Hebner is hot, takes third at Toyota Speedway

IRWINDALE — Grant Hebner was hot, scoring his first podium finish in NASCAR Super Trucks with a strong third place on May 17 at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale. Folks who want to know when the next heat wave will hit Southern California need only check Hebner’s race schedule.

“It seems the temperature soars to well over 100 degrees every race weekend,” said Hebner. “You can’t even imagine how hot it is inside the truck!”

Hebner is a NASCAR oval-track rookie driving the #31 Super Truck. Race number four, in the 14-race series, was held on May 17.

The event was billed as Armed Forces Night at the speedway and many local Marines were on hand to enjoy the festivities.

“My father and a lot of his friends who have supported me over the years are retired military,” said Hebner. “It was nice to do so well on the night that their service to our country was honored.”

Friday practice went well, as did the first of two practice sessions on race day.

“Practicing in the heat of the day is pretty much worthless as far as finding a race setup,” said Hebner. “With the main race held at night and qualifying normally taking place in the heat of the day, you have to find your setup on Friday night and not chase it on Saturday for the qualifying session. The track changes drastically in this kind of heat and it’s quite a challenge to set the truck up for a qualifying run and the main race.”

The second practice session on Saturday is timed in order to split the field into three qualifying groups.

“You want to be in the fast group, because it runs last,” explained Hebner. “Hopefully, the temperature is cooler and you stand a better chance of not being held up by a slower truck. Unfortunately, we experienced a fuel pick-up problem and only completed one lap.”

That lap was only good enough for ninth quickest, putting Hebner in the middle of the second group to make a qualifying attempt.

Hebner excelled in qualifying, and when all was said and done he started the main event from the outside of row one, in the second position.

The main race was hard fought, as Hebner ran up front with the leaders and avoided the multiple accidents that resulted in four separate yellow flag caution periods over the course of the 40-lap race.

Hebner was fighting with the second-place Super Truck when the fourth yellow flag flew, setting up a “green, white, checkered” three-lap shootout to the end.

Hebner was unable to complete the pass for second but was more than happy to celebrate his first Super truck podium finish.

“We have the speed and Grant’s racecraft on the ovals is improving each race,” said Hebner’s father, Bryant. “He’s currently leading the Rookie of the Year competition and I’m sure he’s capable of winning before season’s end.”

Hebner’s race schedule and results can be viewed on his Web site at http://www.GrantHebnerRacing.com.