Jay Hedgecock on Racing Dale Earnhardt in the 70s

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with a pillar of the short track racing community this week, longtime racer and chassis builder Jay Hedgecock. After growing up in a family with rich NASCAR history and attending the local modified race shops with his father, Jay entered the racing world himself, racing a micro midget that he dug out of his uncle’s junkyard. The work he’d do to get the midget back into racing condition would begin 55 years in the field. He’d receive the education of a lifetime when he happened upon a job in Tex Powell’s shop, after sharpening some drill bits for the automotive legend. Jay had firsthand experience working on NASCAR Cup cars through Tex, and before long, thanks to friend Howard Stewart, he’d find himself behind the wheel of a stock car as well.

After spending years building and racing late model sportsman cars, Jay would return to his true love in racing: the modfieds. He’d go on to win multiple championships with the Southern Modified Auto Racing Tour and track titles all over the heavily contested Virginia/North Carolina region. All the while, he continued his car building efforts and went on to build short track machines for Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Today, Jay remains one of the most successful and celebrated car builders in the country, supplying late model stocks to much of the CARS Tour field and NASCAR Weekly champions.

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