J. R. Heffner

J. R. Heffner
Heffner's No. 74 modified race car in 2015 at the Orange County (NY) Fairgrounds
Born (1972-03-11) March 11, 1972
Stephentown, New York
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
4 races run over 3 years
Truck no., team No. 15 (Premium Motorsports)
2016 position 56th
Best finish 52nd (2014)
First race 2014 Mudsummer Classic (Eldora)
Last race 2018 Eldora Dirt Derby (Eldora)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of July 18, 2018.

J. R. Heffner (born March 11, 1972) is an American professional dirt track and stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado for Premium Motorsports.

Racing career

Heffner's interest in racing started at the age of five, when he and his parents attended races at Lebanon Valley Speedway. In his teen years, he raced three-wheelers and eventually started racing in Lebanon Valley's Sportsman's Division, winning the championship in 1990. He moved up to the big block Modified division, winning his first race in the division in 1994.[1] In 1997, he acquired sponsorship from A. Colarusso & Sons,[1] a highway construction firm.[2] Heffner and Colarusso would develop a longtime relationship, with Heffner joining the company in 2003 and becoming the Vice President of Operations.[1]

In 2007, Heffner made his debut in the ARCA Re/Max Series at Daytona International Speedway for DGM Racing, where he finished 35th after crashing.[3] From 2007 to 2011, he ran eight ARCA races, with his last start being at Lucas Oil Raceway.[4] His best finish in the series is 14th at Kentucky Speedway in 2009.[5]

In 2013, Heffner entered the Camping World Truck Series' Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway,[4] the first dirt track race in a NASCAR national series since 1970.[6] In the event, Heffner qualified eighth and finished second in his heat race to Ken Schrader,[7] but was relegated to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). Despite starting first, he lost his fourth gear and retired from the LCQ,[8] finishing last after completing just one lap and failing to make the Feature.[9] The following year, Heffner made the feature after finishing fourth in his heat,[10] finishing 18th in the final.[11] Heffner also ran the Truck race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing 23rd after crashing on lap 137.[12] Heffner skipped the 2015 race at Eldora due to the race clashing with his schedule at Lebanon Valley, loaning the truck to Bobby Pierce, who finished second. In 2016, Heffner returned to Eldora, driving the No. 44 for Martins Motorsports.[8] After winning his heat race from the pole[13] to start fourth in the feature, he finished 15th.[14] A year later, Heffner crashed during practice and with no backup, he later withdrew the race. Heffner would return to the Dirt Derby in 2018, securing a ride with Premium Motorsports. He qualified for the main event by finishing 4th in his heat race, and finished 24th in the feature after fading from a top 15 position late with handling problems.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts
2013 74 Operations 44 Chevy DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW ELD
DNQ		 POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM NA –
2014 MB Motorsports 63 Chevy DAY MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD
18		 POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA
23		 LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 52nd 47
2016 Martins Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD
15		 POC BRI MCH MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 56th 18
2017 DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD
Wth		 POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM NA -
2018 Premium Motorsports 15 Chevy DAY ATL LVS MAR DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN ELD
24		 POC MCH BRI MSP LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM -* -*

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

References

  1. 1 2 3 Martin, Tim (September 6, 2015). "'Mr. Dirt Track' JR Heffner has seen it all". River Chronicle. Columbia-Greene Media. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  2. ↑ "J.R. Heffner Among Daytona Testers". ARCA Racing Series. December 19, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  3. ↑ "2007 ARCA 200 at Daytona". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Caraviello, David (July 18, 2013). "Bloomquist leads list of dirt aces at Eldora". NASCAR. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ "2009 Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. ↑ Bruce, Kenny (July 23, 2013). "Richard Petty recalls NASCAR dirt race". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ "NASCAR Eldora 2013: Austin Dillon holds off Kyle Larson to win NASCAR's return to dirt". SB Nation. July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Allaway, Phil (June 19, 2016). "JR Heffner Partners with Martins Motorsports for Eldora". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ "2013 Mudsummer Classic Last Chance Qualifier". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Nate (July 24, 2014). "Pay dirt: Darrell Wallace Jr. wins truck race at Eldora". USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ Lautenschlager, Tyson (July 11, 2016). "Dirt Ringer J.R. Heffner Returns to Trucks at Eldora". OnPitRoad.com. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  12. ↑ "2014 UNOH 175". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ "2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby Heat Race #4". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ "2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
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