InsideDirtRacing.com will be providing live updates from the Schaeffer’s Oil Southern Nationals-sanctioned $10,053-to-win event at Tazewell Speedway in Tazewell, TN on Saturday, July 31, 2022. These updates will be provided by Richard Allen(@RichardAllenIDR on Twitter and @RichardAllenIDR on Instagram).
These updates are brought to you by Smoky Mountain Speedway in Maryville, Tenn. The next race scheduled for SMS will be the Smoky Mountain Showdown featuring the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series on September 2, 2022.
Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy with high temperatures in the 80s and lows in the 70s and a slight chance for rain.
Time: Hot laps scheduled for 7:30.
Feature Payout: $10,053(53 laps)
Track Description: Third-mile clay oval
Other Classes: Sportsman, Classics, Street Stock and Four Cylinder
Live Stream: FloRacing.com
Pre-race Notes: This will be the final Southern Nationals event for 2022.
Cory Hedgecock leads the Southern Nationals standings over Will Roland, Kenny Collins, Jensen Ford and John Henderson.
6:45- Drivers meeting about to begin.
7:45- Hot laps for all classes underway.
Live Updates:
Southern Nationals Late Models
Car Count: 26 cars
Drivers Here: 1c- Kenny Collins, 1v- Vic Hill, 2x- John Henderson Jr., 3- Steve Smith, 3- Austin Neely, 5c- Josh Chesney, 6- Clay Coghlan, 6- Josh Sneed, 6jr- Parker Martin, 7w- Ricky Weiss, 8- David Payne, 17- Brian Shockley, 17m- Dale McDowell, 17ss- Brenden Smith, 19m- Wil Herrington, 21k- Dakotah Knuckles, 22- Will Roland, 22- Matthew Holt, 23- Cory Hedgecock, 35- Matt Tharp, 44D- Dalton Cook, 51- Mack McCarter, 51- Ryan Winchester, 52- Troy Eads, 83- Jensen Ford, 97- Aaron Guinn, 101- Forrest Trent, 109- Eli Beets
*Driver list is incomplete and unofficial until after the drivers meeting.
Qualifying Results: One group qualifying.
1. Beets(11.374), 2. Collins, 3. Payne, 4. McDowell, 5. Knuckles, 6. Neely, 7. Martin, 8. Hedgecock, 9. McCarter, 10. Trent
Heat Race Results: There will be three heat races with the top-6 from each transferring to the feature.
Heat 1 Lineup- 1. Beets, 2. McDowell, 3. Martin, 4. Trent, 5. Roland, 6. Winchester, 7. Sneed, 8. B Smith, 9. Eads
Heat 1 Finish– 1. Beets, 2. McDowell, 3. Martin, 4. Trent, 5. Roland, 6. Winchester
Heat 2 Lineup- 1. Collins, 2. Knuckles, 3. Hedgecock, 4. Henderson, 5. Guinn, 6. Harrington, 7. Shockley, 8. S Smith, 9. Chesney
Heat 2 Finish– 1. Knuckles, 2. Collins, 3. Hedgecock, 4. Henderson, 5. Herrington, 6. Guinn
Heat 3 Lineup- 1. Payne, 2. Neely, 3. McCarter, 4. Weiss, 5. Ford, 6. Hill, 7. Tharp, 8. Holt
Heat 3 Finish– 1. Payne, 2. McCarter, 3. Weiss, 4. Neely, 5. Hill, 6. Ford
B-main Results: There will be one B-main with the top-2 transferring to the feature.
1. Sneed, 2. S Smith
Feature Notes:
Feature Lineup- 1. Beets, 2. Knuckles, 3. Payne, 4. McDowell, 5. Collins, 6. McCarter, 7. Martin, 8. Hedgecock, 9. Weiss, 10. Trent, 11. Henderson, 12. Neely, 13. Roland, 14. Herrington, 15. Hill, 16. Winchester, 17. Guinn, 18. Ford, 19. Sneed, 20. S Smith, 21. Tharp, 22. B Smith
10:46- Feature rolling out. 53 laps for $10,053.
Hedgecock will clinch the Southern Nationals championship with a finish of 14th or better.
10:51- Four wide!
10:54- Green flag!
Lap 18 caution for slowing Hedgecock – flat tire. Knuckles leads McDowell, Beets, Payne, McCarter, Collins, Trent, Neely, Martin, Herrington
Hedgecock returns to the track.
Lap 38- Knuckles and McDowell battling for the lead in heavy traffic.
Lap 40 caution. Leader Knuckles tangles with the slower car of Henderson. McDowell leads McCarter, Beets, Payne and Trent.
Hedgecock is running right behind Roland which would be enough for him to win the championship should it finish that way.
Lap 45 caution when Herrington and Roland crash after apparent contact with another car. McDowell slid into the crash. McDowell is returned to the lead ahead of McCarter, Beets, Payne, Weiss, Trent, Collins, Hill.
Hedgecock is 13th while Roland is 14th.
Lap 50 caution as Beets spins while racing with Weiss for third. McDowell leads McCarter, Weiss, Payne, Trent
Feature Results: 1. McDowell, 2. McCarter, 3. Weiss, 4. Payne, 5. Trent, 6. Collins, 7. Hill, 8. Neely, 9. Hedgecock, 10. Henderson
It’s McDowell’s third SoNats win of 2022 and the tenth of his career.
Cory Hedgecock is the 2023 Southern Nationals champion.
Cory Hedgecock leads the Southern Nationals standings
