NORFOLK – Ken Simmons took the lead on lap 23 and rolled on to his second straight victory in the 50-lap Top Dog feature as Arena Racing USA presented by Interstate Batteries made its first visit of the season to Norfolk Scope for Saturday night’s Joe Gibbs Racing Oil 250.

Derek Miller started from the pole position and paced the first 13 laps, which were punctuated by caution periods at laps 5 and 7. Big movers in the opening circuits included Travis Miller, who went from sixth to second by lap 4, and Simmons, who went from ninth to third by lap 7.

Back under green following the second caution, Travis Miller stalked his younger brother until lap 15 when he grabbed the lead in Turn 1. Simmons bypassed D. Miller on lap 16 to take over second place.

T. Miller’s stay atop the leaderboard came to an end on lap 23 when Travis Fortune and Stephen Kirby tangled off Turn 2 and collected Miller and Lee Banks to bring out the third yellow flag; Simmons assumed the lead.

As the race resumed, T. Miller quickly shot back up to the third spot. The fourth, and final, caution flag interrupted the proceedings on lap 31. Gathering for the last restart, Simmons and D. Miller ran 1-2, separated from T. Miller by a lapped machine.

Under green for the last time, T. Miller briefly gave way to Chris Crecelius. He regained the spot on the next lap, but the scuffle allowed Simmons and D. Miller to get away by nearly a full straightaway.

D. Miller hung with Simmons for several circuits after the restart. Heading into the last 10 laps, though, Simmons turned up the wick, pulling off to a half-straightaway advantage.

Nearing the finish, Simmons’ advantage only grew larger. At the end, he was the winner by 2.383 seconds. Derek M. and Travis M. were second and third, in that order, followed by Fortune, in fourth. Steve Hanna was fifth.

Nov. 4 Race Results – Norfolk Scope

TOP DOG (50 laps): 1. Ken Simmons, 2. Derek Miller, 3. Travis Miller, 4. Travis Fortune, 5. Steve Hanna, 6. Chris Crecelius, 7. Don Guschel, 8. Lee Banks, 9. Jordan Wood, 10. Stephen Kirby, 11. Dane Wood, 12. R.J. Davis, 13. Patrick Morgan, 14. Larry Murphy (Did not start). Pole: Derek Miller – via draw.

&uot;A&uot; MAIN (50 laps): 1. Jordan Wood, 2. Travis Miller, 3. Ken Simmons, 4. Larry Murphy, 5. R.J. Davis, 6. Derek Miller, 7. Jack Parsons, 8. Kerry Gilbert, 9. Bill Dailey, 10. Jason Styron, 11. Matt Midgett. Pole: Jordan Wood – via draw.

&uot;B&uot; MAIN (50 laps): 1. Dane Wood, 2. Travis Fortune, 3. Lee Banks, 4. Steve Hanna, 5. Adam Florian, 6. Steve Freeman, 7. Greg Pass, 8. Steve Greene, 9. Rob Wells, 10. Francis Jarrelle, 11. Michelle Pearl. Pole: Dane Wood – via draw.

&uot;C&uot; MAIN (50 laps): 1. Patrick Morgan, 2. Stephen Kirby, 3. Chris Crecelius, 4. Don Guschel, 5. Aaron Adams, 6. Craig Rayfield, 7. John Farrer, 8. Robbie Davis, 9. Cameron Williams, 10. John Price. Pole: Robbie Davis – via draw.

&uot;D&uot; MAIN (50 laps, Rookies): 1. Spencer Saunders, 2. Tony Perez, 3. Charlie Green, 4. Craig Brown, 5. Amy Clingenpeel, 6. Michael Weddell, 7. Ray Ellington, 8. Jessica Zaruba. Pole: Michael Weddell – via draw.

NEXT EVENT: Saturday, Nov. 11 at Norfolk Scope. Veterans Day 250. Doors open at 6 p.m., Racing starts at 7. All active-duty and retired military admitted free with ID.