Cory Hedgecock
Another race at 411 Motor Speedway and another win for Cory Hedgecock. Saturday’s Schaeffer’s Oil Spring Nationals race proved to be a contest of ‘How low can you go?’ as drivers went so low through the turns that they were cutting the grass to find speed. A pass by the eventual winner around one of his racing heroes just after the halfway mark sent the No. 23 on its way to victory.
The BMF Race Cars driver from Loudon, Tennessee earned $15,000 for his efforts on the track located in Seymour, Tennessee.
A total of 45 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results:
Group A Results- 1. Dale McDowell (15.105), 2. Cameron Weaver, 3. Jimmy Owens, 4. Carson Ferguson, 5. Jensen Ford, 6. Cory Hedgecock, 7. Cla Knight, 8. Michael Chilton
Group B Results- 1. Mike Marlar (15.269), 2. Ross Bailes, 3. Ricky Weiss, 4. Will Roland, 5. Dakotah Knuckles, 6. Josh Henry, 7. Booger Brooks, 8. Brandon Overton
Heat 1 Results: 1. Dale McDowell, 2. Jimmy Owens, 3. Jensen Ford, 4. Adam Ahl
Heat 2 Results: 1. Carson Ferguson, 2. Cory Hedgecock, 3. Cameron Weaver, 4. Kenny Collins
Heat 3 Results: 1. Mike Marlar, 2. Ricky Weiss, 3. Jason Welshan, 4. Dakotah Knuckles
Heat 4 Results: 1. Ross Bailes, 2. Brandon Overton, 3. Josh Henry, 4. Will Roland
B-main 1 Finish: 1. Michael Chilton, 2. Ryan Gustin
B-main 2 Finish: 1. Booger Brooks, 2. Kyle Strickler
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 71-lap feature it was McDowell who jumped out to the early lead with Marlar, Ferguson, Bailes and Owens in his tire tracks. Hedgecock began to move forward right away as he took the fifth position away from Owens on the second circuit. at the same time, Bailes and Ferguson battled for the third spot with Ferguson holding on.
McDowell began to slip away from the pack as the fights throughout the top-5 raged on. But just as the race leader was about to encounter slower traffic, a lap 9 caution for a spin by Caden Mullinax offered a reprieve.
On the restart, Bailes briefly assumed the second spot but that would prove to be short-lived as he Marlar and Hedgecock went three-wide for the runner-up position with Hedgecock emerging from that scrum with the spot.
Weiss was the first driver to make use of the lowest of low lines around the track as he passed Marlar for fourth then Bailes for third just before Welshan and Strickler tangled on the front stretch to bring out a lap 19 caution. Just after the restart, Weiss got by Hedgecock to claim second behind leader McDowell.
Chilton came to a stop in turn one on lap 21 to force another yellow flag. On that restart, the cars of Marlar, Overton and Weiss went three-wide while racing for third. Debris from the fender-banging incident brought out another yellow flag. Damage incurred forced Marlar to the pit area and out of the event.
Through the middle stages of the feature, McDowell continued to show the way employing a higher line around the track as Hedgecock stayed close by running right to the edge of the grass. In the meantime, Ford began torumble as he sailed into the top-5 and looked to move to the front of the pack.
On lap 39, Hedgecock was poised to make his move. The frequent winner at 411 was able to get by the veteran driver he had long admired to take over the lead. Two laps later, Ford also got by McDowell to grab second.
All cars migrated to the bottom of the track as the laps clicked away. Only Weiss would dare to move up which paid off on lap 63 when he passed Ford to claim second. But in the end, it would be Hedgecock who would drive under the checkered flag to score the victory.
Click on the play button below to hear our post-race interview with the race winner:
Feature Results: 1. Cory Hedgecock, 2. Ricky Weiss, 3. Jensen Ford, 4. Dale McDowell, 5. Brandon Overton, 6. Carson Ferguson, 7. Ryan Gustin, 8. Dakotah Knuckles, 9. Jimmy Owens, 10. Ross Bailes, 11. Adam Ahl, 12. Kyle Strickler, 13. Kenny Collins, 14. Booger Brooks, 15. Josh Henry, 16. Caden Mullinax, 17. Chuck Southard, 18. Will Roland, 19. Cla Knight, 20. Cameron Weaver, 21. Mike Marlar, 22. Michael Chilton, 23. Haden Cowan, 24. Jason Welshan, 25. David McCoy
Cory Hedgecock celebrating his win with crew and friends
Please consider also reading:
Billy Franklin claims SAS win at Southern after Ashton Winger comes up light
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.
