SEYMOUR, Tenn. — When Cory Hedgecock saw a door to victory open Thursday night at 411 Motor Speedway, he didn’t hesitate to drive through.
The Loudon, Tenn., driver stormed from third to first on a lap-30 restart, holding on to win the Seymour Showdown — his second World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series triumph.
Dale McDowell led the first 14 laps of the 40-lap feature until Mike Marlar powered his Longhorn Chassis past McDowell for the lead in turn three on lap 15.
The Winfield, Tenn., driver pulled away from McDowell in lapped traffic until the 2018 series champion slowed with a flat tire.
Marlar’s misfortune led to a caution on lap 30, handing McDowell back the lead.
That’s when an opportunity for Hedgecock, who was running third, presented itself.
When the green flag fell on the restart, he tried to power around the outside of McDowell and Kyle Bronson but couldn’t get the run he needed.
However, as the three drivers soared into turns three and four, Hedgecock gained more momentum on the top.
Using that momentum, he powered past Bronson when they reached the flag stand, then quickly dove in front of the No. 40b to pull even with McDowell in turn one.
That momentum down the front stretch carried him even further as he slid in front of McDowell’s nose by inches in turn two to take the lead on lap 31 — one he wouldn’t relinquish.
From there, he held off Bronson for the final 10 laps to score his second career World of Outlaws CASE Late Models win and a $10,000 payday.
“Man, I love this place,” Hedgecock said. “This race track just treats me so well. We were just struggling with this car early on, just trying to figure out where we needed to be. But honestly, I think right now, I think tire choice helped us there.
“I think we were one of the very few that did what we did, and that’s why I think we were so fast on that restart.”
The win is Hedgecock’s first World of Outlaws victory since 2018 – also coming at 411.
He was worried another chance may not come up if he didn’t take it on lap 31, he said.
“I got into [McDowell], but I had such a run,” Hedgecock said. “Dale didn’t fire off good at all on that restart. Bronson was there, and I knew he and I had good cars, and when Marlar fell out, it was like, I think me and Bronson can win the race. And I was like, and it needed to happen now, unfortunately.
“I hate it. I mean, I love Dale to death, but it was just like I didn’t know what to do with the run, and I took advantage of it. There’s no doubt in my mind he owes me one, and I’ll take it. But I’ll take the win, too.”
McDowell, who fell to fourth, said he got hit on the left side going into turn one.
“I got hit there on the left side pretty good and ping-ponging around, and it just didn’t work out for us,” McDowell said. “We’ll have to make some changes and go at it again.”
Bronson ran second until the last few laps when Ricky Thornton Jr. passed him for the spot.
“I think I was a little softer on the left rear tire than them guys,” Bronson said. “I heated it up there toward the end of the race, and I just couldn’t leave the corner like I was the whole race. Knowing what I know now, I wish I would’ve put a harder tire on the left rear, and I felt like I would’ve had a shot at it.
“Overall, our car is pretty good. To come here and get a third-place finish is not what we wanted, but it’s a tough place for us, so we’re just happy to get out of here and get a solid finish.”
Bronson is now second in points after his podium finish — 10 points behind Chris Madden, who finished eighth.
Thornton finished second after starting 16th.
“We tried a couple of things for the Feature, and really I was really good,” Thornton said. “I honestly didn’t want to see that (lap 30) yellow. Before that last yellow came out, they were so stuck behind lap cars and couldn’t really move around where I could.
“And who knows, maybe we could’ve gotten one without the yellow. But I’m definitely happy with second for where we started. We showed up pretty bad last year when we came, so to be able to pass as many cars as we did, that’s a successful night.”
Ricky Weiss rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 23-Cory Hedgecock[6]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[16]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[8]; 4. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 5. 7-Ricky Weiss[5]; 6. 83-Jensen Ford[2]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce[9]; 8. 44-Chris Madden[3]; 9. 11R-Josh Rice[7]; 10. 19R-Ryan Gustin[11]; 11. 96V-Tanner English[14]; 12. 3S-Brian Shirley[10]; 13. 12-Ashton Winger[20]; 14. B5-Brandon Sheppard[18]; 15. 11-Gordy Gundaker[25]; 16. 9-Nick Hoffman[15]; 17. 2S-Stormy Scott[17]; 18. 6JR-Parker Martin[22]; 19. 58-Garrett Alberson[21]; 20. 111-Max Blair[23]; 21. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[24]; 22. 20-Jimmy Owens[12]; 23. 91-Heath Hindman[13]; 24. B1-Brent Larson[26]; 25. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 26. B00-Josh Henry[19]