BROWNSTOWN

Over the past couple of decades, a lot of things have changed in the racing world.

From the race cars to the racetracks, the sport has evolved so much from its humble beginnings.

One thing that has not changed for one local driver is his passion to compete.

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At the age of 15, Jason Hehman started driving at local dirt tracks after watching his father and uncle compete during his childhood years.

Twenty-five years later, the Brownstown native is at the top of his game in the Super Stock division.

Hehman has 20-plus feature wins to his credit, nine of those coming at Brownstown Speedway.

“The Super Stock division just feels like where I need to be,” Hehman said. “Dad always raced them, and I really have no aspirations of doing anything differently. I’ve been very fortunate in my career to win a lot of the big Super Stock races.”

Hehman won last weekend’s Scott Patman Memorial at Brownstown Speedway, which is the highest-paying Super Stock event at the speedway.

“That was one that I’ve always wanted to win,” Hehman said. “Dad and Slim (Scott) were best friends growing up. They actually built Dad a car. I’m pretty sure Dad’s one and only win came in that car.”

Scott’s son, Nathan Patman, and Hehman grew up together watching their fathers race.

“Nathan and I were right there all of those years, I’m sure in the way,” Hehman said. “But this has always been just a big family thing for all of us. I’m very blessed with the people I have involved with this deal. My wife is fully supportive. She even works at the track on Saturdays, and she’s washing the car on Sundays.”

After his emotional win in last week’s event, Hehman said he didn’t care if he won another race in his life but jokingly admitted that he still looks to win his fair share of races in the future.

“We are always looking to win more races,” he said. “It never gets old.”

Looking ahead, Hehman now shifts his focus to winning a points title of some form in the near future.

“I’ve never won a points championship, so hopefully, we can get something done this year,” he said.

“I’ve ran second I don’t know how many times,” said Hehman, who is currently leading the UMP national points standings and sits atop the rankings at both Brownstown and Bloomington.

Hehman has won two of the three Super Stock events at Bloomington Speedway this season.

“It’s definitely not going to be easy,” he said. “At Brownstown, Aubrey (Eagan) is running second, and she’s going to be tough to beat. As a whole, this division is one of the toughest in regards to competition. A lot of really good guys have gone on to other divisions, but upcoming talent comes in right behind them.”

The UMP national point system is configured to tally each driver’s best 20 races over the entire season from tracks all over the United States to determine the champion.

“We are currently leading that deal, but I’m not getting too wrapped up in it yet,” Hehman said. “We are still very early on in the racing season. We’ve got a long way to go, but when the time comes to get serious, we will be ready.”

Racing for a national points championship requires a certain amount of traveling. Hehman said the local demographic of racing is much better than some outlying areas.

“We really have it good here in this area,” he said. “If you go other places and race, the payout is not nearly as good. We are very fortunate in this area.”

Hehman plans to run Bloomington on Friday nights and Brownstown on Saturday nights, but as the season progresses, he will travel as necessary to stay in contention for the national points title.

Brownstown Speedway is scheduled off tonight and will resume racing action May 19 with Armed Forces Night featuring Indiana Pro Late Models, Modifieds, Super Stocks, Pure Stocks and Hornets.

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Jason Hehman is making waves early in the season. He currently leads the Super Stocks for:

National points standings

1. Hehman 429, 2. Jack Frey 320, 3. Wes McClara 290, 4. Steve hollars 271, 5. Bryce Shidler 228, 6. Steve Hawkins 226, 7. Colton SUllivan 214, 8. Branden Carr 209, 9. Richard Craven 208, 10. Zach Sasser 195, 11. Jonathon Newgent 195, 12. Josh Divine 189, 13. Steve Mattingly 185, 14. Aubrey Eagin 184, 15. Larry Raines 183.

Bloomington Speedway

1. Hehman 184, 2. Jack Frye 175, 3. Steve Hawkins 164, 4. Brad Cummings 157, 5. Steve Hollars 154, 6. Chip Slagle 145, 7. Tony Arthur 136, 8. Zach Sasser 133, 9. Sam Arthur 126, 10. Jim Turner.

Brownstown Speedway

1. Hehman 539, 2. Aubrey Eagen 495, 3. Colton Sullivan 473, 4. David Brewer 461, 5. J.T. Huffman 459, 6. Tim Schumpe 458, 7. Dave Shelton 451, 8. Tom Ault 441, 9. Jack Frye 435, 10. Jeremy Helton 430.

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