Dirt on Dirt - Heckenast claims Wood Tic's $36,000 at Merritt

August 3

Merritt Speedway,

Lake City, MI

Sanction: Allstar Performance Challenge Series (Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic) - $36,000

Information provided by: Track reports (last updated August 4, 3:21 pm)

Heckenast claims Wood Tic's $36,000 at Merritt

Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic

Frank Heckenast Jr.
Ryan Unzicker
Travis Stemler
Rusty Schlenk
Ryan Lanphierd
Jacob Poel
Brandon Thirlby
Bill Bray
Cody Bauer
Dona Marcoullier
Eric Spangler
Jeff Erickson Jr.
Dan Wallace
Rylee Knoll
Colin Shipley
Andrew Terrill
Greg Gokey
Garrett Wiles
David Hilliker
Matt Murawski
Curtis Roberts
Carter Schlenk
Dan Hersey
Torrey Ahrens
Wyatt Baker

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Frank Heckenast Jr. and his father in victory lane at Merritt Speedway.

What won the race: Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., worked around reigning Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic winner Rusty Schlenk with 20 laps remaining and led the rest of the way for the event's $36,000 top prize Saturday at Merritt Speedway. Ryan Unzicker of El Paso, Ill., finished second, 2.038 seconds back.

Quotable: "It was a good run, these guys in Michigan, you always come up here and they always run really really well," Heckenast said. "They know what they’re doing on these tracks. To come up here and sneak one in was good for us and we’ll build on it. We just want to thank everybody up here at Merritt for having us and putting something on like this is great. We love coming up here and we’ll be here next year."

Key notes: Four drivers led Saturday’s main event: Ryan Lanphierd of Midland, Mich., from laps one through 15; Eric Spangler of Lake City, Mich., from laps 15 through 48; Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, from laps 49 through 55; and Heckenast from laps 56 through 75. … Lanphierd finished fifth while Spangler backslid to 11th. … Five cautions slowed the 75-lap feature: Lap 11 for pole-starting Jeff Erickson Jr., who spun battling with Eric Spangler for the second position; lap 31 for Dan Hersey, who wrecked after contact from Frank Heckenast Jr.; and lap 58 for 13th-running Dan Wallace, who spun in turns one and two; the lap-58 restart for a melee involving Curtis Roberts, Colin Shipley, and Garrett Wiles; and lap 66 for an incident between Greg Gokey and Erickson. … The Wood Tic was founded in 1988 by Ed VanDuinen, a local logger who started VanDuinen Forest Products in 1973; he founded the Wood Tic event to bring awareness and honor the logging businesses that support Merritt Speedway. Unzicker led the final 26 laps to win Friday’s Dan Salay Memorial, an event honoring the former racer and longtime crew chief for Brandon Thirlby who died in 2017 after a short bout with cancer.

On the move: Bill Bray of Spring Lake, Mich., started 20th and finished eighth.

Winner's sponsors: Heckenast’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by an Andy Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by JR Hauling, Storage Squares, Petroff Towing, Jim Weber Motorsports, Jay Morris Construction, Bilstein Shocks, Route 66 Dirt Oval and Capital Signs.

Points chase: Track points after Saturday: 1. Greg Gokey (232); 2. Brandon Thirlby (231); 3. Eric Spangler (208); 4. Rylee Knoll (203); 5. Travis Stemler (154).

Current weather: Clear, 61°F

Car count: 41

Fast qualifier: Rusty Schlenk

Time: 14.595 seconds

Polesitter: Jeff Erickson Jr.

Heat race winners: Frank Heckenast Jr., Rylee Knoll, Jeff Erickson Jr., Ryan Lanphierd, Eric Spangler

Consolation race winners: Curtis Roberts, David Hilliker

Provisional starters: Carter Schlenk, Matt Murawski, Cody Bauer

Editor's note: Corrects Heckenast's chassis brand to Longhorn and number of leaders to four sted five.

From staff reports

LAKE CITY, Mich. — Updates and results from Saturday’s 36th annual Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic featuring a 75-lap, $36,000-to-win main event for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., worked around reigning Ed VanDuinen Wood Tic winner Rusty Schlenk with 20 laps remaining and led the rest of the way for the event's $36,000 top prize Saturday at Merritt Speedway. Fellow Illinois driver Ryan Unzicker finished second, 2.038 seconds back.

Feature lineup

(75 laps)

Row 1: Jeff Erickson Jr., Ryan Lanphierd
Row 2: Frank Heckenast Jr., Eric Spangler
Row 3: Rylee Knoll, Ryan Unzicker
Row 4: Rusty Schlenk, Brandon Thirlby
Row 5: Daniel Wallace, Jacob Pool
Row 6: Garrett Wiles, Dan Hersey
Row 7: Colin Shipley, Travis Stemler
Row 8: Dona Marcoullier, Curtis Roberts
Row 9: David Hillier, Greg Gokey
Row 10: Andrew Terrill, Bill Bray
Row 11: Torrey Ahrens, Carter Schlenk
Row 12: Matt Murawski, Cody Bauer
Row 13: Wyatt Baker

Consolation races

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First B-main: Curtis Roberts, Greg Gokey, Bill Bray, Carter Schlenk, Mike Vandermark Jr., Robert Lewis, Cody Bauer, Bob Timmer, Josh Hendershot, Jerry Kent, Luke Anstett, Kevin Miller.

Second B-main: David Hilliker, Andrew Terrill, Torrey Ahrens, Rod Carroll, Wade Witherspoon, Matt Murawski, Jim Billett, Wyatt Baker, Joe Pomeroy, Kyle Borgman, Josh Szyska, Mike Szyska, Steve Nieuwenhuis.

Heat race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First heat: Frank Heckenast Jr., Rusty Schlenk, Garrett Wiles, Curtis Roberts, Matt Murawski, Bill Bray, Torrey Ahrens, Kevin Miller, Wyatt Baker.

Second heat: Rylee Knoll, Daniel Wallace, Dan Hersey, Wade Witherspoon, Robert Lewis, Joe Pomeroy, Jerry Kent, Mike Szyska.

Third heat: Jeff Erickson Jr., Ryan Unzicker, Colin Shipley, Greg Gokey, Kyle Borgman, Josh Hendershot, Josh Szyska, Luke Anstett.

Fourth heat: Ryan Lanphierd, Brandon Thirlby, Travis Stemler, Andrew Terrill, Mike Vandermark Jr., David Hilliker, Cody Bauer, Jim Billett.

Fifth heat: Eric Spangler, Jacob Poel, Dona Marcoullier, Carter Schlenk, Rod Carroll, Bob Timmer, Steve Nieuwenhuis, Chad Finley.

Time trials

First group
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Rusty Schlenk (91), McClure, Ohio, 14.595
2. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 14.777
3. Curtis Roberts (9r), Coleman, Mich., 14.933
4. Bill Bray (94), Spring Lake, Mich., 15.026
5. Garrett Wilds (16), Hubbardson, Mich., 15.040
6. Torrey Ahrens (76), Harbor Beach, Mich., 15.271
7. Matt Muraski (09), Kinde, Mich., 15.383
8. Kevin Miller (20), Mount Pleasant, Mich., 15.446
9. Wyatt Baker (1*), Manton, Mich., no time
Second group
1. Rylee Knoll (07), Lake, Mich., 15.049
2. Dan Wallace (X3), Toledo, Ohio, 15.492
3. Dan Hersey (29H), Traverse City, Mich., 15.539
4. Wade Witherspoon (44w), Kinde, Mich., 15.569
5. Joe Pomeroy (24P), Cass City, Mich., 15.587
6. Jerry Kent (29), Central Lake, Mich., 15.642
7. Mike Szyska (89), Riley, Mich., 16.438
8. Robert Lewis (00), Interlochen, Mich., 16.529
Third group
1. Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 14.665
2. Jeff Erickson Jr. (1E), Muskegon, Mich., 15.006
3. Greg Gokey (50), Buckley, Mich., 15.120
4. Colin Shipley (46), Weston, Ohio, 15.172
5. Josh Hendershott (06), Houghton Lake, Mich., 15.511
6. Josh Szyska (405), Algonac, Mich., 15.671
7. Kyle Borgman (72B), Muskegon, Mich., 15.808
8. Luke Anstett (64), Greenville, Mich., 15.922
Fourth group
1. Ryan Lanphierd (11x), Midland, Mich., 14.935
2. Brandon Thirlby (69), Buckley, Mich., 15.123
3. Andrew Terrill (4T), Sanford, Mich., 15.196
4. Travis Stemler (4), Ionia, Mich., 15.229
5. Mike Vandermark (41), Cedar Springs, Mich., 15.386
6. Cody Bauer (19x), Farwell, Mich., 15.410
7. David Hilliker (21D), Midland, Mich., 15.538
8. Jim Billett (25jb), McBain, Mich., 15.659
Fifth group
1. Eric Spangler (27), Lake City, Mich., 14.750
2. Dona Marcoullier (6m), Houghton Lake, Mich., 15.046
3. Jacob Poel (82), Spring Lake, Mich., 15.568
4. Carter Schlenk (Lil91), McClure, Ohio, 15.755
5. Steve Nieuwenhuis (73), Manton, Mich., 16.195
6. Rod Carroll (44), Anniston, Ala., 16.295
7. Bob Timmer (33), McBain, Mich., 16.319
8. Chad Finley (42), St. Johns, Mich., no time

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
11 a.m.-1 p.m. - Kids Day Event (bicycle giveaway at noon)
1 p.m. - Pit crew challenge (pits open to public)
2 p.m. - Pits open
2-5 p.m. - Fan Zone Party (silent auction, interviews, giveaways)
3 p.m. - Grandstands open
5-6 p.m. - Drivers’ autograph session
6:20 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps
- Pro stock hot laps
- Factory stock hot laps
- 4 cylinder hot laps
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified consolations (10 laps)
- Late Model consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- 4 cylinders (15 laps)
- Pro stocks (20 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- Factory stocks (15 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- 36th annual Wood Tic (75 laps)