powhatan, Va., completed a weekend sweep of the pole awards with a 8.487-second effort. It was his fourth pole of the campaign. Olivia Florian was right on his heels, just 3-thousandths of a second off the pace. Timmy Tyrrell, Camden Testerman, Autumn Weaver and Hunter Taylor were third through sixth, respectively. Aubrey Hill did not post a timed lap.