Matt Hirschman prevails in John Blewett III Memorial 76

Matt Hirschman had more than a good points day Wednesday night — he won the John Blewett III Memorial 76.

But the lead Hirschman padded may very well have been the last thing on his mind as he drove into Victory Lane. He was thinking of a crew member on his team who had broken his leg earlier in the week who was watching from the hospital.

“First and foremost, one of my guys got his leg broke here,” said Hirschman. “Hopefully he’s out tomorrow. Maybe he can even join us here Friday night.”

Hirschman’s drive to the front was racing’s version of Tortoise and the Hare. After a slow start that saw Hirschman drop from seventh to 10th, “Big Money Matt” began to slice through the field.

In the closing laps of the race, Hirschman found himself in the same position as the night before: right behind Ryan Preece, in second place. In that battle, Hirschman struggled with his car as Preece pulled away. This time, however, it was Hirschman who made the race-winning pass on Preece, who fell from first to fourth in the final 15 laps.

Winning a race honoring the late John Blewett III, who tragically died in a crash at Thompson Speedway in 2007, also meant the world to Hirschman.

“Never won this race. Always wanted to win this one,” said Hirschman. “What you don’t realize is how young John [Blewett] died and what he would’ve accomplished still in his career, as good as he was. I was just getting to the point where we were probably going to battle for a lot of wins.”

It was clear how much the win mattered to Hirschman. After two races in which the car wasn’t to his liking, Hirschman will go into the penultimate race tomorrow night not only with the points lead but also with the momentum of a New Smyrna victory.

1. Matt Hirschman
2. Patrick Emerling
3. Craig Lutz
4. Ryan Preece
5. Tommy Catalano
6. Timmy Solomito
7. Danny Bohn
8. Jimmy Zacharias
9. Mike Willis, Jr.
10. Chuck Hossfeld
11. Jeff Gallup
12. Timmy Catalano
13. Eric Goodale
14. Ronnie Williams
15. Kyle Trayner
16. Calvin Carroll
17. Matt Montineri
18. Jeremy Gerstner
19. John Gerstner
20. Tyler Rypkema
21. Kyle Ebersole
22. Ron Silk
23. Austin Pickens
24. Nikki Carroll
25. Joe DeGracia
26. Chris Young
27. Amy Catalano

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