HAMPTON, Va. (Mar. 5) -- Looking to solidify his position atop the standings, Scott Prillaman moved out front on lap 20 and sailed to his first Top Dog win -- his seventh win overall on the season. The 50-lap feature race was the main event of Friday evening's Chick-fil-A 200 for the Arena Racing Hampton Roads Pro Series, the first night of a Friday-Saturday weekend doubleheader at the Hampton Coliseum.
Denver Alvis drew the pole for the start of the race. He was due to share the front row with Jason Styron. Styron, though, was unable to answer the bell, along with B Main winner Craig Carlton, trimming the 14-car lineup to 12. Matt Leach took Styron's place on Row 1, while Jordan Wood and Sparky West made up Row 2.
As the race got under way, Alvis jumped out front, bringing Wood and Florian along with him. Rookie contender Josh Ayer moved up to fourth, while Prillaman, who started ninth, emerged from the opening shuffle in fifth.
On lap 11, Wood poked a fender underneath Alvis off Turn 4 and edged out front on lap 12. Florian tagged along with Wood and took over the second spot. Ayer, Prillaman and Derek Miller also bypassed Alvis, who tumbled through the running order.
Wood and Florian were running nose-to-tail on lap 17 when Sparky West slowed on the backstretch. While Wood quickly ducked to the inside to pass West, Florian wasn't so fortunate, plowing up under the back end of West's machine to bring out the second caution flag. Florian continued, but minus much of his front-end bodywork.
On the double-file restart, Wood and Ayer shared the front row and battled hard through Turns 1 and 2 with Wood nosing ahead on the backstretch. Spotting an opening, Prillaman pulled underneath Ayer in a bid for second.
The third yellow flag waved on lap 20 when Florian and Leach tangled on the frontstretch. During the ensuing caution period, Wood was pulled aside by officials to remove a piece of his rear bumper which was dangling. Wood rejoined the field, but at the rear as the lead passed to Prillaman.
On the restart, Prillaman easily cleared Ayer, bringing Miller with him, to second. Behind them, Ayer and Charlie Green dueled for third.
With Prillaman and Miller well ahead, the rest of the pack jousted and jostled in their wake. Green emerged in the third spot, followed by Ayer, Alvis, Florian and Wood. At lap 30, Prillaman and Miller were up by a straightaway.
The fourth caution flag flew on lap 32 when Wood spun in Turn 2. That was quickly followed by the fifth, and final, yellow flag, which appeared on lap 35 when Miller and Green tangled off Turn 4 and Green spun, collecting Alvis.
Gathering for the last restart, Prillaman and Miller were out front, followed by Florian and Wood. Back under green, Prillaman and Florian cleared Miller, who latched onto Florian's rear bumper.
On lap 48, with Prillaman leading by three lengths, Florian and Miller locked horns off Turn 4 and battled all the way down the frontstretch. Alvis jumped to the outside and bypassed both machines to take over second place.
With his pursuers bouncing off each other behind him, Prillaman strolled to the win. Alvis was second to the line, followed by Miller, Wood and Florian. Ayer and Green were sixth and seventh, the final drivers to complete the entire distance. Early retirees Leach, West and Brittany Bangas were credited with eighth, ninth and 10th, in that order.
A Main
Scott Prillaman led all 50 laps from the pole to wrap up his third straight A Main victory. For the season, it was his fifth A Main win and sixth overall win. Later, he would add his seventh win in the Top Dog feature.
Prillaman started alongside Chris Raiford on the front row and grabbed the upper hand as the initial green flag was unfurled. Travis Wall and Adam Florian, who started third and fifth, tagged along with Prillaman, keeping Raiford trapped in the outside lane.
Within the next few circuits, Aaron Leach, Charlie Green, Spencer Saunders and Derek Miller also bypassed Raiford, who eventually turned to the infield.
At lap 10, Prillaman held a one-length edge over Wall, while Florian rode one more length back. A straightaway separated the top three from Leach, Green and Miller. On lap 14, Miller slipped by Green to pick up fifth.
The race's only caution flag waved on lap 20 when Saunders slowed along the backstretch and began looking for an escape route to the infield. Approaching Saunders' crippled machine, Wall tried to swing around the outside, but was pinched into the outside wall. Both Saunders and Wall were eliminated from the race.
After a red-flag delay for track cleanup, the field gathered for a restart with Prillaman, Florian, Leach, Miller and Green holding the top five positions. Jordan Wood was in sixth, the last Top Dog transfer position.
Back under green, Prillaman and Florian pulled away, bumper-to-bumper. Behind them, Miller hounded Leach for third. He took the position on lap 22 and brought Green, Wood and Josh Ayer along with him, dropping Leach toward the rear of the pack.
Passing the halfway mark, Prillaman's lead had grown to three lengths over Florian. Meanwhile, Miller was beginning to close the gap between himself and the runner-up.
By lap 32, Prillaman had added another two lengths to his lead over Florian, who had been tracked down by Miller. A straightaway separated Miller and fourth-place Green, who had Wood and Ayer on his tail.
Prillaman endured a bit of an anxious moment when he ran up on Cody Turbitt in the waning circuits. As he struggled with Turbitt, Florian and Miller rapidly closed in.
At the checkers, Prillaman was the winner by two lengths over Florian. Miller was third, followed by Green, Wood and Ayer. The top six finishers advanced to the Top Dog race.
B Main
Craig Carlton started on the pole and led all 50 circuits to notch his first win of the season in the B Main.
Carlton shared the front row with Mike Dayton and gained the clear-cut edge off Turn 2 on the opening lap. With Dayton trapped on the outside, Matt Leach moved up to second, while Denver Alvis grabbed third. Dayton went door-to-door with Michael Weddell for a couple circuits before surrendering fourth on lap 3.
At lap 20, Carlton held a three-length advantage over Leach, Alvis and Weddell. Nelson Moody was fifth, having taken the spot from Curtis Hughes on lap 17.
The first caution flag appeared on lap 25 when Matt Midgett and Landon Florian tangled, just ahead of the leaders, in Turn 4.
Back under green, the top four pulled away by almost two lengths over Moody. By lap 31, Carlton had opened a two-length advantage over Leach. Leach closed the gap, though, on lap 36. The margin continued to expand and contract as the laps began to wind down.
On lap 43, Moody ducked under Weddell in a bid for fourth, the last Top Dog transfer spot. Their battle ended a lap later when Dayton spun in Turn 4 to bring out the second yellow flag.
The third, and final, caution flag came out on the ensuing restart when Weddell got turned on the backstretch and collected Chris Crecelius and Matt Midgett.
Under green for the last time, the top six drivers -- Carlton, Leach, Alvis, Moody, Hughes and Florian -- bolted in nose-to-tail formation. Soon, though, the front four began to separate themselves from the pack.
At the finish, Carlton was the winner by a car-length over Leach. Alvis was third, while Moody was fourth. The top four all moved on to the Top Dog race. Hughes was fifth.
C Main
Robbie Davis regained the lead on lap 45 and sped on to his first feature victory in the 50-lap C Main.
Jason Styron was the pole starter for the event, but gave way to his front-row colleague, Davis, at the end of the opening circuit. The caution flag made an early appearance as Jimmy Greybeck spun at the start/finish line at the end of lap 1. Davis was positioned out front for the ensuing restart.
Back under green, Davis led Styron and Sparky West in a three-car breakaway. Meanwhile, Brittany Bangas slipped by Mark Brooks to take over fourth, the final Top Dog transfer spot.
On lap 10, Bangas continued her march toward the front, overhauling West for third and bringing Travis Miller and Clayton Parrish along with her.
The second caution flag waved on lap 16 when Bangas spun in Turn 4 and collected Parrish. Bangas was able to rejoin the field, while Parrish headed to the sidelines.
As the race resumed, Davis quickly forged a two-length lead, while Miller scooted past Styron to take the runner-up spot. The shuffle allowed Davis to pad his advantage to four lengths.
Davis maintained a comfortable margin over Miller until lap 32 when the leaders headed into lapped traffic. Within a lap, Miller had pulled up on Davis' rear bumper.
Caution #3 appeared on lap 35 when Greybeck barrel-rolled into Turn 4, just ahead of the lead duo. Davis, Miller, Styron and West held the top four positions for the restart.
Back under way, Bangas picked off West to move into fourth, just ahead of the fourth caution flag, which flew on lap 40.
On the restart, Miller ducked under Davis on the backstretch. He pulled ahead on lap 44 to take over the lead. Davis battled back on lap 45, though, and retook the lead. The scuffle left Miller with damage to the right-front of his machine and he slowed, triggering a pileup at the end of the backstretch. The incident chased Miller to the sidelines, bringing a premature end to his evening.
Under green for the final time, Davis fashioned a two-length edge over Styron, who was occupied by a challenge from Bangas. With the second- and third-place runners tussling between themselves, Davis strolled to the checkers, winning by half a straightaway.
Styron held off Bangas for second, while West took fourth and joined the top three in advancing to the Top Dog race. Greybeck was fifth.
Youth Series
Connor Hall took the lead on lap 4 and sailed to his sixth consecutive win in a 30-lapper for the Youth Series.
Macy Causey started from the pole and paced the first three circuits before giving way to Hall, who won by a straightaway. Causey was second, followed by Gummy Cook. Cullen Roberts and Patrick Groff were early retirees from the event and were credited with fourth and fifth, respectively.
Qualifying
Jordan Wood and Travis Wall topped the late afternoon qualifying session, posting identical 8.071-second laps around the tenth-mile oval. Wood and Wall were 5-thousandths of a second quicker than Adam Florian and Scott Prillaman, who both clocked in at 8.076 seconds. Derek Miller was fifth-fastest in the time trial results. Thirty-one drivers made qualifying attempts. The top 30 were separated by just over half a second.
In Youth Series qualifying, Connor Hall led the way with an 8.671-second effort. Macy Causey, Cullen Roberts, Patrick Groff and Gummy Cook completed the top five.
MARCH 5 RACE RESULTS from Hampton Coliseum:
TOP DOG (50 laps): 1. Scott Prillaman; 2. Denver Alvis; 3. Derek Miller; 4. Jordan Wood; 5. Adam Florian; 6. Josh Ayer; 7. Charlie Green; 8. Matt Leach; 9. Sparky West; 10. Brittany Bangas; 11. Nelson Moody; 12. Robbie Davis; 13. Jason Styron; 14. Craig Carlton. Pole: Alvis.
A MAIN (50 laps): 1. Scott Prillaman; 2. Adam Florian; 3. Derek Miller; 4. Charlie Green; 5. Jordan Wood; 6. Josh Ayer; 7. Aaron Leach; 8. Cody Turbitt; 9. Spencer Saunders; 10. Travis Wall; 11. Chris Raiford. Pole: Prillaman.
B MAIN (50 laps): 1. Craig Carlton; 2. Matt Leach; 3. Denver Alvis; 4. Nelson Moody; 5. Curtis Hughes; 6. Landon Florian; 7. Matt Midgett; 8. Chris Crecelius; 9. Michael Weddell; 10. Mike Dayton. Pole: Carlton.
C MAIN (50 laps): 1. Robbie Davis; 2. Jason Styron; 3. Brittany Bangas; 4. Sparky West; 5. Jimmy Greybeck; 6. Dylan Crumpler; 7. Travis Miller; 8. Mark Brooks; 9. Clayton Parrish; 10. Anthony Perez. Pole: Styron.
YOUTH SERIES (30 laps): 1. Connor Hall; 2. Macy Causey; 3. Gummy Cook; 4. Cullen Roberts; 5. Patrick Groff. Pole: Causey.
UPCOMING RACES:
Tomorrow, Saturday, Mar. 6. American Cancer Society 200. Doors open at 6 PM; racing begins at 7. (Makeup date for the snowed-out Sunbelt Equipment Rentals/Daily Press 200 from Jan. 31.)
Friday, Mar. 19. Old Point National Bank 200 to benefit the Center for Child & Family Services. Doors open at 6:30 PM; racing begins at 7:30.