Cory Hedgecock’s No. 23
The NeSmtih Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series made its first stop of the season at the I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, Tenn. on Friday night for the first of a double header weekend on that track. The race $2,000-to-win event served as the season opener for the series that sanctions races around the southeast for Crate Late Models. In the end, it was Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, Tenn. who came away with the checkered flag and the winner’s check.
Hedgecock began the evening by setting fast time in qualifying as he broke the track record with a lap of 13.302 seconds around the clay oval. Joining the pole winner in being locked into the feature starting lineup was Riley Hickman, Richie Stephens, Chase Edge, Matt Henderson, Ross White, John Ownbey, Jason Manley, Adam Gauldin and Scott Dedwylder.
Anthony White and Brandon Williams won the two heat races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, Hedgecock roared to the lead with Hickman, Henderson and Edge trailing. But it would be on the second circuit when things turned ugly for some as Henderson and Hickman got together while contesting the second position. Multiple cars spun to avoid the incident, and remarkably, relatively little damage was done.
Series officials sent Hickman back to the second position once the dust had settled and placed Henderson at the rear of the pack after it was deemed that the caution had been his responsibility.
After a lap three yellow flag for a flat tire on Ronnie Johnson’s machine, a number of cars were involved in a mishap on the ensuing restart. Early front runners and pre-race favorites such as Edge, Stephens, Johnson and Ryan King were among those to suffer at least some damage in the incident.
The action intensified after a lap 5 restart when Stephens swept by Ownbey and Edge, who had been in a fierce position swapping battle of their own, to claim third. In the meantime, Hedgecock pulled ahead by a few car lengths apart from the war being waged behind him.
As the race reached the halfway mark, Hickman led a charge that include Stephens, Ownbey and Edge as they attempted to close on the leader, who had just found himself mired in heavy traffic.
A lap 26 caution provided an opportunity Hedgecock to race without the hindrance of slower cars. From that point, the No. 23 Brucebilt machine cruised to the victory.
Feature Finish: 1. Cory Hedgecock, 2. Riley Hickman, 3. John Ownbey, 4. Richie Stephens, 5. Chase Edge, 6. Scott Dedwylder, 7. Donald McIntosh, 8. Brandon Willaims, 9. Jeremy Shaw, 10. Jason Manley, 11. Matt Henderson, 12. Justin McRee, 13. Greg Huskey, 14. Marcus Minga, 15. Jason Britton, 16. Ruben Mayfield, 17. Michael Blount, 18. Ronnie Johnson, 19. Ryan King, 20 Ross White, 21. Adam Gauldin, 22. Will Roland, 23. Matthew Turner, 24. Anthony White
The NeSmith Dirt Late Model Series is scheduled to sanction night #2 of action at I-75 on Saturday night.
