Show-Me Driver Shows the Way at Hillbilly
Hustle
By: Rocky Ragusa
 Lake
Village, In. (10/11/09) 43 drivers from 10 states and Canada
converged Sunday afternoon at the Lake Village Speedway in Lake
Village, Indiana for the 8th annual Hillbilly Hustle. In qualifying,
the top 8 karters were locked in for the 50 lap feature.
 Bryan
Cataldi of Rockton, Illinois was one of 2 drivers to break the
12 second barrier at an 11.959 on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. 4 heat
races were held with the winner securing a spot in the main event.
The remainder of the drivers had to advance thru various semi
features. Torin Mettile of Cullom, Illinois, Mike Halliburton
of Columbia, Missouri, Nick Jackson of Coulterville, Illinois,
and former track champion Adam Pockrus of Lowell, Indiana claimed
the heat wins. Drivers that finished in the 7th -9th spots in
the heats ran an E main with the top 2 finishers moving to the
next round. Mitch Weiss (Scandia, Mn.) and Justin Overfelt (Jamestown,
In.) finished 1 and 2 to move to the back of the D main. C J
Hulsey (El Paso, Texas) and 10th starter Overfelt finished 1-2
to advance.
Defending race winner Dustin Heath (Gardner,Ill.), Lindsey
Povelones Long (Danville,Ill.), Hulsey, and Eric Askren (Fowler,
In.) were the top 4 finishers of the C main and moved to the
B main. Allen Gauthier (Munster,In.), Hulsey kept his dream alive
with a 2nd, Brandon Cavanaugh (Braidwood,Ill.) and Heath moved
to main event. Polesitter Cataldi led the first 3 laps before
Skylar Prochaska (Lakefield, Mn.) moved to the front. Dustin
Lundgren (Bristol, In.) got by Prochaska in the 3rd turn on the
15th lap and led until the halfway break.
 Following
the break with 14 of the 16 karters still in the hunt, Lundgren
led with Prochaska, Halliburton, Tommy Knight (Morresville,In.),and
Cataldi in tight formation. The next 10 laps was a classic battle
among some of the best karters in the Midwest. Halliburton,Prochaska,
Knight, and Cataldi each led a lap before Halliburton moved to
the front with 12 laps to go. Cataldi's day ended on the 39th
circuit when his kart cut a left rear tire. Several late race
cautions would not deny Halliburton, as he beat Prochaska by
2 kart lengths to take the $2100 first place prize. Hulsey had
a memorable day with a 3rd, followed by Mettile , Zach Axlen
( Sheboygan, Wis.), Lundgren, Knight, Cavanaugh, Heath, and the
last kart running Gauthier. The rest of the drivers in the finishing
position were Cataldi, Andy Keller (Connersville,In.), Luke Gher
(Evansville, In.),Pockrus, Jackson, and Kyle Heitz (Sherrill,Iowa).
The race concluded the 2009 season for the Lake Village Speedway.
For more information go to www.US41Speedway.com.
Key-Lynn Krahn from Canada attempted to be
the first female to make the Hillbilly Hustle
CJ Hulsey from El Paso, Texas interviewed by track
announcer, Dave Alger
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