Frank Heckenast Jr sidelined after crash in Dirt Track World Championship
Frank Heckenast Jr has decided to end his season early. The crash took place in the DTWC, a $100,000 late model show.
Doctors say he has suffered a concussion in the LOLMDS crash at Portsmouth Raceway Park. The dirt late model driver has decided to take the doctor’s advice and hang up the helmet until 2018.
View at the Frank Heckenast Jr crash sequence photo album below.
The crash
The crash happened in turn 1 his first heat race. Heat race #5 in round 1 of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finale.
Billy Gullian and Frank Heckenast Jr sat on the front row for the race. Unfortunately, he didn’t get to turn a single race lap. Jared Hawkins came from the inside of row 2, to the inside of row 1, 3 wide in turn 1. It was a late braking pass for the lead.
It happened fast, from what I saw, Billy Gullian didn’t expect Hawkins to take his line away. It looked like he started turning to the bottom just as Hawkins reached his door.
Billy Gullian, the car in the middle bounced off Hawkins then up the banking. At the top, Heckenast was hard on the throttle prepping for a 3-wide battle for lead off turn 2. However, as Gullian came up the banking, he slammed into Heckenast.
Heckenast had the steering wheel turned hard left. However, the car still went up the banking. Both Gullian and Heckenast slammed the outside wall. Gullian’s hit was a lot softer as he spun sideways, scrubbing off speed before impact.
Heckenast on the other hand hit a lot harder. His car actually hit flat on the right hand side. It was enough of an impact to lift the rear of the car off the ground.
Frank Heckenast Jr. is currently 10th in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series standings. The next race was scheduled for next weekend. The World of Outlaws World Finals concludes the WoOLMS season in Charlotte, NC.
Frank Hecknast Jr statement
“Abrupt ending to 2017 for my team! Concussion from a bad wreck @ DTWC last weekend has caused us to end early. I am thankful for my safety equipment and for the Dr’s who have forced me to stay put
“I want to THANK all of the FANS, My Friends, Teammates, Promoters, Drivers, Crews, Sponsors, and my Family for a great 2017. It has been a long tough year- but looking forward to 2018!”
He issued another brief statement via twitter, “With the hard hit and injury I took. It has caused my team to end are season early . Thank you for all the prayers and calls I’ve gotten.”
Axle Wicker
#99 Crew Chief
“It wasn’t the season we were looking for but we had some good runs and we will build off that and it’s full speed ahead for next season,” Wicker stated via twitter.
Frank Heckenast Jr crash photos
Portsmouth Raceway Park
I’m aware, some of these are blurry. I partially missed the moment on a few shots. However, I’m uploading them all anyway to better explain the scene of the crash.
Click here to read the initial report from the racing that night.
Links
Frank Heckenast Jr | LOLMDS | DTWC | Portsmouth Raceway Park | Shane Walters
