Ryan King
If a race fan from east Tennessee read the results of this past weekend’s NeSmith Dirt Late Model Series event, it would seem as if that race took place somewhere in this area. The top-3 finishers are all native sons of this region and have competed and won on numerous tracks in the Volunteer State. However, the race in question was actually contested on the Cochran Motor Speedway in Cochran, GA.
Ryan King of Seymour, Tenn. beat out Ronnie Johnson of Chattanooga, Tenn. and Matt Henderson of Loudon, Tenn. in a thrilling finish after emerging from a late race battle with Cory Hedgecock of Loudon, Tenn. The win was King’s first victory in a NeSmith Chevrolet Dirt Late Model Series touring event and has him placed third in the touring series standings behind Johnson and Alabama’s Chase Edge.
“Dad told them after we qualified and it was me, Matt and Cory in the top-3 that we could have just stayed home and done this,” King joked of beating out long-time competitors in an interview with InsideDirtRacing.com. “We didn’t have to drive all the way down here.”
Seeing that the No. 30 machine started up front and ultimately won the race might lead one to believe that it was a predictable and boring affair. However, that was far from the case.
“I qualified on the pole and if you look at the stats you’d think I had a pretty easy night because we started on the pole and won the race, but it wasn’t like that at all,” King explained. “Matt got the jump on me on the start, which we had three tries at the initial start. On the first two I got a pretty good jump, but by the third one, I think he had figured out the start so he got a jump on that one. He got out to the lead and led the first 14 laps.”
On a track that seemingly had become bottom side dominant, King was willing to wait for an opportunity to make his move without having to give up the low line. However, the third running Hedgecock had other ideas.
“Me and him(Henderson) were running the bottom of the race track and I knew Cory, who started third, was back there behind me somewhere,” King recounted. “Matt said his car lost a brake line or something and I could tell when it happened because he started pushing real bad and I caught up to his back bumper. But I wanted to stay on the inside, I didn’t want to give up the inside. The next thing I know, here comes Cory driving around the outside of both of us so I jumped up there and was able to get around Matt.”
At that point, Hedgecock looked like he might drive off and capture the win, but King wasn’t willing to give up easily.
“Cory started pulling away from me, but we got a couple of cautions,” the driver said. “And on the restarts I was staying up with him a little better. In the last ten laps it seemed like my car started picking up speed and I was able to really push up underneath him. I dove all the way under him several times. We raced side-by-side the last ten laps and I could get under him but I never could clear him coming off the corner. I told myself I’d have to run with him for a little bit before I could dive off in there and try to clear him.”
King would ultimately get his chance to seize the top spot, but had to wait out a tense moment before realizing his move had been successful.
“Finally with three to go, I got a good run down the back straightaway and I dove into turn three and I never did see him,” King recalled. “Then when I came up out of four, the flagman was waving the caution flag. I thought that I had just gotten by him and now I’m going to have to go back behind him and I probably won’t get another chance to pass him like that. After we rolled back around the track, I see Cory and he’s driving back up on the race track and that’s when I figured out that the caution was actually for him.”
King then had to hold back a late charge from one of dirt racing’s all-time greats.
“They didn’t have a scoreboard or anything so after the race I saw Ronnie on the front straightaway and that’s when I figured out he was behind me on the restart,” he laughed. “I had no clue about that, which was probably a good thing.”
King’s reliable Stinger Race Car
King has spent most of his racing career as a regular at his hometown 411 Motor Speedway and other east Tennessee venues. But after winning track championships sandwiched around being named the SRRS ‘Rookie of the Year’ in 2013, he and his Brian King Roofing team are back on the road.
King races in a Stinger Chassis that has proven itself over time. The car won those track championships at 411 while finishing 3rd and 4th in the NeSmith Dirt Late Model weekly series national standings in 2012 and 2014.
“I like travelling more than weekly racing,” King declared. “You definitely appreciate the wins more because they’re harder to come by on the travelling stuff because you’re running against stiff competition and you’re running on new race tracks. The thing I really miss about weekly racing is that you get to know people and you form more of a connection with fans and other racers.”
When racing at home, King was often times considered a fan favorite. That seems to have carried over to the road as well.
“After the race down there, it seemed like the fans really appreciated it. They were cheering and clapping. I think they liked the style of racing, that’s for sure.”
