Frank Heckenast Jr. claimed a win on his birthday
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series made its way to the Jackson Motorplex for the first of two nights at the Minnesota facility. After a quick night of racing, it was Frank Heckenast Jr. who came away as the night 1 winner earning his second career WoO win on his 33rd birthday. The Frankfort, Illinois driver earned $10,000 for his victory.
A total of 18 cars were signed in for competition.
Brandon Sheppard was fastest in single-group qualifying with a track record lap of 14.337 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval beating out Chad Simpson, Ryan Gustin, Jimmy Mars, Frank Heckenast Jr., Cade Dillard, Brent Larson and Chris Madden.
Brandon Sheppard won the night’s first heat race ahead of Frank Heckenast Jr., Ryan Gustin, Brent Larson, Daniel Hilsabeck and Dennis Erb Jr.
Chad Simpson took the second and final preliminary over Cade Dillard, Tyler Bruening, Blair Nothdurft, Jimmy Mars and Chris Madden.
The WoO Late Models redraw set the first two rows on the starting grid as Heckenast, Dillard, Simpson and Sheppard.
At the start of the 40-lap feature it was Dillard who took the early lead with Heckenast, Simpson, Sheppard, and Gustin following in his tire tracks. Soon, however, a caution flag would wave for suspension trouble and a flat tire on the Bruening car.
Sheppard took third away from Simpson on lap 7 to assume the position just behind Dillard and Heckenast. Three laps later, Gustin moved to fourth by getting around Simpson. Heckenast closed in on Dillard for the top spot but a caution for Nothdurft on lap 16 broke up the battle.
Following the restart, Dillard maintained the lead while Sheppard moved in to challenge Heckenast for the runner-up position on lap 23. But trouble would find the race leader on lap 27 when Dillard spun with damage to the right rear of his car. At that point, Heckenast inherited the top spot on the leaderboard.
Gustin jumped to second on the restart behind Heckenast. But he would not hold the spot long as Sheppard regained second on lap 34. Ultimately, however, it was Heckenast’s night as he sailed under the checkered flag to claim the race win.
Feature Finish: 1. Frank Heckenast Jr., 2. Brandon Sheppard, 3. Ryan Gustin, 4. Chris Madden, 5. Brent Larson, 6. Dennis Erb Jr., 7. Boom Briggs, 8. Jordan Yaggy, 9. Chad Simpson, 10. Paul Parker, 11. Ricky Weiss, 12. Cade Dillard, 13. Daniel Hilsabeck, 14. Chad Mahder, 15. Jimmy Mars, 16. Blair Nothdurft, 17. Tyler Bruening, 18. A.J. Diemel
