Despite Battling Back Issues, Brett Hearn Returned to Victory Lane at the Valley in Dominant Fashion; Increases Career Win Total to 892
Story and Photos By: MATT NOLES / RACERSGUIDE.COM
SPRAKERS, NY- August 14, 2016- Some drivers tend to crumble under pressure; championship caliber drivers do not.
Plagued by back issues following the Super DIRTcar Series stop at Weedsport Speedway on Tuesday night, questions arose concerning the likeliness of seeing Brett Hearn behind the wheel of his famed No. 20 Madsen Overhead Doors sponsored modified at the Lebanon Valley Speedway on Saturday night. Needless to say, those questions were answered in dominating fashion.
With only a 13-point lead over rival Kenny Tremont heading into last night’s 30-lap DIRTcar modified feature, Hearn found himself starting more than a few rows from the front of the field; as if distance made a difference to the seasoned veteran. In typical Hearn fashion, the multi-time track champion easily drove by all challengers and survived a late-race restart to claim yet another win on the famed highbanks thus increasing his point lead with only weeks remaining in the 2016 season.
The season-long grind hasn’t seemed like much of a physical challenge for Hearn until recently. “I haven’t been back to the shop yet since we hit the road a month ago,” said Hearn after his victory on Saturday night. “And then I hurt my back Tuesday at Weedsport and I’ve been horizontal for the past two days. When I woke up this morning, I didn’t know whether I’d be able to get in the car or not so somebody is looking after me.”
The road to victory lane wasn’t the easiest of Hearn’s career, though he made it look so, as some mechanical issues were repaired during the week bringing his Teo chassis back to life. With the work completed, the change was extremely noticeable to the seasoned veteran.
“My feeling is that we did some damage to the rear at Eldora [Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio] when we hit the wall or blew the tire or a combination of the two,” He continued. “We didn’t catch everything and that’s been biting us for the past couple of weeks.”
When he and his team investigated further, the culprit was finally identified and subsequently eradicated. “We finally got that all straightened out,” said Hearn. “After last week’s second place run, we burned up a bearing in the rear end which is very odd. So we addressed that and while we were doing that we found a couple of issues so tonight is really the first night that the car has been completely perfect in a while.”
Last night’s win took some of the pressure of chasing a championship off the shoulders of the Sussex, New Jersey native. “I feel that we have the better car right now,” Hearn stated. “So I have to take care of it; it’s up to me to take care of it and I don’t think he [Tremont] is going to beat me on the track.”
For Hearn, the long road trips have taken their toll on both he and his team; in short, everyone is looking forward to getting back to the shop after a long stint away from home. “We have a major plan and I think everybody is looking forward to getting back to work in the shop and getting everything where it needs to be,” concluded Hearn. “You know, I have all new guys this year for the most part so it’s been a huge learning experience for everybody. We’re just going to keep on digging.”
Matt Noles is a contributing writer for Racers Guide, Dirt Track Digest and Speedway Illustrated. He currently resides in Sprakers, New York and can be reached via e-mail @ matt_noles@yahoo.com.
