Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends
Notes: S.C. driver hitting his stride
By Todd Turner
DirtonDirt managing editor
Thomas Hedgpath (Marty Hinson photos)
As with most hobby dirt track racers, Thomas Hedgpath has mostly squeezed in his racing career amid making a living, raising a family and handling all the other non-racing things that come along with being the average citizen.
Hedgpath succinctly describes the breaks and his father Bill, also a competitor, have taken from racing.
“Work. Family. Life happened,” said the 37-year-old Hedgpath of Chester, S.C., now a Limited Late Model regular at nearby Lancaster Motor Speedway who works with his family-owned general contracting business.
With life mostly settled, Hedgpath returned to regular Late Model racing the last few seasons, and he’s enjoying his most successful year with career-high three feature victories at Lancaster through May. He got his first-ever Late Model victory last season and has five overall the past calendar year.
"I've paid my dues and I've been bridesmaid a lot. And I was very happy to finally get the win,” said Hedgpath, atop DirtonDirt’s Weekly Notebook presented by FK Rod Ends. “I’ve always kind of tried to race ‘up,' so to speak, tried to run with people better than me. I like the competition and we race with a good group of guys.
“It's a pretty good competitive group of guys down there we run with and I enjoy it. We all kind of have our turn and I guess that's the way it's gonna be most places nowadays, Late Models are pretty competitive about anywhere you go, for the most part.”
It was his father who first raced in the 1980s in VW Beetles among other divisions, then stepping away from the track until Thomas graduated from high school. Bill Hedgpath began racing again in 2005, getting a 602 Crate Late Model from standout Upstate driver John Pursley. Thomas was eager to serve as crew chief and for a time considered a motorsports-focused career.
"Sportswise, I was alright at golf, alright at soccer, alright at baseball, football, but I always had a mechanical mind and always liked things with a motor since I was little, so it just felt like it was natural for me to just be involved in racing in some way, shape or form,” said the younger Hedgpath, who looked into the possibility of UNC Charlotte’s motorsports engineering program.
“After I got done with tech — I got an associate’s (degree) in machine tool from tech — I was gonna transfer. But (his lawn care and landscaping) business was doing good and to be honest, I kinda got tired of math. So I decided that I just needed to go to work and make the best out of it.”
The Hedgpaths continued racing, adding Mike Huey as an H&H Racing driver. Thomas began driving when his father climbed out the car, competing in Late Model-style cars from about 2009-14 when work commitments mostly took him away from the track. Except for a few street stock starts here and there, Hedgpath was mostly focused on the MCON/Fern Creek Group contracting business he purchased along with his father and sister Maria.
By 2023, “I decided i really wanted to race again,” and he got a Longhorn Chassis to eventually compete in Lancaster’s Limited Late Model division. Motor problems hampered him in 2024, but he clicked off a couple of victories, and 2025 started strong with three victories and three other podium finishes in his first seven starts. He’d be in the battle for the track title had he not missed the preseason car show that granted drivers bonus points.
Hedgpath figured he’d take another crack at racing regularly again.
“I still have the first car I drove. And it still races a little bit,” he said. “We still take it out and play with it occasionally, but. But no, I never really left. I just didn't drive as much, didn't go as much, but I helped friends that raced around and I'd stay involved, just not necessarily as much. I'd still run maybe a couple a year.”
His recent success came in part by blending what he’d learned from his first stint in Late Models 15 years ago and today’s data-driven technology.
He credits “a combination of a little bit of everything. I think me having the experience I do allows me to be more consistent. And my Longhorn by WP, those guys up there, Wesley (Page) and everybody, Zack (Smith), they helped me get a good baseline for it and gave me advice on what adjustments to make,” he said. "I started messing with it. I kind of done the old-school type of way. I was moving bar angles and doing a lot of that, kind of the old adjustments I used to make.
“The new Late Models, they kind of do them a little different way with load numbers and smashing your springs. … So I kind of adopted the new way of setup — I mean, I guess it's all kind of similar — but I guess me knowing what I've known from the past and learning everything new is kind of helped me stay consistent and and dial it in pretty good.”
In his first racing stint, “I learned a lot from the Pursleys and the Hueys and everybody you run across in this industry is pretty much nice and will help you in any way they can, so most people I've crossed paths with have taught me something or I've learned something from them,” said Hedgpath, who enjoys the challenge of tinkering with a race car.
"I've always been appealed by the technical side of it,” he said. “Since I started, I've always liked to make them go faster. I've always like to think outside the box and try to find new ways or better ways to adjust the cars. And then the driving is just a bonus to me. You get to actually feel and ride in what you created — you and everybody that helps you put it together — and it's just a kind of a bonus at the end of the week.”
The track closest to his house, I-77 Speedway, closed years ago — the property is now owned by one of his sponsors, Alliance Driveway Solutions — but Lancaster’s half-mile layout is a favorite track, too.
“I like the speed. It’s fast. High-banked. Wide, but tight corners, so you always got a little room to get by somebody or make something happen,” Hedgpath said. “The high side is mostly the fast (way around). This year's been kind of a little different, or the last couple of years, but predominantly, if the track's good and you're good, you're probably gonna be right up at the top.”
For now, Hedgpath’s racing is on a modest level. He ran occasionally in the Super Late Model years ago and if things work out, perhaps he’ll try that again to run some regional events or a longer trip to the legendary Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, which recently hosted the $100,000-to-win Dream.
"I just bought a new Longhorn. I'm starting to put it together and I've got an old Clements motor in the shed, so if I find somebody to help me buy tires I might put it all together and make some noise on a big level somewhere instead of just having fun,” said Hedgpath, always grateful for his family, crew and sponsors. “Bucket list. Maybe I get to go to Eldora one time or something, but it takes a lot to do it, so we have to get a lot together to make it happen. But maybe one day it'll happen.”
Weekly highlights
• Kyle Moore of Mansfield, Ohio, notched a two-victory Super Late Model weekend with June 6-7 home-state triumph at Attica Raceway Park and Orrville’s Wayne County Speedway.
• Another double-victory Super Late Model weekend winner in Ohio was Zanesville’s Todd Brennan, a June 6-7 winner at Millersburg’s Hilltop Speedway and Crooksville’s Midway Speedway.
• Leading all 35 laps, Ryan Scott of Garland, Pa., earned a $3,000 Spring Super Late Model Championship victory June 7 at Stateline Speedway in Busti, N.Y.
• Scoring an emotional victory in honor of his late Uncle Scott, Travis Brown of Jacksonburg, W.Va., captured June 7’s Super Late Model feature at Tyler County Speedway in Middlebourne, W.Va. Brown’s car is No. 3 this season as a tribute to his uncle.
First things first
Recent first-time occurrences at the dirt track:
• Justin Cooper of Wheelersburg, Ohio, grabbed his first Late Model victory May 17 at Mudlick Valley Raceway in Wallingford, Ky.
• Scoring a June 6 victory at Davenport (Iowa) Speedway, Jake Morris of McCausland, Iowa, notched his first career Late Model triumph.
Weekly news briefs
• Davenport (Iowa) Speedway cancelled June 13’s race program because of the delivery and installation of the track’s new scoreboard, along with other electronic issues at the track.
• Rain forced the cancellation of the Masters weekend at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., which was scheduled to include $3,000-, $5,000- and $10,000-to-win Late Model events. The track plans to run Saturday-only, weather permitting, with a $3,000-to-win Late Model event on the card.
• The Georgia racing community is mourning the apparent June 5 boating death of 17-year-old Jackson Croft, who competed this season in the 602 Beginner Crate Late Model division at Dixie Speedway in his hometown of Woodstock, Ga. “This precious family has been a huge part of Dixie Speedway’s history and dear friends for many years,” said Mia Green, Dixie’s vice president. Croft’s father, Jason Croft, is a two-time Super Late Model champion at Dixie and Rome (Ga.) Speedways (2014, ’17) and a longtime regional racer.
• June 14th’s Super Late Model winner at Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, will be locked in to the starting field for July 5’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at the track in Zanesville, Ohio. Crate Late Models are also on the card.
• Drivers pre-registering for July 19’s Duane Mahder Memorial at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., will receive a free pit pass. Jim Wackerfuss of JT Auto & Truck will cover Late Model driver pit passes for next month's $10,555-to-win event at the 3/8-mile oval. Drivers must register by July 4 to receive the free pit pass. Register by texting (612) 363-5896.
• After two weeks off, the Late Model division returns to Shawano Speedway on June 14 after officials were “restructuring as to how they will move ahead with this class,” the track announced. The track’s Mid-Summer Classic is June 14-15 with Late Models joining the second night.
Weekly points
IMCA (Limiteds): Curtis Glover of Knoxville, Iowa, has 611 points to lead Zach Zeitner (444) and Jesse Bodin (425).
USRA (Limiteds): Cade Nelson of Hermantown, Minn., has 1,468 points to lead Lucas Peterson (1,351) and Josh Wahlstrom (1,181).
WISSOTA (Limiteds): Tyler Peterson of Hickson, N.D., has 785 points to lead Chad Becker (656) and Jayson Good (629).
American All-Stars (Crates): Justin Williams of Concord, Va., has 299 points to lead Braeson (294) and Ronnie Martin Jr. (292).
Crate Racin’ USA (602 Crates): Brett White of Kosciusko, Miss., has 594 points to lead Devin Whatley (528) and rookie Brandon Lunsford (505).
Crate Racin’ USA (604 Crates): Shannon Lee of Lumberton, Miss., has 558 points to lead Ben Davis (548) and Sid Scarbrough (506).
RUSH (Crates): Braeden Dillinger of Dawson, Pa., has 916 points to lead Davin Kaiser (864) and Daryl Charlier (840).
Ultimate (Crates): Chandi Currence of Clarksburg, W.Va., has 129 points to lead Noah Whited (122) and Garret Paugh (102).
(Weekly points for DIRTcar, POWRi and RUSH haven’t been released)
Upcoming weekly specials
Among non-touring and independent special events coming up for Late Models at dirt tracks around the country:
Proctor (Minn.) Speedway (June 12): The five-race XR Northern Storm circuit gets rolling with a $1,500-to-win event for WISSOTA-sanctioned Late Models.
Carolina Speedway, Gastonia, N.C. (June 13): The track no longer runs weekly Limited Late Models, but has added the division for a $1,000-to-win event following rules at Lancaster and East Lincoln.
Freedom Motorsports Park, Delevan, N.Y. (June 13): The Ron Baker Memorial pays $3,574-to-win for Super Late Models with four undercard divisions.
Gondik Law Speedway, Superior, Wis. (June 13): The second round of the XR Northern Storm miniseries pays $1,500-to-win for Late Models.
Willard (Ky.) Speedway (June 14): The fourth annual Jesse Dillow Memorial pays $3,000 for Late Models with a variety of bonuses for fast time, hard charger, prelim winners and more.
Grand Rapids (Minn.) Speedway (June 14): XR Northern Storm action continues with a $1,500-to-win Late Model event. Five divisions on the undercard.
Fort Payne Motor Speedway, Fyffe, Ala. (June 14): The Ray and Charlotte Barksdale Memorial pays $3,000-to-win for the Super Late Model division (no Limited division on the program).
Cedar Lake Speedway, New Richmond, Wis. (June 14): The rain spoiling the three-day Masters weekend, the track hopes to salvage at least a $3,000-to-win Late Model event with USRA Limiteds among other divisions on the card.
Wartburg (Tenn.) Speedway (June 14): The Ducky Jones Memorial makeup race pays $2,000-to-win for the Limited Late Model division.
Lake Cumberland Speedway, Burnside, Ky. (June 14): Racemania is highlights by a $2,000-to-win 604 Crate Late Model feature with four divisions on the undercard.
County Line Raceway, Elm City, N.C. (June 14): Another Fast Five Shootout event pays $3,000-to-win for the Limited Late Model division with regular divisions also in action.
TNT Speedway, Three Lakes, Wis. (June 14): The USRA-sanctioned Late Model division will be part of the track’s regular-season card.
Hibbing (Minn.) Speedway (June 15): The fourth of four weekend XR Northern Storm events pays $1,500-to-win for Late Models.
Windy Hollow Speedway, Owensboro, Ky. (June 15): The 602 Crate Late Model division chases a $1,000-to-win payday ($5 off for fathers on Father's Day).
Editor's note: Updates with Cedar Lake's schedule changes.
