Hedgecock won a thriller on Friday night in Bulls Gap
Volunteer Speedway continued its series of Fast Fridays with the Limited Late Model class taking center stage with feature race that ended in the most dramatic fashion imaginable when Cory Hedgecock executed a slide job pass in turn four of the last lap to claim the checkered flag. The Loudon, Tenn. driver picked up $1200 for his victory on the historic track located in Bulls Gap, Tenn.
Barrett Lowe began the night’s racing action by setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 12.883 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval to earn the pole position for the main event. Dakotah Knuckles, Cory Hedgecock, Greg Estes and John Tweed rounded out the top-5 on the starting grid.
There were no heat races employed by the track as all 17 cars that were signed in for competition were locked into the feature based on their efforts in time-trials.
At the start of the 30-lap main event, Lowe bolted to the front of the pack with Knuckles, Hedgecock, Estes and Tweed in tow. On the second circuit, Tweed moved around Estes to claim fourth while Jason Trammell moved forward to challenge Estes for the fifth position. All the while, Lowe built an advantage of as much as five car lengths in the early going as his competitors fought for the places behind him.
With the early portion of the race running caution free the leaders found themselves in slower traffic by the tenth circuit. Lowe added to his lead as Knuckles, Hedgecock and Tweed found the going a bit tougher than had the leader as they made their way around the lapped machines. Meanwhile, Estes, Trammell and Josh Henry fought over positions 5-7 as they attempted to draw closer to the front runners.
As the laps clicked off, Hedgecock began to move forward. With just six laps remaining, the No. 23 car closed in on Knuckles and began to challenge for the runner-up spot. However, that bid would be interrupted by the first yellow flag of the event when Layne Clifton’s ride sent up a plume of smoke.
After a lap 27 caution, Hedgecock seized the opportunity and went after Knuckles for second. With a slide job maneuver in turn four, the position belonged to Hedgecock, Knuckles then spun on the following trip through turn two to bring out another caution on lap 28.
That set up a two lap dash to the finish that would provide the race’s pivotal moment. As the cars raced down the back stretch for the final time, Hedgecock measured Lowe for his final opportunity to make a winning move. Hedgecock went to the inside of turn three and completed the pass for the race lead with the checkered flag literally in sight. However, his momentum caused the No. 23 to slide up the track right in front of Lowe. The No. 72, in turn, spun as a result of the close call as Hedgecock drove under the flag stand for the win ahead of Jason Trammell, Greg Estes, Josh Henry, John Tweed, Dakotah Knuckles, Barrett Lowe and Bobby Mays.
Hedgecock and crew celebrate their win at Volunteer Speedway
