Cory Hedgecock’s winning Limited Late Model.
If there’s a Limited Late Model race anywhere in east Tennessee, it’s a good bet that Loudon’s Cory Hedgecock will be a favorite to pick up the win. And once again, that proved to be a good bet at the Volunteer Speedway on Saturday night as Hedgecock held off a number of determined challengers to claim the $2,000 first prize.
Hedgecock began the night by setting fast time in qualifying with a red hot lap of 12.861 seconds around the 3/8 mile clay oval in Bulls Gap, Tenn. Lining up with the pole sitter in the top-5 of the starting grid would be Bobby Mays, Jason Manley, Brad Lowe and Jason Cardwell.
At the start of the 40-lap feature, Hedgecock darted to the early lead with Mays, Lowe and Trevor Sise in tow. After the restart from a lap 4 caution, Hedgecock got out to a lead of several car lengths, but his advantage proved to be short-lived as slower traffic would play a major factor in this feature race.
On lap 8, Hedgecock was held up briefly by a car he was attempting to overtake. That allowed Mays and Lowe to close right up to the leader’s rear spoiler. Two more cautions before the halfway point of the race kept the field bunched together in preparation for a wild dash to the finish.
Lowe had moved to the runner-up spot just prior to halfway and was poised to strike after a lap 18 caution. For the next several laps, the veteran from Knoxville would challenge Hedgecock at every turn. All the while, Sise moved to 3rd ahead of Mays as both drivers looked for their own opportunities to move up.
On lap 33, Lowe made a move to the inside of Hedgecock for the lead in turns 1 & 2. As the cars raced down the backstretch, Lowe was forced to go very low which disrupted his entry into turn three. That, in turn, allowed Sise to move into the 2nd spot and set off on his own challenge for the top spot on the scoreboard.
At lap 37, Hedgecock found himself tangled with a slower car which afforded Sise an opportunity to move into first place. However, Hedgecock was able to hold the lead and drive on to the win.
At the finish, it was Cory Hedgecock, Trevor Sise, Brad Lowe, Bobby Mays, Jason Manley, Jason Cardwell and John Tweed.
“It’s always fun racing with Brad Lowe,” Hedgecock said in his winner’s interview. “I didn’t have that great of a car so I was glad it was a one groove track, but lapped traffic just would not get out of the way.
