Lower Sackville (NS) teenager Brad Eddy finished an impressive 12th in the invitation-only Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown contested Thursday evening at South Boston Speedway in Virginia. The event, hosted by NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin, is a charity event with proceeds benefitting the Denny Hamlin Foundation which is committed to supporting cystic fibrosis research and therapies. It attracted 41 of the top short track racers in North America including top NASCAR drivers like Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and others. Eddy’s 12th came after a difficult day which saw him 36th in final practice and 41st after the first qualifying session. He fought hard in his heat race to make to top 10 and transfer to the feature, but finished 11th. A provisional put him in the field starting 33rd. He ran as high as 10th in the late stages and eventually wound up 12th, one of 15 cars that finished on the lead lap. Matt Bowling made a late race pass to win the seventh edition of the event. Matt Waltz, who led 195 of the 200 laps, finished second and Nick Smith was third. Busch and Kenseth rounded out the top five finishers. Hamlin was eighth. Former NASCAR racer turned TV analyst Hermie Sadler finished 16th. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner David Ragan was 20th, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers Jeb Burton and Timothy Peters finished 25th and 27th, respectively. Eddy commented on his race via Twitter, saying: “Thank you so much Everyone, and thank you @jayhedgecock. Wish it was 300 laps!!” Jay Hedgecock, a leader in the racing industry in North Carolina who provided the rental racecar for Eddy, praised Eddy is his reply saying: “Was a very enjoyable race you earned my respect as a racer for working thru learning curve to running a great race in 48 hrs.” Eddy is expected to return home to Nova Scotia in the coming days to prepare for the start of the regional race season.
