RICHMOND, Va. — USAC veteran Chet Fillip used experience to win the K&N USAC Silver Crown Series James River Grounds 100 at Richmond Int’l Raceway Saturday evening.
Fillip started 10th on the three-quarter-mile tri-oval, but the wily veteran had shown his hand earlier in the day when he posted the fastest practice time.
Fillip took the lead from Tracy Hines on lap 39 and paced the remainder of the 100 laps in the event that preceded the IndyCar Series at RIR.
“The weekend didn’t start so good. We didn’t qualify so good,” Fillip reported after banking $16,100. “But this morning the car was really nice. I was able to pass cars and make my way up to the front. If you run out front, the heat isn’t going to bother you. This car is eight years old and I know it inside and out.
“This win means a lot to me. This is really a big boost for me. This ranks right up there with my starts at Daytona and Indy.”
Second was 2007 USAC Silver Crown Rookie-of-the-Year Cameron Dodson, who worked his way up from 16th on the grid.
“It was an excellent run. It felt like it was on a rail,” Dodson explained. “We had a shock package we tried and it worked. I was chilling out there in the middle because I thought Tracy (Hines) was taking it easy. By the time I realized that Chet had taken off, it was too late to catch him. Chet drove a great race.”
A.J. Fike started sixth and managed a third-place finish, while polesitter and point-leader Hines was fourth and Wayne Reutimann, Jr. fifth.
The summary:
Qualifications: 1. Tracy Hines, Stewart 22, 20.517; 2. Ryan Smith, S & S 155, 20.594; 3. Shane Cottle, Contos 4, 20.702; 4. Wayne Reutimann, Jr., Reutimann 00, 20.754; 5. Brian Tyler, Team Six-R 21, 20.769; 6. A.J. Fike, RFMS 32, 20.773; 7. Levi Jones, Stewart 10, 20.863; 8. Eric Gordon, Boca/Bowman 2, 20.953; 9. Shane Hollingsworth, Nolen 20, 20.956; 10. Chet Fillip, Advanced Racing 177, 21.043; 11. Jerry Coons, Jr., RW 27, 21.055; 12. Zach Schiff, East 3, 21.086; 13. Tom Capie, Capie 153, 21.093; 14. Jacob Wilson, Wilson 07, 21.301; 15. Mat Neely, RW 17, 21.451; 16. Cameron Dodson, Edwards/RE 199, 21.535; 17. Mike Murgoitio, Team Six-R 19, 21.597; 18. Steve Arpin, Edwards/RE 35, 22.136.
Feature (100 laps): Chet Fillip, Cameron Dodson, Fike, Hines, Reutimann, Smith, Jones, Gordon, Hollingsworth, Murgoitio, Neely, Coons, Arpin, Wilson, Cottle, Tyler, Schiff, Capie.