by John Manzi, for the Delvin Miller Amateur Drivers Association

Monticello, NY — Many of the veteran Billings members in the Midwest Region who haven’t participated to any great extent thus far this year will be dry-cleaning their colors and shining their driving boots in order to be ready for the eight-horse trot in the C.K.G. Billings Harness Driving Championship Series at the Summit Fair at Northfield Park on Saturday night (July 30).

They include former National Amateur Driver of the Year “Trader Bud” Hatfield, who has but one start this year in the Grand Circuit of Amateur Driving. Others making only their second seasonal starts in the series include “Tiny Tim” Miller and Bob “Lumberman” Troyer while Victor “Cruise Control” Gray and “Chicago George” Bonomo will drive in Billings competition for only the third time this year. Andy “Keep on Truckin’” Coblentz and Bob “I Want To Sell You A Car” Chapman will be making their initial Billings starts this season.

The final driver in the Summit Fair Billing race will be Dave “Linemaster” Ehrenberg, who with three Midwest Region starts ranks fifth in points on that region’s leaderboard.

The King of the Hill in the Midwest Region, Steve “Your Never Too” Oldford, will not be racing there. Instead, he will be representing the North American Amateur Drivers Association in an international amateur driving competition this weekend in Taranto, Italy.

The Billings Trot at Northfield Park on Saturday is slated as race number five on their 13-race betting card. First post will be at 7 p.m.