Copyright 2009 - HeinRacing.com - Website By: RacingWebDesign.com
Matt Hein wins back-to-back NSRA championships
When 21-year-old Matt Hein won three races and earned his first Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association last year, he instantly became the man to beat in 2009. The Roseburg, Oregon driver, however, was just fine with that role and would race his way to his second consecutive NSRA championship this year. This Saturday in Portland he will be recognized by the NSRA at its annual banquet.
Driving the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast sponsored by Coastline West Insulation, Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long’s Building Supplies, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, Hein earned a pair of victories, his fourth and fifth career NSRA triumphs, and used several other strong finishes to secure his second title, and even did a little dirt racing, picking up a second place finish with the NorthWest Wingless Tour for Smith Motorsports at Willamette Speedway on October 3rd.
Hein opened the 2009 campaign with a win at Meridian Speedway in Idaho on May 29th. With his fourth place finish at the same track the next night, Hein had a two-point edge over former NSRA champion Jeff Montgomery and was the overall winner of the track's annual Diamond Cup event.
Hein returned to action on June 13th at his hometown Douglas County Speedway, where he finished second to Oregon open wheel legend Rick Brown in the NSRA's Casey Diemert Classic, further increasing his points lead.
Three times this season, Matt climbed into the Smith Motorsports No. 6 sprint car to do some dirt racing without the wings. He first went out on May 23rd to race with the new NorthWest Wingless Tour at Cottage Grove Speedway, and came away with an impressive seventh place finish in the main event in his debut. He later made his first appearance at Coos Bay Speedway on July 4th and came away with a Top 5 finish there with the United Sprint Car Association.
On July 18th Matt climbed back into his family's No. 98 pavement sprint car as the NSRA resumed action with its first event at Spokane Raceway Park in eastern Washington in two years. Matt very quickly got reacquainted with the pavement as he broke Spokane Raceway Park's all-time track record with a lap of 15.113 seconds around the very fast half-mile oval, averaging a whopping 119 miles per hour in speed. After starting eighth, he needed only 13 laps to take the lead in the main event and eventually led by half a lap - his car was that good. He was cruising to what was looking like an easy victory when a tire cut down, sending him spinning around and crashing into the wall to end his night.
Thankfully for Hein, he did not lose very many points off his lead in the NSRA standings as Montgomery was having problems as well at Spokane. Two weeks later at Ephrata Raceway Park, also in eastern Washington, Matt opened the month of August by earning his first win at Ephrata in the prestigious Rebel Jackson Memorial race.
On August 14th and 15th, Matt and the team took the ferry ride to Canada's Vancouver Island for annual Daffodil Cup event at Western Speedway in British Columbia's capital of Victoria. Qualifying and heat races all happened on Friday with invitational races and the Daffodil Cup main event taking place on Saturday. He won the "Battle of the Border" race, which featured the three fastest Canadian qualifiers and three fastest American qualifiers from Friday in a race against each other, and then in the main event Hein would take a fine fifth place finish to further extend his points lead.
Hein returned to his home track, Douglas County Speedway, for the Don Hein Memorial on August 29th and after setting quick time in qualifying he finished fourth in the feature race to maintain his points lead over Montgomery. On September 12th, Hein returned to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington for the third running of the Rory Price Memorial. Both Hein - for a crash - and Montgomery fell out of the race, but because of a pair of disqualifications Hein was still credited with a ninth place, keeping alive his streak of Top 10 finishes and gaining a few more points on Montgomery.
The teams of the NSRA returned to Meridian Speedway for the two-night season finale on September 25th and 26th. Hein set fast time in qualifying on Friday but suffered his first finish outside the Top 10 in a main event this season when he was caught up in a multi-car incident early in the race. Despite finishing 14th, Hein earned enough points to clinch the 2009 NSRA championship with Saturday's race still remaining.
On Saturday night, the 26th, with nothing but pride to race for, Hein was again the fastest qualifier. In the main event he worked his way up to take the lead. In a spirited battle with Cory Lockwood, both drivers tangled together and spun out. Hein rejoined the field at the tail end and worked his way back up to earn a seventh place finish to close his second consecutive NSRA championship run.
The following Saturday, Hein climbed back into the Smith Motorsports No. 6 non-wing dirt sprint car and made his first appearance at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Oregon. Hein led most of the way in a crash-filled NorthWest Wingless Tour main event until a slip up allowed Shane Forte' to get by him. Forte' led just one lap before another crash led officials to throw the checkers at the late hour. For Hein, the runner-up finish was his best career effort on a dirt track.
At 21 years of age, Matt Hein is one of the top pavement sprint car racers on the west coast, having multiple main event victories to his credit along with the 2008 and 2009 Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association championships. Matt would like to thank all of his sponsors and fans for their great support this year. For more information on Matt and his race team, including photos, apparel and race schedule, check out Matt's website at http://www.heinracing.com.
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Matt Hein takes fifth in the Daffodil Cup, retains NSRA points lead
This past weekend Roseburg, Oregon driver Matt Hein made his first trip to Western Speedway in Victoria, British Columbia to take part in the prestigious Daffodil Cup race. After his first time racing on the 4/10-mile, slightly-banked oval, which he described as being “different, but fun,” Hein came home with a fifth place finish to retain his lead in the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association
Driving the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast sponsored by Coastline West Insulation, Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long’s Building Supplies, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, Matt raced for nights at Western Speedway, qualifying and running a heat race on Friday the 14th and running a pair of special heats and the 45-lap feature on Saturday the 15th.
Out of a solid 25 cars entered, Hein was second fastest in qualifying with a lap of 14.003 seconds around the track. After taking fourth place in the A-Dash, Matt started sixth in his heat race and drove to a third place finish to secure his place in the front half of the feature line-up on Saturday night.
Hein was invited to race in the “Off the Island” heat race on Saturday, which featured all of the cars that weren’t based on Vancouver Island, where the track is located. Of the ten drivers, almost all of them Americans, Hein finished fifth. He later took part in the special “Battle of the Border” race, which featured the three fastest American qualifiers and three fastest Canadians qualifiers from Friday. The side with the most points would split $900. Hein easily won the race himself by more than three seconds, and helped the American team take some money from the Canadians..
Because of sizeable invert, Hein started 12 in the main event that was originally scheduled for 50 laps but cut to 45. Hein slipped back to 14th on the start and struggled with a tight car early on. When a red flag came out part of the way through the feature, Hein’s crew made some changes to the car and immediately saw improvement as the car performed much better, eventually turning a 14.622 second lap on Lap 21. Hein moved up to seventh by Lap 23 and on Lap 37 he took over the sixth position.
Hein would be the sixth driver to cross the finish line, but would be Daffodil Cup winner Richie Larson was disqualified in post race inspection, which moved everyone up one more position. With second place points man Jeff Montgomery missing the feature due to a crash, this helped Matt further increase his points lead as he looks for his second straight NSRA championship.
The next event on the schedule for Matt and the ASA-affiliated NSRA is the annual Don Hein Memorial, run in memory of Matt’s grandfather, at Matt’s hometown Douglas County Speedway, scheduled for August 29th. On Saturday, September 12th, Matt will defend his Rory Price Memorial title as the tour makes its only stop at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. The tour closes its 2009 campaign at Meridian Speedway, just outside Boise, Idaho with two nights of racing on Friday and Saturday, September 25th and 26th.
At 21 years of age, Matt Hein is one of the top pavement sprint car racers on the west coast, having multiple main event victories to his credit along with the 2008 Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association championship. Matt would like to thank all of his sponsors and fans for their great support. For more information on Matt and his race team, including photos, apparel and race schedule, check out Matt's website at http://www.heinracing.com.
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Over two weeks ago, Roseburg, Oregon driver Matt Hein suffered the agony of defeat as a cut tire knocked him out of a big lead and cost him a victory. On Saturday, Hein returned to the track and this time had no issues with tires as he came from the seventh starting position to win the Rebel Jackson Memorial at Ephrata Raceway Park.
Driving the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast sponsored by Coastline West Insulation, Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long's Building Supply, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, Matt unofficially increased his lead in the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association point standings to 16 tallies over Jeff Montgomery, who finished second. With Hein being the reigning champion, both drivers are seeking their second championship with the series.
Hein started the evening by qualifying second quick with a time of 12.711 seconds on the old, slick asphalt around the ¼-mile, high-banked oval in eastern Washington. With Montgomery not making the Top 10 in times, Hein picked up nine points on him. Hein later finished third in the A-Dash, which pitted the four fastest qualifiers against each other in a four-lap race. Matt started sixth in the evening’s second heat race and drove up to finish second and secure his place in the front half of the 22-car field for the 50-lap main event.
Hein felt he was due for a win at Ephrata. He finished second to Sierra Jackson in last year’s Rebel Jackson Memorial, and with his good runs this year Matt felt good about his chances on Saturday. He delivered.
In the 50-lap feature, Hein started inside the fourth row as the result of an eight-car invert. The entire race, Hein and his competitors had to put up with slower traffic. Matt made all of his passes while dealing with slower cars. “It was crazy,” Matt said. Hein avoided trouble however and in the later part of the race he made the pass for the lead. He would go on to win the Rebel Jackson Memorial and pick up another three points on Montgomery, who finished second.
For Matt it was his second win of the season, the first coming on May 29th at Meridian Speedway in Idaho, and his fifth career NSRA victory. In five starts, Hein has two wins, a second place finish and a fourth place finish. If not for the cut tire in the other race, he’d probably have three wins.
The next race on the ASA-affiliated NSRA schedule is its only trip to Canada this year. Matt and the team will take a boat ride to Vancouver Island and race in one of western Canada’s biggest races, the annual Daffodil Cup race at Western Speedway in Victoria. Qualifying and heat races will be held on Friday, August 14th with finishes determining the line-ups for the 50-lap Daffodil Cup race on Saturday, August 15th. The winner will take home $3,000 plus $100 for each lap led.
At 21 years of age, Matt Hein is one of the top pavement sprint car racers on the west coast, having multiple main event victories to his credit along with the 2008 Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association championship. Matt would like to thank all of his sponsors and fans for their great support. For more information on Matt and his race team, including photos, apparel and race schedule, check out Matt's website at http://www.heinracing.com.
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When it looked like Matt Hein was about to cruise to his second Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association victory of the season, one of the most important things on his car gave way. A tire, specifically the left rear, shredded, and the sudden instability of the car put his machine in the wall, ending what had otherwise been a spectacular night for the 21-year-old.
The Roseburg, Oregon driver, piloting the Hein Racing No. 98h Shaver-powered Beast sponsored by Coastline West Insulation, Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long's Building Supply, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, was making his first visit to Spokane County Raceway in two years. He wasted no time making his mark, as in qualifying he set fast time with a new all-time Spokane County Raceway track record with a lap of 15.113 seconds around the very fast ½-mile, semi-banked asphalt oval, averaging a whopping 119 mph.
In his heat race, Matt started last and moved all the way up to finish third and transfer to the A-Main event. Being the fast qualifier, Matt had to make the draw for the invert, and it was an eight, putting him outside the fourth row. On the very first lap of the feature, Hein moved past four cars to get himself up to fourth place.
Running behind Justin Mack, Andy Alberding and Kevin Burke, the reigning NSRA champion went to work. On Lap 7 he got Mack for third place. Two laps later, he got Alberding, the man who was the NSRA champ before Hein, for second place and then set his sights on Burke. On Lap 13, Hein made his move on Burke and took the lead away. Hein motored away from there, extending his lead to a half lap.
Hein was thrilled with his car, saying it was amazing and it would go anywhere he needed it to go. All of a sudden, Lap 21 saw visible problems with the car as sparks were flying out the back of the car, being caused by his left rear tire going soft and the bottom of the frame dragging on the pavement because of it. Shortly after, the tire shredded and sent Hein into the front stretch wall. A tough end to what was a dominating performance by Matt Hein.
Matt and the team will now regroup and get ready for the next NSRA event, the annual Rebel Jackson Memorial at Ephrata Raceway Park in eastern Washington, scheduled for August 1st. Hein has finished runner-up twice at Ephrata, so he and team believe they’re due for a victory at the ¼-mile, high-banked faded asphalt oval. Just a couple of weeks later, they will take a boat ride to Victoria, British Columbia for the Daffodil Cup race at Western Speedway.
At 21 years of age, Matt Hein is one of the top pavement sprint car racers on the west coast, having multiple main event victories to his credit along with the 2008 Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association champion. Matt would like to thank all of his sponsors and fans for their great support. For more information on Matt and his race team, including photos, apparel and race schedule, check out Matt's website at http://www.heinracing.com.
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With the Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association taking a little time off, series points leader and reigning champion Matt Hein did something a little different on the 4th of July. He jumped into a non-wing sprint car and did a little dirt track racing.
Sponsored by Coastline West Insulation, Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long's Building Supply, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, Hein spent America's birthday driving the Smith Motorsports No. 6 Hein-powered Eagle at Coos Bay Speedway with the United Sprint Car Association. While it wasn't his first time on dirt, it was the pavement racer's first time at the 1/4-mile dirt oval, located by the southern Oregon coast.
Despite his inexperience with both dirt racing and Coos Bay Speedway in general, Hein walked out of the place with his head held high after a very good fifth place finish in the main event. Matt hopes to get back on the dirt one or two more times this season. He currently has the NorthWest Wingless Tour's October 3rd finale at Willamette Speedway on his schedule.
This Saturday, Matt will return to winged pavement sprint car racing and jump back into the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast. Saturday will be the ASA-affiliated NSRA's return to Spokane County Raceway in eastern Washington after a one year hiatus. At that 2007 race, which saw the track's biggest crowd of the season, Hein would finish a respectable seventh on the very fast 1/2-mile oval, where straightaway speeds were estimated to be around 135-140 mph.
So far this season Hein, the defending NSRA champion, has one victory in three races and currently holds a 20-point lead over former series champion Jeff Montgomery. Hein won the season opener on Friday, May 29th at Meridian Speedway, just outside Boise, Idaho. He finished fourth at the same track the next night in the Diamond Cup finale and on June 13th he earned a second place finish in the Casey Diemert Memorial at Douglas County Speedway in Matt's hometown of Roseburg.
At 21 years of age, Matt Hein is one of the top pavement sprint car racers on the west coast, having multiple main event victories to his credit along with the 2008 Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association champion. Matt would like to thank all of his sponsors and fans for their great support. For more information on Matt and his race team, including photos, apparel and race schedule, check out Matt's website at www.heinracing.com.
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Hein takes 2nd at Roseburg, grows NSRA points lead
Matt Hein had another strong outing Saturday night at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon. A runner-up finish to Rick Brown helped Hein, the reigning Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association champion, as he extended his points lead in the NSRA standings.
The Roseburg driver, piloting the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast, sponsored by Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long's Building Supply, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, along with the rest of the NSRA drivers, was racing in the annual Casey Diemert Memorial, an NSRA race held every year at Douglas County Speedway to honor a young Roseburg driver who lost his life at Irwindale Speedway in California in 1999. Before his fatal accident, Diemert was quickly becoming a top racing prospect on both the dirt and the pavement and becoming a fan favorite.
first led the field in qualifying as he toured the 4/10-mile semi-banked asphalt oval in 12.614 seconds. Hein finished second to Brown in the A-Dash, which featured the fastest qualifiers. He also won his heat race to secure his spot in the 40-lap Casey Diemert Memorial feature. Hein and three other Roseburg area drivers; Brown, Andy Alberding and Ray Douglas, also raced in a special 4-lap tribute dash to Diemert. Brown, a 14-time open wheel champion, also won that race and Hein again finished second after starting fourth.
The invert for the main event was eight cars, putting Hein outside the fourth row. Matt quickly moved up to fourth. Later he got to Douglas and passed him to third. Meanwhile, former series champion Craig Deaver was leading with Brown in second. As they got into traffic, Hein closed in on the 55-year-old Brown. When Deaver slipped up in traffic, Brown motored past him to take the lead and brought Hein with him.
Brown held off Hein to win the Casey Diemert Memorial, but for Hein it was his third Top 5 finish in as many starts with the NSRA this year. Hein won the first night of the Diamond Cup at Meridian Speedway and finished fourth the next night in May. With his finish on Saturday in Roseburg, Hein’s slim two-point lead over former NSRA champion Jeff Montgomery grew to 20 tallies.
The next event on the NSRA schedule for Matt is July 18th when the NSRA makes its return to Spokane County Raceway, which is located west of town in the Airway Heights area. The NSRA made its debut at Spokane in 2007 in front of a very large crowd and track records fell. Matt Hein finished seventh in the main event that night.
Matt Hein, the defending NSRA sprint car champion, has quickly become one of the top pavement sprint car drivers in the Pacific Northwest. Matt and the Hein Racing team thanks all of their sponsors and fans for their support and hopes to see everyone at the race track this season.
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Matt Hein opens NSRA title defense with Meridian victory
What better way for a champion to open up his title defense than with a victory to open the season? That's what happened at Meridian Speedway on Friday night when NSRA champion Matt Hein kicked off his title defense with a victory on the opening night of Meridian's annual Diamond Cup.
Driving the Hein Racing No. 98 Shaver-powered Beast, sponsored by Independent Motor Rebuilders, Tonka Excavation LLC, Long's Building Supply, C&R Striping Company and Oregon Tool & Supply, Hein also used a fourth place finish to have the NSRA points lead after two nights of action. He won some jewelry too...not a bad way to start the pavement season.
Hein started his Friday night by setting the third quickest time in qualifying with a lap of 11.854 seconds around the small, tight and almost flat 1/4-mile asphalt oval. He finished second in the A-Dash and then was fourth in the evening's first heat race to secure a spot in the front half of the main event line-up.
The invert for Friday's 40-lap feature was a 6, putting Hein inside the second row behind front row starters Cory Lockwood and Sierra Jackson with former NSRA champion Jeff Montgomery to Matt's outside. While Jackson crashed and put her car on its side and Lockwood and Motgomery weren't able to match Hein's speed, the 21-year-old motored to the front and would score the opening night victory.
The win was Hein's second at Meridian Speedway. The other was also on a Friday night, the first night of the two-night NSRA season finale last September.
In the southern Idaho heat, the track was a little less grippy on Saturday and times in qualfiying reflected that. Hein was second quick with a time of 12.055 seconds. He finished fourth in the A-Dash and then finished second behind former NSRA champion Andy Alberding to secure his place in the feature.
Saturday's Diamond Cup finale was a 50-lap affair. The invert was a again a 6, putting Hein in the fifth starting position this time around. As small and tight as Meridian is, passing on that track is difficult. In fact, the same Top 5 starters were the Top 5 at the finish, though in a slightly different order. Montgomery ended up winning while Hein managed to move up a spot to finish fourth.
When points were tallied after two nights, Hein is unofficially the NSRA points leader. He holds a slim two-point advantage over Montgomery in the early going. Hendrickson's Fine Jewelry in Idaho also awarded a custom made diamond ring to the top points scorer over the weekend. They used the NSRA points system also, and thus Matt Hein will have a little bling to show off now too.
The next race for the ASA-sanctioned Northwest Sprintcar Racing Association is the Casey Diemert Classic at Douglas County Speedway in Matt's hometown of Roseburg, Oregon on Saturday, June 13th. Matt thanks all of his sponsors and fans for their support.
