J. R. Heffner (born March 31, 1972) is an American professional dirt and asphalt stock car driver. He currently competes in various dirt racing events.

J. R. Heffner
Heffner's No. 74 modified race car in 2015 at the Orange County (NY) Fairgrounds
Born (1972-03-31) March 31, 1972 (age 51)
Stephentown, New York
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career
4 races run over 3 years
2018 position75th
Best finish52nd (2014)
First race2014 Mudsummer Classic (Eldora)
Last race2018 Eldora Dirt Derby (Eldora)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of December 31, 2021.

Heffner has also raced in the ARCA Racing Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Racing career edit

Heffner's interest in racing started at the age of five, when he and his parents attended races at Lebanon Valley Speedway. In his teen years, he raced three-wheelers and eventually started racing in Lebanon Valley's Sportsman's Division, winning the championship in 1990. He moved up to the Big Block Modified division, winning his first race in the division in 1994.[1] In 1997, he acquired sponsorship from A. Colarusso & Son, Inc.,[1] a highway construction firm.[2] Heffner and Colarusso have developed a longterm relationship. Heffner joined the company in 2003, becoming the Vice President of Operations, a role he still holds today.[1]

In 2007, Heffner made his debut in the ARCA Re/Max Series at Daytona International Speedway for DGM Racing, where he finished 35th after crashing.[3] From 2007 to 2011, he ran eight ARCA races, with his last start being at Lucas Oil Raceway.[4] His best finish in the series is 14th at Kentucky Speedway in 2009.[5]

In 2013, Heffner entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway,[4] the first dirt track race in a NASCAR national series since 1970.[6] In the event, Heffner qualified eighth and finished second in his heat race to Ken Schrader,[7] but was relegated to the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ). Despite starting first, he lost fourth gear and retired from the LCQ,[8] finishing last after completing just one lap and failing to make the Feature.[9] The following year, Heffner made the feature after finishing fourth in his heat,[10] finishing 18th in the final.[11] Heffner also ran the Truck race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing 23rd after crashing on lap 137.[12] Heffner skipped the 2015 race at Eldora due to the race clashing with his schedule at Lebanon Valley, loaning the truck to Bobby Pierce, who finished second. In 2016, Heffner returned to Eldora, driving the No. 44 for Martins Motorsports.[8] After winning his heat race from the pole to start fourth in the feature, he finished 15th.[13][14] A year later, Heffner crashed during practice and with no backup, he withdrew from the race. Heffner would return to the Dirt Derby in 2018, securing a ride with Premium Motorsports. He qualified for the main event by finishing fourth in his heat race, and finished 24th in the feature after fading from a top 15 position late with handling problems.

Heffner made his return to the Truck Series in March 2021 when he joined Jordan Anderson Racing for the Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race.[15] However, he withdrew after crashing in the final practice session.[16]

Motorsports career results edit

NASCAR edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Camping World Truck Series edit

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts Ref
2013 74 Operations LLC. 44 Chevy DAY MAR CAR KAN CLT DOV TEX KEN IOW ELD
DNQ
POC MCH BRI MSP IOW CHI LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 120th [17]
2014 MB Motorsports 63 Chevy DAY MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD
18
POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA
23
LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 52nd 47 [18]
2016 Martins Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY ATL MAR KAN DOV CLT TEX IOW GTW KEN ELD
15
POC BRI MCH MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 56th 18 [19]
2017 DAY ATL MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW IOW KEN ELD
Wth
POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM NA [20]
2018 Premium Motorsports 15 Chevy DAY ATL LVS MAR DOV KAN CLT TEX IOW GTW CHI KEN ELD
24
POC MCH BRI MSP LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 75th 13 [21]
2021 Jordan Anderson Racing 3 Chevy DAY DAY LVS ATL BRI
Wth
RCH KAN DAR COA CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN GTW DAR BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO NA [22]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series edit

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ARSC Pts Ref
2007 DGM Racing 72 Chevy DAY
35
USA NSH SLM KAN WIN KEN TOL IOW POC MCH BLN KEN POC NSH ISF MIL GTW DSF CHI SLM TAL TOL 175th 55 [23]
2008 Roulo Brothers Racing 39 Chevy DAY
16
SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY 77th 300 [24]
Darrell Basham Racing 94 Chevy KEN
16
BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE TAL TOL
2009 BCR Racing 74 Chevy DAY
DNQ
SLM CAR TAL
27
KEN
30
TOL POC MCH MFD IOW KEN
14
BLN POC ISF CHI
16
TOL DSF NJE SLM KAN CAR 60th 510 [25]
2011 BCR Racing 99 Chevy DAY TAL SLM TOL NJE CHI POC MCH WIN BLN IOW IRP
13
POC ISF MAD DSF SLM KAN TOL 106th 165 [26]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Martin, Tim (September 6, 2015). "'Mr. Dirt Track' JR Heffner has seen it all". River Chronicle. Columbia-Greene Media. Retrieved July 14, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "J.R. Heffner Among Daytona Testers". ARCA Racing Series. December 19, 2007. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  3. ^ "2007 ARCA 200 at Daytona". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Caraviello, David (July 18, 2013). "Bloomquist leads list of dirt aces at Eldora". NASCAR. Archived from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  5. ^ "2009 Click It or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  6. ^ Bruce, Kenny (July 23, 2013). "Richard Petty recalls NASCAR dirt race". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  7. ^ "NASCAR Eldora 2013: Austin Dillon holds off Kyle Larson to win NASCAR's return to dirt". SB Nation. July 25, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Allaway, Phil (June 19, 2016). "JR Heffner Partners with Martins Motorsports for Eldora". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  9. ^ "2013 Mudsummer Classic Last Chance Qualifier". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  10. ^ Ryan, Nate (July 24, 2014). "Pay dirt: Darrell Wallace Jr. wins truck race at Eldora". USA Today. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  11. ^ Lautenschlager, Tyson (July 11, 2016). "Dirt Ringer J.R. Heffner Returns to Trucks at Eldora". OnPitRoad.com. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "2014 UNOH 175". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  13. ^ "2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby Heat Race #4". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  14. ^ "2016 Aspen Dental Eldora Dirt Derby". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  15. ^ "J.R. Heffner Partners with Jordan Anderson Racing for Bristol Dirt NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race". Jordan Anderson Racing (Press release). March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  16. ^ Estrada, Chris (March 27, 2021). "Bristol Truck dirt race starting lineup". NBC Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  17. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2013 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  18. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  19. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  20. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  21. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  22. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  23. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2007 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  24. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  25. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2009 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  26. ^ "J.R. Heffner – 2011 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 25, 2020.

External links edit