Kikelhan
and Hedgecock Roll to Wins at Smoky Mountain!
(August
15, 2026) The American Big Rig Series returned to Smoky
Mountain Speedway for another night of the big rigs on the dirt.
A lot of carnage put a damper on the end results. Heat race action
started the night of big crashes with the truckers. Brant Arnold
set fast time and started the first heat on the pole. Austin Hoppe
took the lead over Arnold coming out of turn 2. Hoppe’s
truck got out of shape coming off turn 2. Hoppe tried to correct
it but the truck tipped over did a barrel roll down the back straightaway.
Hoppe won the heat when racing resumed. Arnold did not suffer
any major injuries. (MRM Racing Photo)
Hoppe and Mike Morgan started the feature on the front row. Hoppe
quickly took the lead with Morgan in close pursuit. After a couple
of early cautions, Morgan was able to take the lead. A few laps
later, another caution resulted in another restart that saw Hoppe
get the better of Morgan. Morgan and Hoppe made contact in turn
1 that caused Morgan to crash hard into the outside wall. Hoppe
was charged with the caution and was sent to the rear of the field.
Chris Kikelhan took over the lead with a gaggle of trucks jockeying
for position in the closing laps. Hoppe made his way to third
and tried to get under Tanner Anderson on lap 17 for second. Hoppe
clipped the rear tires of Anderson that sent his truck end over
end and rolling over the outside wall. Anderson was uninjured.
Due to time considerations and the severity of the crash, the
race was halted and Kikelhan awarded the win.
The Best Plumber 604 Racing Series accompanied the big rigs.
John Ruggiero Jr. set fast time and won his heat to earn the pole
position for the 30-lap feature.
Ruggiero immediately grabbed the lead at the drop of the green
flag. Outside pole sitter Jensen Ford had to contend with Cory
Hedgecock for second. Ford spun a few laps into the race allowing
Hedgecock to move into second. When racing resumed, Hedgecock
was all over Ruggiero for the race lead. The pair exchanged slide
jobs for two laps before Hedgecock overpowered Ruggiero for the
lead. As Hedgecock pulled away, Tyler Price battled Ruggiero for
second. Price finally took the spot and also pulled away. Hedgecock
won in convincing fashion over Price and Ruggiero.
Smoky Mountain Speedway will be back in action this Saturday,
August 22 when the Hunt The Front Super Dirt Series returns for
the Hall of Fame Classic. The newest hall of fame inductees will
be inducted as well.
(MRM Racing Photo)
American Big Rig Series:
1. 00-Chris Kikelhan[3]; 2. 9-Tanner Anderson[5]; 3. 4-Scott Treadway[9];
4. 66-Austin Hoppe[1]; 5. 01-Landon Arnold[6]; 6. 13-Bob Mitchell[7];
7. 41-Daniel Chavez[10]; 8. 3-Allen Boles[8]; 9. 88-Mike Morgan[2];
10. 16-Tim Gentry[4]; 11. (DNS) 8-Mike Prather
(MRM Racing Photo)
Best Plumber 604 Racing Series:
1. 17-Cory Hedgecock[3]; 2. 7-Tyler Price[5]; 3. 44-John Ruggiero
Jr[1]; 4. 07A-Addison Cardwell[6]; 5. 611-Koulten Herbert[8];
6. 0-Ross White[4]; 7. 257-Skylar Marlar[13]; 8. 32-William Blankenship[7];
9. 22-Colby Horner[12]; 10. 5-Colby Quick[11]; 11. 2W-Wyatt Coffey[14];
12. 10B-Bradley Lewelling[10]; 13. 8C-Jensen Ford[2]; 14. 118-Jared
Delk[21]; 15. 31-Wes Tilley[15]; 16. 5J-Jesse Lowe[17]; 17. 116-Cameron
Weaver[16]; 18. 98-Jed Emert[20]; 19. 2-Mitchell Childress[18];
20. 46-Deisel Jones[19]; 21. 17C-Hayden Cardwell[9]
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