Shane Heckel Ennis preview

Heckel shooting for All-Star bid in Dallas

ENNIS, Texas - Second generation NHRA Competition Eliminator driver Shane Heckel will be shooting for the prestigious Jeg's Division 4 All-Star slot during this weekend's Division 4 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at the Texas Motorplex just south of Dallas. Heckel currently trails defending Division 4 Champ Rodger Brogdon by 44 points going into the final event to determine who will represent the division at the Jeg's Sportsman All-Stars event at Chicago in June.

Heckel, from LaPorte, Texas, campaigns a B/Dragster, which is essentially a Pro Stock motor and drivetrain in a dragster chassis. To overtake Brogdon in All-Star standings, Heckel needs Brogdon to go out in the first or second round and he must win or runner-up.

"As good as Rodger is running it's kind of a long shot," said Heckel. "If he goes out in the first round, we can win the spot with a runner-up, if he loses in the second round, we can win the spot if we win. If we win the spot, that's great, if not we're still shooting to win the race. We've had plenty of chances to wrap it up, so now we'll just have to make the most of this last one."

Heckel, the current B/D national record holder, enters the event coming off a strong outing at last weekend's Jegs.com Cajun SPORTSnationals in Belle Rose, La., and hopes to keep that momentum going in Dallas.

"The car has been running very well of late," said Heckel. "We get some good power from TRE Racing Engines and this Ballistic chassis has worked well. I got a great crew behind me in my Mom (Kathy) and Dad (Mike), my wife Angie, daughter Brooke, Keith Crump and Mike Schlebach. Hopefully we can keep things rolling in Dallas."

Qualifying begins on Friday for the Comp cars, with two more sessions on Saturday. Final eliminations conclude the event on Sunday.

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