Hillier scores season-high finish at Tri-City
ALK Promotions, June 9^th
 
Chad Hillier is continuing to find his way with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series in his second full season racing with the world‘s best winged sprint car racers, making three A-Features in as many nights this past weekend in Iowa and Illinois, including a season-best finish at Tri-City Speedway in Illinois.
 
The Sedro-Woolley, Washington driver, piloting the DIRT Inc. No. 5c Maxim sponsored by Jansma Construction, H.B Jaeger and Fast Wings, started his weekend at the legendary Knoxville Raceway in Iowa for the first of two nights of racing. Chad was 23^rd quickest in qualifying with a time of 15.291 seconds around the ½-mile clay oval. A seventh-place finish in the second heat race put Hillier in the B-Main event, where he would finish fourth to transfer to the A-Main. In the feature, Hillier, a former Skagit Speedway track champion, rode around to a solid 17^th-place finish.
 
Saturday saw 52 cars in the pit area at Knoxville, and Chad did not qualify as well, timing in 36^th quickest with a time of 16.165 seconds. He finished ninth in the third heat race and 12^th in the B-Main. Chad, however, still had a World of Outlaws provisional at his disposal and used it to get into the A-Feature, where he finished 19^th.
 
After having to use a provisional the night before, Hillier bounced back with maybe his best night of the year, as he was sixth fastest among the 33 cars entered at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois with a time of 13.162 seconds around the 3/8-mile clay oval. Hillier’s fifth-place finish in the second heat race secured his spot in the 35-lap A-Feature. In that race, Hillier earned his best main event finish of the year when he finished ninth, winning $2,050 for his efforts.
 
With his three A-Main appearances in which he finished in the top-20 each night, Hillier maintains his 18^th place position in the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series standings. He is only 108 points behind Tony Bruce Jr. for the 17^th position.
 
Coming next for Chad is three races in four nights in three different states with the World of Outlaws. Wednesday, June 11^th the series returns to Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Missouri for the Michael Ross Memorial Foundation event. Friday the 13^th Huset’s Speedway in Brandon, South Dakota welcomes the Greatest Show on Dirt for another visit. Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Nebraska welcomes back Hillier and the World of Outlaws on Saturday, June 14^th.
 

“The Chad” Qualifies 7th at Eldora!

June 1, 2008

Starting with the Friday night race at Attica, “I blew it in 3 and 4 qualifying, and that got us behind the eight ball.” Chad said. We qualified 25th and things never really got much better. We missed the inversion and had to run the ‘B’. “We didn’t get the car tight enough to move forward in the ‘B’.” Chad continued. We wound up finishing 8th in the ‘B main”. Night over.

Enough about Friday night, Saturday has a lot more positive things to talk about.

Qualifying 7th out of a very strong 37 car field got us ahead of the old eight ball! “The car felt great. It was the best we’ve ever felt here.” Chad said. “We ran 4th in the heat and the car was still very strong.”

Starting 11th in the ‘A’ main things were looking real good for DIRT Inc. “For some reason we were too tight, and the car was just kept getting tighter and tighter as the race went on. We were backing up pretty quick.” Chad said. “Jason (Meyers) passed us. He blew a tire, knocking his nerf bar off and I ran over it and cut my right rear down.” Chad continued. Finishing 22nd the investigation started as to why the car was so tight. “We had a shock give up on the right rear. It’s really frustrating, as the same part gave up on us at Knoxville when we had a good night going there.” Chad finished.

The two tracks that we have had a lot of trouble getting a handle on (Eldora and Knoxville) are places that you really need to run good at, and it seems as if we’re starting to get a bit of a handle on them. Failing parts is part of the game and we’ll get a handle on that too.

I’m really encouraged by last night and we’ll build on that.

Good job guys!

Season Schedule Picks up

May 27, 2008

 The last update was from Lernerville, PA on May 14^th.   I’ve been very busy and it’s been a real challenge trying to find time to write for the website.  I’ll keep trying and do the best I can.

On Thursday May 15^th we raced at Williams Grove.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s just plain flat out hard to race there.  It’s a tricky place to learn and the competition is just amazing.  It will be very rewarding when we finally do get a good run at the place, but this night wouldn’t be the night.  It was just a night that humbles you.  We ended up 15^th in the ‘B’.  Provisional’s go quick there, so the night was over.  I tend to get down and impatient sometimes.   I’m always hoping for the best, and sometimes I get my hopes up too high.   I really can’t beat the team up because I know Chad is one of those guys who will never quit trying.  I have to remind myself that things will come around.  I have to be more positive and look for the good stuff to focus on and build on that.

The following night we were at the Grove again, only to have the program postponed to Saturday night due to weather.  The program looked like a go on Saturday.  We didn’t get qualified very good and we only ran a couple of laps in the 3^rd heat when the rain broke loose cancelling the rest of the program.  “It was kind of a blessing.” Chad said.  “We drew a late number and the track went away pretty quick.”  So the guys loaded up and moved on.-

Next stop was scheduled for Sunday May 18^th at Orange County Speedway in Middletown, NY.  We towed up there only to have the show cancelled due to weather once again.  So, we turned around and headed for Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, NC.  I have to be honest here; I think the Outlaws make our schedule by throwing darts at a map.  It would be nice if they could work on that a little harder.

Friday May 23^rd.  Here we are under beautiful blue skies and 80 plus degrees…FINALLY!  The night started out pretty rough in qualifying, and the heat race didn’t go much better, missing the inversion.  The ‘B’ was un-eventful and we were just kind of making laps to get to the ‘A’ main.  We made it, and even though we were moving up due to attrition, we were still doing a great job.  We were passing cars and were looking good for the “Hard Charger” award when we cut a tire with 3 laps to go.  We still finished 13^th and rolled the car in the trailer.  A good night!

Saturday, May 24^th.  The dart landed on Jamaica, VA which is about five hours from Concord.  We qualified 15^th and transferred to the ‘A’ main through our heat race.  We started 14^th in the ‘A’ and finished 19^th.   “The car was too tight early on but the track came to us but we had already backed up.” Chad said.  You hate losing that many spots, but we’ll do better next time.

Monday, May 26^th found us back up in New York at Rolling Wheels Raceway.  The track went dry slick real fast in qualifying, so a late draw didn’t help our qualifying effort.  We transferred to the ‘A’ through our heat race avoiding the “Last Chance Show Down” which I really appreciate.  We ended the night finishing 16^th.  Not a bad night.

That’s it for the update.  I’m still trying to find someone to stay on top of this for me.

Thanks for looking.

Dave DeWitt

May 14, 2008

Man I hate racing in Pennsylvania! Just look at the 'B' main line up in last nights World of Outlaws race and it's easy to see why.  The competition is so strong there, it's just amazing.  Someday I'll probably enjoy it more but  for a team already struggling it's a real tough trip.

The night was pretty much over in qualifying.

"We were to tight, the car biked up when I hit the cushion and we lost the lap," Chad said.  Qualifying 39th out of 40 very strong cars is not the way you want to start out the night.

It's just one of those nights you want to forget, we made it through the 'C' main to get the opportunuty to try to make it to the front of 'B' from the last row in twelve laps.

We made it to 13th and that was that. 

Now we get to go to Williams Grove this Thursday night and try again.  We have a fresh motor in the car and we'll give it our best shot.

Paducah Canelled After Second Heat Race

May 11, 2008

The World of Outlaws were forced to cancell the remainder of the nights races after the second heat race due to rain.

Chad qualified 13th and qualified for the main event through the second heat.  Then came the rain.  We'll try again Tuesday in Lernerville .

Another Rough Night For Chad

Dave DeWitt

May 10, 2008

It started out Friday morning with the early cancellation of the World of Outlaw race scheduled that night in Pontoon Beach, IL. Chad and the rest of the team were anxious to race, pure and simple. After scanning schedules, they chose to race at an Interstate Racing Association event at I-34 Raceway in Burlington, IA along with five other Outlaw regular teams. Making the four and a half hour trip from Brownsville, IN was a little nerve racking in itself. “The hauler picked up a vibration going uphill on the way to the race when we were about an hour out, but we made it.” Chad said. “After we got there, the night started out pretty good. We were up to speed pretty quick, the car was real comfortable (once again) and we went sixth quick.” Then things took a drastic turn for the worse in the second heat race. Taking the top four from the heats directly to the ‘A’ main event Chad found himself starting in the fifth position, inside the third row next to Lucas Wolfe in the six car inversion. “The car was good in the heat. We were racing with Lucas and the 12 car, Lucas and I would get a run around the top and the 12 car would enter on the bottom and then slide up across the track. We would just about drive over the guy. Lucas got a real good run and got by him, and then it was my turn to take a shot. We got around him okay and I thought I had position on him going into the corner but his right front got under my left rear and sent me for a wild ride.” The flip destroyed the car and ended the night for the Jansma Construction Maxim. “It was just a bad deal, I felt sick about it,” Chad continued. “When you get used to racing with the Outlaws you just make moves and you trust the other guy will give you room or that he knows what’s going to happen. It was probably my fault.”

With the motor pulled from the wrecked car and the truck loaded up ready to go, the bad luck continued. The truck wouldn’t start. Keeping in mind they are scheduled to race with the Outlaws in Paducah, KY tomorrow night, and they need to now stop in Springfield, IL to pick up a new Maxim chassis things are getting a little tense. Chad, being a truck mechanic and fabricator in his other life, went to work on the Freightliner. “We just had the truck serviced and they didn’t get the fuel filter tight and it was sucking air” Chad said. They are on their way to Paducah hoping for a better night tomorrow.

I’m starting to feel like John McLaren, (the Seattle Mariners manager) or at least I am able to understand his frustration. On paper he’s got a great team but they just aren’t getting the job done. They’re loaded with talent but can’t win. It really is very frustrating, but I believe in Chad, Bob and Jimmy. On the bright side, Chad is very comfortable with the way Bob sets the car up. The car has only been uncomfortable when there has been a parts failure. All you can do is keep digging. I have a lot of people ask me “Why do you do this?” It’s simple. I hate failing. If I quit now I’ll feel like I failed. “Why don’t you run in an easier series or pick and choose races?” Because I don’t want to! It’s a real tough deal out there, but I believe we can do this. I’ve worked hard all my life to do this and for right now I’ve got to keep trying.

I have to thank to Jeff and Karen Jansma of Jansma Construction for all their support. It really helps a lot!

Hillier Hits the High Banks at Paducah: Looks for Another Strong Run

By Tony Veneziano

Paducah, KY— May 9, 2008—The first time that Chad Hiller saw Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky was last season as he and his team rolled through the pit gate at the state-of-the-art 3/8-mile, just a few hours before he took to the track. Though he had just a handful of hot laps to get up to speed, he made the most of those and was fast right out of the box.

Having cut his teeth on the tight bullrings of his home state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest, Hillier was ready to tackle the high-banks and bested a very strong 39-car field in time trials to earn his first quick time honor with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.

Hillier will have a chance to return to Paducah International Raceway this weekend, as the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series visits the track on Saturday, May 10 for a full night of racing. Hillier is not exactly sure what made him so fast right at the track last season at Paducah, but he seeks to repeat that this weekend.

“It may have been having that wall to run so close around,” he said with a smile. “I was kind of used to that from running around home. It could have been a lucky lap as well, you just never. With the tough crowd that we have, you have to catch a break when you can.”

Last season, wintry-like condition greeted the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in their return to the pristine Paducah International Raceway, though that did not slow down Hillier and his team. After setting fast time and running in the Top-Five of the first heat race, Hillier earned a spot in the Crane Cams Dash, where he finished a very solid sixth, to earn a third row starting spot for the 35-lap A-Feature. In the A-Feature, he ran in the Top-10 for a number of laps and late in the race battled current World of Outlaws point leader Craig Dollansky and wound up in the 13th position. Much warmer temperatures are expected on Saturday, for the World of Outlaws lone visit of the season to the Bluegrass State.

“When the air is cooler, the motor runs a little bit different,” noted the driver of the DIRT Inc. Maxim. “I’m sure it comes into play with the tires taking a little longer to warm up. We do the best we can the variables that we are set with. We are hoping to do a little bit better than we did last year. We started out really well there and then backed up a little bit in the feature. Hopefully we can start out good and finish good there.”

After visiting over 50 tracks for the first time last season as a rookie, Hillier and his team have plenty of notes as they return to tracks this season. Along with the World of Outlaws visit to Paducah in 2007, he raced a total of 20 times on 3/8-mile tracks and has a good baseline to look back at when they roll the car off the trailer on Saturday night. On top of that, he has the confidence of knowing that he has competed at numerous tracks and continues to hone his skills night in and night out against the toughest sprint car drivers in the world.

“It does help going back to tracks,” said the second-year driver. “A little bit of the anxiety is gone and you know where to run on the race track. You don’t have to guess and you can get up to speed a few laps quicker. I feel it is a benefit going back a second and third time.”

While the rain has wreaked havoc on the early part of the season, Hillier and his team have took it in stride and have been busy preparing for the bulk of the schedule which begins to pick up steam this weekend at Paducah International Raceway. Facing the high banks at Paducah is always demanding on the drivers both physically and mentally and Hillier is ready to meet that challenge.

“You have to try to stay positive, that’s the main thing,” said the former Skagit (Wash.) Speedway track champion of the early season rainouts. “You also have to exercise to stay physically and mentally fit. It’s frustrating, especially when you travel all the way across the country and it gets rained out and you have to turn around and go all the way back. Once we get back to racing back-to-back races, everyone can build some momentum.”

Prior to the season, Hillier and his team set up shop in Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis. For a team that hails from Washington, having a home away from home during the always demanding World of Outlaws season will pay dividends and also ease their travel a bit when racing in the Midwest.

“It gives us a good central location, he explained. “Rather than have to hang out in hotels, we can drive an hour and be back home. We can cook meals for ourselves and have a car to drive around. It breaks up the hotel time, because there will be months when we are in hotels and won’t be able to get home. It does help. Last year we didn’t really have a home. We were in hotels until August and then were home for a week and then in hotels again. The down time hasn’t been as bad, because we have had a home base to go back to.”

With a busy month of May awaiting the World of Outlaws, Hillier is ready to hit the track, as the series will compete 10 times over the next three weeks, with one of the highlights of that being the return to Paducah International Raceway on Saturday, May 10. After setting fast time and running strong at the track last season, he is excited to build upon that momentum.

“I wish we were racing every night,” he said. “I am looking forward to some good weather and some real good racing.”

On Saturday, May 10 at Paducah International Raceway, adult grandstand tickets will be $30, with tickets for children 12-under just $5. Reserved seats are available by calling (270) 898-7469 during regular business hours. There will be an autograph session prior to the hot laps at approximately 5:15 p.m. featuring 20-time series champion Steve Kinser, along with Jac Haudenschild, Tony Bruce Jr. and Sam Hafertepe Jr.

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.

 Hillier Finishes 20th in Knoxville

May 4, 2008

One of the silver linings to Saturday nights World of Outlaw event at Knoxville Raceway for Chad Hillier was the simple fact that he didn’t have to  run the ‘B’ Main to qualify for the

 25 lap ‘A’ Main event.

Qualifying a disappointing 31^st out of the 48 car field left Chad starting toward the rear of the 3^rd heat race.  “We were just in the wrong place on the race track when we qualified” Chad said.  “The car was very comfortable and the lap felt really good.  I just couldn’t believe we were that far off.   I talked to a fellow driver about my lap, and he gave some very helpful advice that made a lot of sense and will help me the next go around”. 

Starting 8^th in the 3^rd heat, Chad was able to pass enough cars to secure the 5^th and final transfer spot for the main event.  “Bob (Curtis) had the car real nice in the heat race.  The motor was pulling real hard and we were pretty fast.  It was a good feeling to qualify that way”.  

Grabbing the final transfer spot in the 3^rd heat avoided the Last Chance Showdown and secured the 24^th place starting spot in the main event.  “We kind of missed the set up a little bit in the ‘A’.   The car was just too snug getting into the corner, making it difficult.  The track came back and that kind of tricked us a little bit.  This place is a tough track to get a handle on but I feel like we learned a lot.  Bob and Jimmy (Sivia) are doing a great job and we’re working well together.  We’ll get it", Chad proclaimed.

Chad and the rest of the DIRT Inc. team will be back in action next Friday night in World of Outlaw competition at theTri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. Listen live at www.dirtvision.com

1. Hillier Races to 18th
2.  Place at Eldora
3. April 27, 2008

1. After the World of Outlaws cancelled the Knoxville program for Saturday night, Chad and a few other Outlaws headed to Eldora to race with the All Stars Circuit of Champions.  “It’s a track we need laps at” Chad said.

1. “We didn’t qualify very well again, and that got us behind the
2. eight ball”.   Qualifying 30thput Chad in the back of the 
3. second heat.  “We were trying some different things with the car, and we were actually pretty decent in the heat race, we were right behind two cars racing for the transfer spot, there was just nowhere to pass”.  

1. Finishing 6thin the second heat put Chad in the “B” main starting 10th.  “Bob (Curtis) and Jimmy (Sivia) had the car
2.  real nice in the “B” and we were trying some different things on the fuel system.  It really seemed to help the motor pull harder off the corner and down the straight away” Chad continued.  “We were able to get the final transfer spot”.  Moving up from 10thto take the final 4thplace transfer spot in the “B” main earned the final 24THplace staring spot in the “A” main.  “Joey lapped us pretty quick, so then it’s a matter of trying to race guys for position and being courteous to the guys racing up front.  We learned quite a bit and made good notes that will help us out next time we come here.  All in all it was definitely worth the trip”.

1. Chad and the rest of the team will be back to World of Outlaw competition next Friday night at I-36 Raceway in Cameron, Missouri.