Frank Heckenast, Jr. had to fight off several challengers to win the Deep Fried 75
A solid field of 34 cars descended upon Duck River Raceway Park this weekend for the fourth annual Deep Fried 75 Super Late Model race at the facility located in the mid-state town of Wheel, Tenn. At the end of the night, Frank Heckenast, Jr. celebrated in Victory Lane after taking the checkered flag and collecting the $12,000 first prize.
Vic Hill made waves early by setting the pace in qualifying Group A and overall on Friday night with a lap of 12.900 seconds around the quarter-mile clay oval. The Mosheim, Tenn. driver was followed in that group by Stacy Boles, Tanner English and Frank Heckenast, Jr.
Skylar Marlar led the way in Group B time-trials by posting a lap of 13.122 seconds. The Winfield, Tenn. driver was followed by Josh Putnam, Dale McDowell and Brad Skinner in that group.
Hill won the first heat of the night on Friday as he beat out English, Cody Mahoney and Michael Chilton while Heckenast claimed the second heat ahead of Boles, Riley Hickman and Eric Cooley.
Marlar was the victor in the third heat of Friday night as he bested Billy Ogle, Jr., McDowell and Dylan Ames while Putnam won the final heat race over Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, Wendell Wallace and Skinner.
Billy Moyer, Jr. and Jay Brinkley won the two B-main races used to set the remainder of the starting lineup for the main event.
At the start of the 75-lap feature, Heckenast bolted to the front of the pack ahead of Hill, Marlar and Putnam. However, Hill immediately began applying relentless pressure on the leader as the two cars broke away from a logjam of racing action for the positions behind the top-2.
On lap 8 Hill was rewarded for his work as he moved by Heckenast to secure the top spot on the leader board. At the same time, Putnam was fighting to hold back the likes of English, Hollingsworth, Marlar and a fast closing Ogle.
Ogle began using a higher line around the bull ring track than most of the other competitors and began to move forward as a result. On lap 15 he went by English to claim the fourth position and looked to move even higher.
The race’s first caution flag flew on lap 23 when Marlar slowed suddenly in turn three. It was on the restart from this yellow that the race’s biggest moment would occur.
Hill led the field back to the green but Ogle made a bold outside move that placed him in the runner-up spot. For the next two laps, the No. 201 continued to take the long way around the track, making up slight bits of ground on the lower running Hill. But as the cars raced down the back stretch on lap 26, Ogle had a strong run and was gaining quickly on the leader. It was at that moment when he decided to move to the low side of Hill in an attempt to assume the point.
The two cars made significant contact as they raced into turn three with Hill getting the worst of it as his car spun all the way around and then banged its nose into the outside guard rail. As the cars circulated back around under caution, Hill drove his car toward Ogle but stopped short of a collision. The two cars sat nose-to-nose for several seconds before each moved away.
Hill had to come to the pit area for repairs, which would result in him being sent to the rear of the field while track officials forced Ogle to move to the tail after judging that he had been too aggressive.
At that point, Heckenast assumed the lead once again. From there, he would show the way until the checkered flag waved, but not without challenges.
First one then another would try to wrest the lead of the race away from Heckenast, but the No. 99 machine held a steady line and was seemingly unfazed by the efforts of his pursuers.
Putnam attempted to take the lead on the high side of the track on lap 29 but Heckenast would ultimately inch away from the 2015 Duck River track champion. Then Hollingsworth would emerge from a three-wide battle to briefly claim second and give chase to the lead car.
Chilton grabbed second on lap 45 and made his own moves for the lead until McDowell would pass him by on lap 53 after a prolonged battle with the previous runner-up. All the while, Billy Moyer, Jr. was making noise of his own as he passed by car after car until he made his way to fourth, but that is as far as he would climb on this chilly night.
Over the final laps of the race, McDowell would try valiantly to make the high lane work but Heckenast would not be denied as he drove to the checkered flag and the victory.
Feature Finish: 1. Frank Heckenast, Jr., 2. Dale McDowell, 3. Ronny Lee Hollingsworth, 4. Michael Chilton, 5. Billy Moyer, Jr., 6. Josh Putnam, 7. Cody Mahoney, 8. Riley Hickman, 9. Wendell Wallace, 10. Brad Skinner, 11. Vic Hill, 12. Billy Ogle, Jr., 13. Dylan Ames, 14. Stacy Boles, 15. Terry English, 16. Eric Cooley, 17. Oakley Johns, 18. Skylar Marlar, 19. Tanner English, 20. Donald Johns, 21. Donald McIntosh, 22. Ryan Gifford, 23. David Seibers, 24. Jason Welshan, 25. Jay Brinkley
