Dirt on Dirt - Heckenast dominates Oakshade Birthday Race

July 11

Oakshade Raceway,

Wauseon, OH

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals (Birthday Race) - $10,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 12, 3:31 am)

Heckenast dominates Oakshade Birthday Race

Birthday Race

Frank Heckenast Jr.
Ryan Unzicker
Sam Seawright
Rusty Schlenk
Luke Morey
Tanner English
Carter Schlenk
Dona Marcoullier
Travis Stemler
Mitch McGrath
Rich Bell
Steve Kester
Devin Shiels
Colin Shipley
Mike Bores
Terry Rushlow
Jake Rendel
Mark Voigt
Casey Noonan
Ryan Missler
Dusty Moore
Chad Finley

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Frank Heckenast Jr. celebrates atop his car at Oakshade Raceway.

What won the race: Leading all 50 laps, polesitter Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., notched his third DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory Saturday for a $10,000 payday in Oakshade Raceway's Birthday Race. Heckenast ran mostly unchallenged, taking the checkers 2.196 seconds ahead of Ryan Unzicker with Sam Seawright finishing third.

Quotable: "I wish I could have won this race when (former team owner) Jim Weber was around, so dedicating this one to him for sure. I miss you buddy every day," Heckenast said. "This place kicked my ass for a long time ... we were quick early, quick in the heat. A little nervous there (in the feature). I just kind of talked to myself — talked to Jim a little bit while I was driving."

Key notes: Frank Heckenast Jr.'s third series victory matches his best previous Summer Nationals season of three victories in 2020. ... Heckenast, whose car needed a push to victory lane because of transmission woes, has eight career Hell Tour wins. ... Heckenast was wary of swapping transmissions at the track (and didn't have his own spare). ... Runner-up Ryan Unzicker turned up the heat on Heckenast near the halfway point, but by then the preferred groove was clearly in the inside lane. ... Series champ Tanner English slipped back two spots late to finish sixth; its just his third finish outside the top-five in 22 series starts thus far. ... Outside front-row starter Mitch McGrath slipped up early exiting turn two and ended up 10th. ... Two cautions slowed the 50-lapper, the first on the fourth lap for Terry Rushlow's turn-two spin. ... On the 24th lap, Mark Voigt spun in nearly the same place. ... The 20-minute feature concluded at 10:23 p.m. ... The month-long Summer Nationals wrap up Sunday at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, with Tanner English concluding his overall title while the Week 5 points wrap up.

On the move: Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., started seventh and finished third.

Winner's sponsors: Heckenast’s Vic Hill-powered Longhorn Chassis is sponsored by Indy U-Pull-It, Storage Squares, JR Hauling, Dirt Oval at Route 66, Fastenal, Garrett Slager Trucking, Jay Morris Construction, Bodies by Dan, Jim Weber Motorsports, Bilstein Shocks, VG Performance, Keyser Manufacturing, Buzze Racing, STAKT Racing Products, Allstar Performance, Midwest Sheet Metal and Capital Sign Company.

Points chase: Week 5 after Oakshade: 1. Tanner English (333); 2. Frank Heckenast Jr. (299); 3. Luke Morey (288); 4. Sam Seawright (262); 5. Chad Finley (260). Overall after Oakshade: 1. Tanner English (1,522); 2. Jason Feger (1,185); 3. Mitch McGrath (959); 4. Frank Heckenast Jr. (901); 5. Luke Morey (841).

Current weather: Clear, 75°F

Car count: 43

Fast qualifier: Tanner English

Time: 15.256 seconds

Polesitter: Frank Heckenast Jr.

Heat race winners: Ryan Unzicker, Mitch McGrath, Frank Heckenast Jr., Sam Seawright

Consolation race winners: Jacob Gamber, Rich Bell

Provisional starters: Mark Voigt, Devin Shiels, Terry Rushlow, Jake Rendel

Next series race: July 12, Wayne County Speedway (Orrville, OH) $5,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

WAUSEON, Ohio — Updates from Saturday’s 22nd round of the 40th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Oakshade Raceway, an event highlighted by the 50-lap, $10,000-to-win 29th annual Birthday Race for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Leading all 50 laps, polesitter Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., notched his third DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory Saturday for a $10,000 payday in Oakshade Raceway Birthday Race. Heckenast ran mostly unchallenged, taking the checker 2.196 seconds ahead of Ryan Unzicker with Sam Seawright finishing third.

Feature lineup

(50 laps)

Row 1: Frank Heckenast Jr., Mitch McGrath
Row 2: Sam Seawright, Ryan Unzicker
Row 3: Tanner English, Ryan Missler
Row 4: Rusty Schlenk, Luke Morey
Row 5: Mike Bores, Dona Marcoullier
Row 6: Carter Schlenk, Steve Kester
Row 7: Travis Stemler, Casey Noonan
Row 8: Chad Finley, Colin Shipley
Row 9: Rich Bell, Dusty Moore
Row 10: Mark Voigt, Devin Shiels
Row 11: Terry Rushlow, Jake Rendel

Consolation results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

B-main: Rich Bell, Dusty Moore, Ryan Davis, Roman Brown, Jesse Jones, Jacob Gamber, Bob Mayer, Jake Rendel, Jamie Grochowski, John Miller, Devin Shiels, Rusty Smith, Brayden Shiels, Mark Voigt. Scratched: Carter Murday.

(Eight laps; top three transfer)

C-main: Jacob Gamber, Mark Voigt, Jake Rendel, Terry Rushlow, Josh Corkwell, Ken Hahn, David Ellis, Karl Spoores, Nicholas Fenner, Shaun Sharp, Drew Smith, Scott Boyd Jr. Scratched: Herb Reich, Chase Burda, Chad Roush.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Ryan Unzicker, Tanner English, Mike Bores, Travis Stemler, Devin Shiels, Carter Murday, Bob Mayer, Jacob Gamber, Josh Corkwell, Ken Hahn. Scratched: Nicholas Fenner.

Second heat: Mitch McGrath, Rusty Schlenk, Carter Schlenk, Chad Finley, Rich Bell, Jamie Grochowski, Roman Brown, Mark Voigt, Scott Boyd Jr., Herb Reich, Shaun Sharp.

Third heat: Frank Heckenast Jr., Ryan Missler, Dona Marcoullier, Casey Noonan, Brayden Shiels, Rusty Smith, John Miller, Jake Rendel, David Ellis, Terry Rushlow, Chad Roush.

Fourth heat: Sam Seawright, Luke Morey, Steve Kester, Colin Shipley, Dusty Moore, Ryan Davis, Jesse Jones, Drew Smith, Karl Spoores, Chase Burda.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 15.256
2. Rusty Schlenk (91), Jackson, Mich., 15.388
3. Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 15.461
4. Mitch McGrath (74), Waukesha, Wis., 15.624
5. Devin Shiels (51), Britton, Mich., 15.666
6. Carter Schlenk (lil91), Jackson, Mich., 15.765
7. Mike Bores (15B), Bellevue, Ohio, 15.766
8. Chad Finley (42), St. Johns, Mich., 15.794
9. Travis Stemler (4), Ionia, Mich., 15.815
10. Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 15.823
11. Bob Mayer (42*), Holland, Ohio, 15.850
12. Roman Brown (00), Adrian, Mich., 15.873
13. Carter Murday (19m), Adrian, Mich., 15.930
14. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 15.973
15. Nicholas Fenner (22F), Morenci, Mich., 15.986
16. Jamie Grochowski (45G), Toledo, Ohio, 15.999
17. Jacob Gamber (G15), Wauseon, Ohio, 16.068
18. Herb Reich (34), Plymouth, Mich., 16.224
19. Josh Corkwell (58c), Stryker, Ohio, 16.232
20. Scott Boyd Jr. (32B), North Baltimore, Ohio, 16.642
21. Ken Hahn (27H), Gibsonburg, Ohio, 16.725
22. Shaun Sharp (47J), Delta, Ohio, no time
Group B
1. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 15.479
2. Luke Morey (49), Zeeland, Mich., 15.594
3. Ryan Missler (50), Bellevue, Ohio, 15.613
4. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 15.623
5. Casey Noonan (1n), Sylvania, Ohio, 15.778
6. Steve Kester (77), Holland, Ohio, 15.815
7. Dona Marcoullier (6m), Houghton Lake, Mich., 15.825
8. Colin Shipley (46), McClure, Ohio, 15.859
9. Rusty Smith (71), Sylvania, Ohio, 15.923
10. Ryan Davis (2R), Weston, Mich., 16.004
11. Brayden Shiels (51B), Britton, Mich., 16.035
12. Dusty Moore (75m), Swanton, Ohio, 16.082
13. Chad Roush (32), Reedsville, Ohio, 16.088
14. Karl Spoores (B5), Custar, Ohio, 16.106
15. Terry Rushlow (63), Holland, Ohio, 16.112
16. Jesse Jones (54), Liberty Center, Ohio, 16.144
17. Jake Rendel (06), Adrian, Mich., 16.214
18. Drew Smith (71ds), Sylvania, Ohio, 16.236
19. John Miller (153), Defiance, Ohio, 16.290
20. Chase Burda (18B), Lapeer, Mich., 16.306
21. David Ellis (17), Defiance, Ohio, 16.651

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
10:00 a.m. - Pits open
3:30 p.m. - Tech and registration open
4 p.m. - Grandstands open
5 p.m. - Tech and registration close
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Super stock hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Super stock heats (8 laps)
- Late Model C-main (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Modified consolation (8 laps)
- Late Model B-main (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (50 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- Super stocks (15 laps)