Cory Hedgecock(23) and Ross Bailes(58) have been factors in each Southern Nationals race held so far
At the beginning of the 2020 version of the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals the easy thing to do would have been to predict that drivers Chris Madden and Brandon Overton would run away and hide from the competition. After all, Madden is a five time SoNats champion and the all-time winningest driver in series history while Overton is the defending tour champion and has spent much of the early months of this season sitting at or near the top of the DirtonDirt.com Top-25 rankings.
And it is certainly true that those two drivers have indeed garnered much of the limelight in the four races held so far on this southeastern-based midsummer mini-series. Madden currently sits atop the standings after having scored two wins as Overton ranks second with one victory to his credit.
However, two other competitors have done their part to keep the two front runners on their toes. Cory Hedgecock and Ross Bailes now stand third and fourth respectively in the Southern Nationals points race after the first four events. And both have managed to keep the leaders within striking distance as the tour passes the third-way mark.
On Tuesday night Hedgecock of Loudon, TN took the checkered flag in the $3,500-to-win SoNats feature at I-75 Raceway in Sweetwater, TN. That triumph came after a third place effort in the opener at Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, TN, a disappointing result at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, VA brought on by mechanical woes, and another podium finish at the Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, TN.
The No. 23 Rocket Chassis car has looked like a contender to win each night of the series so far. Hedgecock was also the fastest overall in time-trials at I-75.
While Bailes has not yet won on the Southern Nationals Series so far this year, he has been fast at every track. With four of the scheduled twelve races in the books, the Clover, SC driver has been fastest in his group qualifying session three times. The one time he wasn’t quickest in his group(Volunteer) he still clocked in third.
The Big Frog Motorsports Rocket Chassis earned a top-5 finish in the opener at Smoky Mountain then followed that up with fourth place results at Wythe Raceway and Volunteer Speedway. A late-race flat tire relegated the No. 58 car to a 12th place finish at the end of the 35-lap affair at I-75.
With the Southern Nationals now about to embark on its swing through Georgia with races at Senoia Raceway, Needmore Speedway, Screven Motor Speedway, and Cochran Motor Speedway, the going will get tougher for everyone with night-after-night competition playing out in the midst of July heat. But up to this point, the other competitors on this tour have certainly been made aware of the presence of Cory Hedgecock and Ross Bailes.
Respond to this post on Twitter by following @RichardAllenIDR and @MichaelRMoats or by liking the InsideDirtRacing.com Facebook page.
Also, NASCAR and pavement racing fans can check out InsideCircleTrack.
