CONSISTENCY KEY TO LENGEL,BALLOCH GNS WINS
(12/3/09) Many drivers don't like Grill National. It's a track that demands one's attention on every corner,lap after lap. You can't zone out trying to remember what you want to pick up at Turkey Hill on the way home. If you do,GNS will bite you in the butt. The seasoned veterans,including well- traveled rookie Dick Greenawalt,assembled at the small tri-oval Wednesday night with no illusions as to what it takes to run there. The result was a pair of very fine feature events loaded with competition that produced two winners neither of which won a single segment during the double USAC show.
Homer Hiester appeared to be headed to victory in the 75 lap dirt champ event until a nasty final round. Mike Lengel was there to snatch the checkered flag edging Hiester by a point. Finishing third was Chuck Heller who recovered from a dnf in his lane one segment.
The field turned it up a notch in the USAC sprint feature as four and five car packs constantly swarmed around the track. Dave Balloch surprised everyone by becoming the fourth different winner in the division in as many races. It was Balloch's first sprint victory in well over a year as he topped Heller and Hiester by two markers. Heller,with less wrecks, earned the second spot in the tie-breaker. The reshuffling of the standings put four drivers within a ten point margin.
DB
