RPW Exclusive: JR Heffner Passes Mike King & Drives Away For Big Block Mod Glory At Lebanon Valley

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – WEST LEBANON, NY – A warm spring day and brisk night brought a full show to the table at the “Valley of Speed,” the Lebanon Valley Speedway, on Saturday night, with action and drama a plenty throughout the event.
When it was time for 800 horses without all the mess, the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds, Mike King got out to an early lead. However, by a lap 10 restart, it was JR Heffner who powered under the Kingfish for the top spot to take the lead and never looked back.
“The track was slick but racy at the same time,” Heffner commented. “I was happy to see the restart there. It meant we both went into turn one with whatever we had.”
For Heffner, track conditions were tricky and being in the right line was very important.
“With me on the bottom line, I knew it was going to be a good line for him exiting the corner,” he said. I just hoped I could stay side-by-side with Mike.”
He did and once he took the lead away from the veteran, it was all about hitting marks for Heffner.
“I felt like my entry was good and I was not spinning the tires,” he said. “I couldn’t really ask for much more. If somebody was going to get by me at that point, there’s nothing I could have done about it.”
Marc Johnson made a late-race charge to grab the second position while King, who led early, came home third in a well-deserved and needed good run. After problems the first three weeks, testing the resolve of the 55 team, this was a very well-earned showing and one that put a big smile on the veteran’s face.
Kyle Armstrong and last week’s feature winner, Brett Haas, who started deep on the field in 18th, completed the top five.
It was a tale of two different features for 358-Modified winner Andy Bachetti.
Bachetti had a mechanical failure in the Big Block Modified feature, but took the lead from the start of the Small Block main from the drop of the green and never looked back.
“The Small Block was good tonight,” Bachetti said. “With having a good starting spot, my crew gave me a good car and I can’t say enough about my team.”
Bachetti had the pole after a night he’d like to forget in the Small Block opener. That gave him the good starting spot. Saturday’s victory was little consolation for his issues early in the Big Block Mod race.
“It’s a shame about the Big Block,” he said. “We broke a piece of the frame off on the right rear. That ended our night but sometimes. those things happen.”
Haas backed up his top five in the Big Block feature with a solid second place run with invader Chris Curtis coming in third. Peter Carlotto and Jeff Watson rounded out the top five.
The headline feature of the evening was the Andrew Sherman Memorial for the Sportsman, but it was the same story that’s been written every week in 2024.
Driver 22, Tim Hartman Jr., standing in victory lane.
Before the lap counter clicked off the first circuit, Hartman had gone from 12th to fourth as he caught some lucky breaks to start of the race.
But by lap five, the defending champion had driven to the top spot, making an inside power move to get around pole sitter Anthony Maxon.
From there, Hartman was never seriously challenged and went on to pick up the $2,000 payday and did so in dominating fashion.
“A lot of this game is lucky breaks,” Hartman said. “That’s especially important here at Lebanon Valley. Track position is so important here.”
Early in the feature Saturday, luck was sure on Hartman’s side.
“Our row just went on the original start,” he said. “I was fifth before I even got to (turn) one. That helped track position wise. Now I have 20 laps to pass four cars instead of 10.”
It wasn’t just luck that helped Tim win. It was also the determination to keep up with the track. He and the MRP #22 crew went to work between the heats and the feature.
“This DKM Cyclone was simply phenomenal,” he said. “We made some changes before the feature and everything just worked.”
Despite the dominating win, Tim said he never takes a lap off.
“You race every lap like its the last,” he said. “Sometimes that can bite you, though. The worst thing I could have done was get out of my rhythm when we had that long green run.”
He never did.
“I just kept doing the same thing, lap after lap,” he said. “I knew if I kept it smooth, nobody was going to get by me.”
Nick Giardini finished second, once again, to Hartman in the Sportsman feature. Giardini has been spot on in 2024 at the Valley with three consecutive second-place finishes in four races to begin this season. Any other year that would be amazing. However, Hartman has reeled off four straight wins so Giardini finds himself second in points, 52 markers behind.
Mike Arnold, Ricky Davis and Brady Cordova completed the top five.
Zach Sorrentino opened the 2024 chase for the Pro Stock championship with a victory in the lid-lifter.
Saturday night, he won his second of the season with some calculated passes on restarts, even after one a competitor almost took a wild ride.
The middle portion of the 20-lap main event was marred by the yellow silk from the outstretched hand of head starter Rodney Rescott. Those restarts equal heat cycles on the Hoosier Racing Tires that the Pro Stocks use. To some teams, that can mean death of the tire in that race.
Sorrentino had a gameplan to combat that possibility.
“I was just trying to keep the tires cool.” Sorrentino said. “You do not want to put too many heat cycles through the tires. You’ll really screw yourself if you do and you’ll develop a push.”
The Lebanon Valley surface was an interesting one on this night. There were two distinct lines drivers could run on the slick and almost black surface. The track was that way right from the start of the night.
“There were two lanes of grip,” he said. “You were going to either run the extreme bottom side or feather it up top. It was so slick in the middle and there was a hole getting into turn one.”
Sorrentino knew when to pick and choose his spots and when to pass. He was shown that just one week ago by fellow competitor Frank Twing.
“Frank showed me last week that if you do not pass in the first few laps, it will just get single file,” he said. “I learned that it would be hard to pass so I had make my moves when I could. I threw a slider on Frank and then he got into my rear end afterwards. However, I had to do it.”
You could tell this victory meant a lot to Sorrentino.
“This is such a rewarding win,” he said. “There was so much going on in every corner with how slick it was. It was just a perfect race for me and our entire team.”
To make Saturday even more special for the victor, his daughter won in the Juice Box division at Lebanon’s Kart Track earlier in the day. It as her third-straight victory and dad had to keep pace.
Scott Zehnacker took his second win in three Limited Sportsman starts on Saturday with Ray Royals coming home second. Fred Pavia was third, Braxton Martin was fourth and Dylan Holmes was fifth.
Jeff Meltz Sr. won the Super Street Stock feature over the Striebel’s, Jr. and Sr, respectively, Scott Morris and Lou Gancarz.
The combined 4-Cylinder feature was won by Jon Sheppard in a dual cam. Jason Peck was second in another dual cam with Dylan Macleod, the first single cam across the line, in third. Stephen Burka and Chris Danylieko rounding out the top five.
DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 74H-JR Heffner[5]; 2. 9-Marc Johnson[12]; 3. 55K-Mike King[1]; 4. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[9]; 5. 55H-Brett Haas[18]; 6. 99-Kolby Schroder[13]; 7. 115P-Matt Pupello[3]; 8. 42S-Kyle Sheldon[4]; 9. 74V-John Virgilio[8]; 10. 98M-Eddie Marshall[10]; 11. 43F-Keith Flach[11]; 12. 33-Brandon Lane[2]; 13. 96-Rob Maxon[15]; 14. 115-Montgomery Tremont[16]; 15. 88D-Olden Dwyer[7]; 16. 1-Josh Marcus[19]; 17. 21-Ryan Darcy[6]; 18. 4-Andy Bachetti[14]; 19. 60-Brian Berger[17]
Heat 1 (9 Laps): 1. 11A-Kyle Armstrong[6]; 2. 74V-John Virgilio[5]; 3. 99-Kolby Schroder[8]; 4. 4-Andy Bachetti[9]; 5. 21-Ryan Darcy[4]; 6. 33-Brandon Lane[1]; 7. 42S-Kyle Sheldon[3]; 8. 115-Montgomery Tremont[2]; 9. 60-Brian Berger[7]
Heat 2 (9 Laps): 1. 74H-JR Heffner[4]; 2. 98M-Eddie Marshall[6]; 3. 55K-Mike King[1]; 4. 115P-Matt Pupello[3]; 5. 9-Marc Johnson[8]; 6. 88D-Olden Dwyer[5]; 7. 43F-Keith Flach[7]; 8. 55H-Brett Haas[9]; 9. 96-Rob Maxon[2]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 9-Marc Johnson, 00:21.236[14]; 2. 55H-Brett Haas, 00:21.286[10]; 3. 60-Brian Berger, 00:21.324[9]; 4. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:21.331[11]; 5. 74V-John Virgilio, 00:21.349[17]; 6. 21-Ryan Darcy, 00:21.478[19]; 7. 98M-Eddie Marshall, 00:21.504[5]; 8. 74H-JR Heffner, 00:21.525[3]; 9. 43F-Keith Flach, 00:21.531[4]; 10. 55K-Mike King, 00:21.562[7]; 11. 42S-Kyle Sheldon, 00:21.579[15]; 12. 99-Kolby Schroder, 00:21.619[2]; 13. 11A-Kyle Armstrong, 00:21.662[8]; 14. 115P-Matt Pupello, 00:21.804[18]; 15. 88D-Olden Dwyer, 00:21.857[1]; 16. 33-Brandon Lane, 00:21.991[12]; 17. 96-Rob Maxon, 00:22.234[16]; 18. 115-Montgomery Tremont, 00:22.437[6]; 19. (DNS) 1-Josh Marcus
358 Modifieds
A Feature 1 (24 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[1]; 2. 17H-Brett Haas[9]; 3. 35-Chris Curtis[5]; 4. 12C-Peter Carlotto[4]; 5. 22W-Jeff Watson[6]; 6. 94-Joey Coppola[12]; 7. 44-Kyle Sheldon[13]; 8. 14-Lorne Browe[10]; 9. 1-Jason Herrington[8]; 10. 72-Ray Hall Jr[11]; 11. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[18]; 12. 6R-Ryan Heath[16]; 13. 12S-Brian Sandstedt[2]; 14. 3-Kim Lavoy[3]; 15. 7S-Michael Sabia[14]; 16. 46-Dillon Gannon[15]; 17. 39-Ryan Larkin[7]; 18. (DNS) 250-Alan Houghtaling
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 4-Andy Bachetti[1]; 2. 250-Alan Houghtaling[2]; 3. 12C-Peter Carlotto[5]; 4. 1-Jason Herrington[7]; 5. 14-Lorne Browe[8]; 6. 22W-Jeff Watson[6]; 7. 94-Joey Coppola[9]; 8. 6R-Ryan Heath[4]; 9. 46-Dillon Gannon[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 72-Ray Hall Jr[8]; 2. 35-Chris Curtis[5]; 3. 17H-Brett Haas[7]; 4. 44-Kyle Sheldon[9]; 5. 39-Ryan Larkin[6]; 6. 3-Kim Lavoy[4]; 7. 12S-Brian Sandstedt[1]; 8. 7CT-Donny Travaglin[3]; 9. 7S-Michael Sabia[2]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 4-Andy Bachetti, 00:21.543[5]; 2. 14-Lorne Browe, 00:21.857[13]; 3. 17H-Brett Haas, 00:21.878[3]; 4. 94-Joey Coppola, 00:21.891[11]; 5. 39-Ryan Larkin, 00:21.908[15]; 6. 12C-Peter Carlotto, 00:21.951[12]; 7. 44-Kyle Sheldon, 00:22.110[9]; 8. 22W-Jeff Watson, 00:22.126[4]; 9. 35-Chris Curtis, 00:22.231[10]; 10. 72-Ray Hall Jr, 00:22.252[14]; 11. 1-Jason Herrington, 00:22.313[8]; 12. 46-Dillon Gannon, 00:22.420[16]; 13. 12S-Brian Sandstedt, 00:22.622[2]; 14. 6R-Ryan Heath, 00:22.809[1]; 15. 7CT-Donny Travaglin, 00:22.890[17]; 16. (DNS) 250-Alan Houghtaling; 17. (DNS) 3-Kim Lavoy; 18. (DNS) 7S-Michael Sabia
Sportsman
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 22H-TIM HARTMAN[12]; 2. 399-Nick Giardini[5]; 3. 76-Mike Arnold[6]; 4. 21D-Ricky Davis[7]; 5. 7C-Brady Cordova[8]; 6. 7S-Michael Sabia[9]; 7. 85-Justin Gozzi[10]; 8. 307-Karl Barnes[4]; 9. 22-Mike Engwer[3]; 10. (DNF) 96-Anthony Maxon[1]; 11. (DNF) 112-Joseph Menitte[13]; 12. (DNF) 250-Alan Houghtaling[14]; 13. (DNF) 186-Frank Frasco[2]; 14. (DNS) 57-Ray Hall Jr
Heat 1 (7 Laps): 1. 399-Nick Giardini[3]; 2. 22H-TIM HARTMAN[7]; 3. 96-Anthony Maxon[1]; 4. 7C-Brady Cordova[4]; 5. 85-Justin Gozzi[5]; 6. 22-Mike Engwer[2]; 7. 112-Joseph Menitte[6]
Heat 2 (7 Laps): 1. 76-Mike Arnold[3]; 2. 21D-Ricky Davis[4]; 3. 7S-Michael Sabia[5]; 4. 307-Karl Barnes[2]; 5. 57-Ray Hall Jr[6]; 6. 186-Frank Frasco[1]; 7. 250-Alan Houghtaling[7]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 22H-TIM HARTMAN, 00:22.650[7]; 2. 76-Mike Arnold, 00:23.020[5]; 3. 399-Nick Giardini, 00:23.065[9]; 4. 7S-Michael Sabia, 00:23.103[8]; 5. 250-Alan Houghtaling, 00:23.188[14]; 6. 21D-Ricky Davis, 00:23.291[10]; 7. 7C-Brady Cordova, 00:23.352[1]; 8. 22-Mike Engwer, 00:23.411[6]; 9. 96-Anthony Maxon, 00:23.544[12]; 10. 85-Justin Gozzi, 00:23.558[13]; 11. 307-Karl Barnes, 00:23.615[11]; 12. 112-Joseph Menitte, 00:23.666[3]; 13. 186-Frank Frasco, 00:23.963[2]; 14. (DNS) 57-Ray Hall Jr, 00:23.418
DIRTcar Pro Stock
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[9]; 2. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[6]; 3. 25-Chad Jeseo[15]; 4. 17-Nick Hilt[10]; 5. 78-Paul LaRochelle[3]; 6. 29-rick duzlak[14]; 7. 62-Rocco Procopio[2]; 8. 311-Brian Keough[17]; 9. 52-Tom O’Connor[5]; 10. 6C-Brian Carter[16]; 11. 55-David Stickles[8]; 12. 317-Frank Twing[7]; 13. 177-Chris Stalker[11]; 14. 63-Ryan Crellin[4]; 15. 825-Chris Dyer[13]; 16. 10-Katrina Foster[12]; 17. 32-Richard Spencer[18]; 18. (DNS) 09-Shawn Perez Sr
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 317-Frank Twing[5]; 2. 63-Ryan Crellin[4]; 3. 62-Rocco Procopio[2]; 4. 55-David Stickles[6]; 5. 17-Nick Hilt[7]; 6. 52-Tom O’Connor[3]; 7. 825-Chris Dyer[1]; 8. 32-Richard Spencer[8]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 78-Paul LaRochelle[2]; 2. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean[4]; 3. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino[6]; 4. 311-Brian Keough[7]; 5. 6C-Brian Carter[8]; 6. 09-Shawn Perez Sr[1]; 7. 177-Chris Stalker[5]; 8. 10-Katrina Foster[3]; 9. 29-rick duzlak[9]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 54S-Zachary Sorrentino, 00:24.202[7]; 2. 413-Tom (Tommy) Dean, 00:24.440[9]; 3. 55-David Stickles, 00:24.594[2]; 4. 17-Nick Hilt, 00:24.608[8]; 5. 09-Shawn Perez Sr, 00:24.652[1]; 6. 311-Brian Keough, 00:24.660[13]; 7. 62-Rocco Procopio, 00:24.734[10]; 8. 63-Ryan Crellin, 00:24.792[6]; 9. 32-Richard Spencer, 00:24.858[15]; 10. 6C-Brian Carter, 00:25.000[14]; 11. 177-Chris Stalker, 00:25.012[3]; 12. 52-Tom O’Connor, 00:25.075[5]; 13. 10-Katrina Foster, 00:25.989[12]; 14. 825-Chris Dyer, 00:26.299[4]; 15. 78-Paul LaRochelle, 00:49.405[11]
Limited Sportsman
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 143-Scott Zehnacker[8]; 2. 10-Ray Royals[4]; 3. F1-Fred Pavia[9]; 4. 09-Braxton Martin[2]; 5. 27-Dylan Holmes[3]; 6. 43-Brian Walsh[7]; 7. 04-Chris Humes[10]; 8. 25-Sarah Arnold[15]; 9. 128-Kent Clark[12]; 10. 77-Garrett Biagiarelli[13]; 11. 19-Owen Lewis[1]; 12. 1-Frank Twing Jr[5]; 13. 03-Harold Robitaille[6]; 14. 0VT-Jim Dellea[11]; 15. 216-Phil Arnold[14]
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 143-Scott Zehnacker[5]; 2. F1-Fred Pavia[2]; 3. 27-Dylan Holmes[4]; 4. 1-Frank Twing Jr[3]; 5. 19-Owen Lewis[1]; 6. 25-Sarah Arnold[7]; 7. 128-Kent Clark[8]; 8. 0VT-Jim Dellea[6]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 03-Harold Robitaille[3]; 2. 10-Ray Royals[2]; 3. 43-Brian Walsh[4]; 4. 09-Braxton Martin[1]; 5. 77-Garrett Biagiarelli[7]; 6. 04-Chris Humes[5]; 7. 216-Phil Arnold[6]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 1-Frank Twing Jr, 00:23.148[2]; 2. 43-Brian Walsh, 00:23.224[11]; 3. 03-Harold Robitaille, 00:23.679[7]; 4. 143-Scott Zehnacker, 00:23.884[4]; 5. 27-Dylan Holmes, 00:24.120[9]; 6. 77-Garrett Biagiarelli, 00:24.196[15]; 7. F1-Fred Pavia, 00:24.672[5]; 8. 216-Phil Arnold, 00:24.686[12]; 9. 25-Sarah Arnold, 00:24.936[14]; 10. (DNS) 19-Owen Lewis; 11. (DNS) 0VT-Jim Dellea; 12. (DNS) 04-Chris Humes; 13. (DNS) 09-Braxton Martin; 14. (DNS) 10-Ray Royals; 15. (DNS) 128-Kent Clark
Super Street Stock
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 5X-Jeff Meltz[8]; 2. 73-David Streibel[7]; 3. 273-Dave Streibel[6]; 4. 84-Scott Morris[1]; 5. 08-Lou Gancarz[9]; 6. 46-Doug Sterling[5]; 7. 89V-Kerianne Vandenburg[4]; 8. 25-Paul Vallee[10]; 9. 27-Ray Hall Sr[2]; 10. 76-Franklin Smith[3]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 5X-Jeff Meltz, 00:25.808[7]; 2. 27-Ray Hall Sr, 00:26.118[4]; 3. 73-David Streibel, 00:26.422[2]; 4. 89V-Kerianne Vandenburg, 00:26.432[8]; 5. 84-Scott Morris, 00:26.722[6]; 6. 273-Dave Streibel, 00:26.784[5]; 7. 46-Doug Sterling, 00:26.798[1]; 8. 25-Paul Vallee, 00:27.269[10]; 9. (DNS) 08-Lou Gancarz; 10. (DNS) 76-Franklin Smith
4 Cylinder Single & Dual
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 99D-Jonathan Shepherd[5]; 2. 0D-Jason Peck[4]; 3. 14S-Dylan Macleod[2]; 4. 8S-Stephen Burka[1]; 5. 191D-Chris Danylieko[3]
Hot Laps 1: 1. 8S-Stephen Burka, 00:30.214[2]; 2. 14S-Dylan Macleod, 00:33.698[3]; 3. (DNS) 191D-Chris Danylieko; 4. (DNS) 0D-Jason Peck