Cory Hedgecock
Storms to $5,000 Southern Thunder Win
(August
16, 2025) Cory Hedgecock came from the 9th starting spot
to win Saturday’s Southern Thunder Super Dirt Series race.
Thirty entries signed in for the $5,000 to win event. Jadon Frame
and Michael Leach were the two fastest qualifiers from each group
and started the race from the front row. Frame got to the early
lead. Heath Hindman got by Jason Croft for third and battled Leach
for second. Hedgecock quickly moved from 9th to 7th and took fifth
from Jensen Ford by lap 4. (MRM
Racing Photos)
Following a lap 9 caution, Frame maintained the lead and Leach
and Hindman continued their battle for second. Leach held the
position as Hedgecock took fourth from Croft. Hedgecock wasted
no time and overtaking Hindman for third. Hedgecock passed Leach
for second on lap 13. One lap later, Frame slowed on the track
with mechanical trouble. That handed the lead to Hedgecock who
was never challenged in the 40-lap race. Randy Weaver came from
6th to finish second and Leach finished third.
The sportsman feature had plenty of excitement in their 20-lap
race. Colby Horner and Cameron Hawkins started the race from the
front. Hawkins got the lead over Horner coming out of turn 2.
Mitchell Childress and Jake Whitehead got by third place starter
Jesse Helton to have their own battle for third. Whitehead gained
control of the spot and turned his attention to Horner. A caution
on lap 8 set the stage for some wild restarts. Whitehead used
a power move on the outside to get by Horner for second. Childress
tried to take third from Horner but was denied. Whitehead tracked
down Hawkins and tried the inside and outside lines in an effort
to get around the lead. With 5 laps to go, Whitehead got around
Hawkins for the lead. Whitehead won the race followed by Hawkins
and Horner.
Cody Satterfield won the pole for the street stock feature.
But a mechanical issue before the start of the race ended his
night. That left Austin Byrd and Greg Huskey to start from the
front row. It was all Byrd in leading the entire 20 laps in a
caution-free race. Huskey held off Ryan Watson to finish second.
The front wheel drive feature saw Brandon Porstner take the
win. While Porstner maintained the lead, a fierce battle for second
between Travis Taylor and Jason Ketron took place for most of
the race. Taylor eventually retired from the race. Bryan Williams
had moved to third and pressured Ketron for second. Ketron held
off Williams for second in a race that saw plenty of action throughout
the field.
The next event at Smoky Mountain Speedway will take place on
Saturday, August 30 when the Best Plumber 604 Racing Series returns
for a $2,000 to win race. Sportsman late models, street stocks,
and front wheel drive will also be in action. The kids’
Juice Box races will take place during intermission.
(MRM Racing Photos)
Southern Thunder Super Dirt
Series:
1. 23V-Cory Hedgecock[9]; 2. 22W-Randy Weaver[6]; 3. 09-Michael
Leach[2]; 4. 91-Heath Hindman[4]; 5. 9-Jason Croft[3]; 6. 59-Dillard
Hatchett[20]; 7. 83-Jensen Ford[5]; 8. 97-Bobby Giffin[7]; 9.
629-Landon Gentry[12]; 10. 66-Jordan Rodabaugh[14]; 11. 17-Taylor
Puckett[10]; 12. 7-Justin Smith[13]; 13. 11-Stacy Boles[22]; 14.
95-Brandon Williams[21]; 15. 23-Beckham Malone[11]; 16. 15-Noah
Phillips[19]; 17. C11-Cody Courtney[18]; 18. 3D-Dakota Smith[24];
19. 49-James Kelso[16]; 20. 7T-Tyler Price[8]; 21. 81F-Jadon Frame[1];
22. 18-Eric Orr[17]; 23. 95W-Fletcher Wulff[23]; 24. C5-David
Crabtree[15]
(MRM Racing Photos)
Sportsman Late Models:
1. 116-Jake Whitehead[5]; 2. C4-Cameron Hawkins[2]; 3. 15-Colby
Horner[1]; 4. 2-Mitchell Childress[4]; 5. 22-Dustin Ward[7]; 6.
85-Travis Weeks[6]; 7. 102-Reed Hatchett[19]; 8. 28-Jesse Helton[3];
9. 00-Isaac Boring[8]; 10. 34-Evan McReynolds[10]; 11. 82-Aaron
McCarter[15]; 12. 99-Robert Buchanan[17]; 13. 22M-Jonathan McKenzie[18];
14. 7T-Tiffany Hensley[12]; 15. 25-Logan Amy[11]; 16. 47-Hayden
Estep[16]; 17. 96-Ohlin Williams[9]; 18. 4-Jacob Kelso[13]; 19.
(DNS) 33-Warren McMahan
(MRM Racing Photos)
Street Stocks:
1. A13-Austin Byrd[2]; 2. 14H-Greg Huskey[3]; 3. 11-Ryan Watson[4];
4. 09-Nick Baker[6]; 5. 44-Clyde Overholt[8]; 6. 88-Sam Burgess[5];
7. J3-Chad McLemore[7]; 8. (DNS) 1-Cody Satterfield
(MRM Racing Photos)
Front Wheel Drives:
1. B56-Brandon Porstner[1]; 2. 28-Jason Ketron[3]; 3. 38-Bryan
Williams[6]; 4. 12-Trent Lee[7]; 5. 10-Dan Sandiford[9]; 6. 01-Jake
Bumgarner[13]; 7. 9M-Joshua Mizell[12]; 8. L13-Andy Lee[5]; 9.
J4-Jacob Anderson[10]; 10. 21H-Shane Hawkins[11]; 11. 8-Dylan
Cupp[15]; 12. 21T-Travis Taylor[2]; 13. 88-Shaylee Hinds[8]; 14.
96-Chayse McDaniel[4]; 15. (DNS) 45-Colton Keasler
###
