Three Top Ten's in South Dakota for Al
A three-day USMTS swing through South Dakota netted three top ten finishes for Al Hejna. The Rookies Rockin' Sports Bar Skyrocket Chassis number "7" ran strong all three nights.
TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 2006: Al finished second in his heat at Interstate SPeedway (Jefferson, SD), and that was good enough for the Top 8 Redraw for the A-Main (redrew 5th). A series of yellows never really allowed Al to work the field, and he hung around the top 5 until the end.
"We kept restarting on the outside," commented Al Hejna after the race. "We needed to be on the bottom. I just couldn't get there. I was content to take a third place out of Jefferson (SD)."
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2006: Despite bad luck, Al was able to grab a top ten finish at the Dakota State Fair Speedway (Huron, SD). While leading his heat race, Al got turned around, but he was able to rebound and finish 3rd - which put him 9th in the A-Main starting line-up. A lap-one pile up put Al to the back. Working through the field, Al was able to get back up to 8th by race end.
THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2006: The third night of the South Dakota Tripleheader wrapped up at Casino Speedway (Watertown, SD). Finishing third in his heat race, Al earned enough passing points to make the A-Main redraw. After grabbing the pole, things look pretty good.
"We had a great car Thursday in Watertown," Al said in the shop Friday morning. "We lead most of the race. Caution flags kept the rest of the field close. The yellow with six (laps) to go put Jon Tesch on our back bumper. He's tough there. He has a lot of laps there."
The pair crossed the flagstand side by side on lap 38, with Tesch holding a slight advantage over Hejna at the line. Neither driver budged as the two aces raced door to door with no contact for the remaining two laps. Tesch would take the win by a nose. Al finished second.
Cresco, Corning, and Rock Rapid Updates
WEDNESDAY: Cresco, IA Al was not able to make motor repairs from the night before in time for racing action at Cresco Speedway. Mike had a new power plant in, and he was able to race. He won his heat, and during the A-Main was running in the top 5 most of the night. He was in the middle of a six car battle for 2nd. On the last restart, Mike got shuffled out of line and fell back to 6th which is were he finished.
THURSDAY: Corning, IA Al had his motor back, and both Al and Mike were in action. Both of the number "7's" won their heat race. Al started 2nd in the feature right beside Kelly Shryock. Al held the for the first 4 laps. Shryock was able to get by. Al needed a late caution to get 2nd back from Jon Tesch, and he did. Mike started 5th and ran into some problems late in the race and had a DNF.
FRIDAY: Rock Rapids, IA Al finished 2nd in my heat which put him 9th starting in the feature line-up. He ran 4th most of the night but some contact late ended up in a DNF. Mike had problems all night and actually didn't get to run until his B-Main. He made it into one of the Top 5 transfer positions (to make the A-Main) only to find out that he damaged the motor and had to scratch.
We are getting word from the Hejna Brothers that T-shirts are coming very soon.
Tough Night at Highway 3 Raceway for Both Number 7's
Al & Mike Hejna hit the Highway 3 Raceway Tuesday night ofr night 1 of 4 on this USMTS swing. Mike suffered mechanical problems during the hot laps session, and Al lost a motor in his heat race.
Hejna Brothers Racing will try to rebound Wednesday night at the Mighty Howard County Fair race in Cresco, IA.
Al Hits Indee Open at Highway 3 Raceway
Al Hejna traveld to the Highway 3 Raceway in Allison, IA Tuesday night. It was a great chance to test & tune for the USMTS race there on June 20th. After running second in his heat race, Al was qualified for the A-Main.
A strong run had Al battling with race leader Mark Schulte. It took a handful of laps for Al to work his way in to the second place spot, but once he was there he began working Schulte for the point. A yellow flag came out just past the midway point bunching up the field. Problems hit the number 7 as Al was forced to retire for the night before the race was over.
Al Hejna Wins Mod Feature During Gopher 50
Al Hejna held off a tough field for the Modified Feature win during the Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway. Brother Mike had a top 5 run until cnotact with another car and the wall forced him to an early end.
At the drop of the green flag, Al took the lead, but has getting heavy pressure from Tommy Myer for the point. Al worked himself clear of Myer, and he would pull away from the field.
A few yellow flags would tighten the field. All the while, Kelly Shryock was working his way to the front. Shryock and Al would batlle side-by-side. Shryock would win the battle and take over the lead, but the war was not yet over. Al battled back to take back over at the point and would drive of with the win.
"It's not often you get you beat a guy like Kelly," Al said after the 30-lap A-Main. "Passing him back for the lead and the win is even more rare. He's one of the best in the business."
Gopher 50 Modified A-Main: 1. Al Hejna, 2. Kelly Shyrock, 3. Tommy Myer, 4. Mike Sorensen, 5. Layne Meyer, 6. Tim Donlinger, 7. Brad Waits, 8. Dan Bohr, 9. Ricky Kluver, 10. Bobby Shaw, 11. Jason Cummins, 12. Joe Wernecke, 13. Doug Hillson, 14. Hank Rollinger Jr., 15. Steve Arpin, 16. Jim Horejsi, 17. Mark Noble, 18. Ron Schreiner, 19. Steve Wetzstein, 20. Mike Hejna, 21. Mike Mashl, 22. Bobby Sorensen, 23. Ryan York, 24. Bob Timm
