Cory Hedgecock on his way to another Late Model feature win at Smoky Mountain.
Throughout the early portion of the 2014 racing season Cory Hedgecock was untouchable in Limited Late Model competition around the east Tennessee area. However, other competitors seemed to find their own magic against the Loudon, Tenn. driver during the mid-summer stretch. But on Saturday night at the Smoky Mountain Speedway, Hedgecock returned to form.
Billy Ogle, Jr., who recently parted ways with his Blount Motorsports Super Late Model team, looked to be a contender for the Steelhead Late Model win when he set fast time in qualifying among the 22 car field. Jensen Ford, Hedgecock, Trevor Sise and Jason Welshan followed Ogle in qualifying results.
Ogle was driving a car for local competitor Drew Kennedy. The duo had originally planned to have a two car team for the night but the machine Kennedy was slated to drive suffered mechanical failure early in the program and had to be loaded on the truck before the feature ever rolled onto the track.
There were no heat races as the field for this feature was set entirely by time-trials.
At the start of the 25-lap event, Ogle immediately went to the lead with Hedgecock claiming the 2nd position away from Ford shortly after the start. Sise and Welshan rounded out the top-5 in the early going.
Disaster nearly struck on lap 4 when another car pulled out of the pit area and onto the track right in front of Ogle and the rest of the pack. Ogle spun his leading car to avoid contact with the other machine. During the ensuing caution, the leader was given his spot at the front of the field back by track officials.
However, the night would come to an early end for Ogle as his car suffered a rear end failure just after that lap 4 restart. Hedgecock barely missed the suddenly slowing Ogle, which would prove to be the closest call he would have for the remainder of the evening.
While Hedgecock was able to separate himself from the field after Ogle’s departure, there was still good racing behind the leader. Welshan began to move forward midway through the race as he picked off competitors one by one until he reached the runner-up spot. Greg Martin also moved up from his 8th starting spot to work his way into the top-5 by the end of the feature.
At the finish, Hedgecock held a relatively comfortable lead to earn a $1,500 payday.
Feature finish: 1. Cory Hedgecock, 2. Jason Welshan, 3. Jensen Ford, 4. Greg Martin, 5. Bobby Giffin, 6. Trevor Sise, 7. Brett Wyatt, 8. Danny Yoder.
In other racing action, Jeff McLemore won an entertaining Street Stock feature as he bested David Clark, Tony Horton and Robbie Buchanan in a caution free feature that saw the top-4 stay tightly bunched for the entire 15-lap affair.
Hedgecock and crew celebrate in Smoky Mountain Victory Lane.
