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Five Drivers, One Championship: Breaking Down the Path to the $50,000 HTF Series Title

The stage is set for one of Dirt Late Model racing’s most dramatic championship showdowns of the season as the Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series rolls into Cherokee Speedway this Friday and Saturday for the 35th annual Blue-Gray 100.

With two complete race programs paying $8,022 to win Friday and $35,000 to win Saturday, the final two races of the 2025 HTF Series campaign will not only offer the richest weekend purse of the year but also determine who walks away with the $50,000 championship prize.

Leading the title fight is Jimmy Owens, who holds a razor-thin two-point advantage over Zack Mitchell. Cory Hedgecock sits just 32 points back, while Joseph Joiner (-54) and Dalton Cook (-72) are still within striking distance as the tour’s championship chase comes down to the wire.

With 100 points going to the winner of each race, 94 for second, and a two-point-per-position spread down through the field to 50 points for 24th, a driver could gain or lose as many as 50 points in a single night. That makes every position crucial this weekend at Cherokee. And with the six-point gap between first and second effectively creating a four-point “bonus” for winning, reaching victory lane will be even more valuable for the title contenders.

Owens also holds the edge in the tiebreaker scenario thanks to his series-best three victories this season. If he and another driver finish tied in points, the crown would go to Owens on wins. However, with one victory each, Mitchell, Hedgecock, and Cook could match Owens in the win column by sweeping both races at Cherokee, while Joiner, still seeking his first series win of the season, cannot equal Owens on that metric even with a sweep.

The points drama extends beyond the championship trophy, too. The top five drivers in the final standings will share more than $100,000 in points fund payouts — $50,000 for first, $25,000 for second, $15,000 for third, $12,000 for fourth, and $10,000 for fifth. For the four drivers who fall short of the champion’s check, every position gained this weekend could still mean thousands of dollars more in year-end earnings.

But while every position in the final standings will matter, it’s the championship that all five drivers truly have their eyes on. Here’s a closer look at what each of them needs to make it happen:

1. Jimmy Owens (20) – Newport, Tenn. – 968 points

A former Blue-Gray 100 winner, Owens is no stranger to high-stakes moments or Cherokee Speedway’s famous red clay. The four-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series champion has built his career on consistency, composure, and the ability to perform under pressure when championships and big wins are on the line.

With only a two-point lead over Mitchell, Owens has little room for error. He’s the most experienced driver among the title contenders and the only one to have previously won the Blue-Gray 100. However, that victory came all the way back in 2007. He's also made just one appearance at Cherokee since 2021, while several of his challengers, namely Mitchell and Joiner, have found plenty of recent success at the track.

Path to the championship: Owens controls his own destiny. If he can stay ahead of Mitchell both nights, a pair of top-10 finishes should secure him the title as long as third-place Hedgecock doesn’t sweep the weekend with back-to-back wins.

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2. Zack Mitchell (57) – Enoree, S.C. – 966 points (-2)

Fresh off his first series victory of the season in the Sept. 27 show at Southern Raceway, Mitchell enters Championship Weekend with both momentum and home-field advantage on his side. The home-state driver has been a consistent contender at Cherokee in recent years, picking up an unsanctioned March Madness win earlier this season and an HTF Series victory at the track last year.

Mitchell’s familiarity with Cherokee’s high banks and his blend of aggression and patience make him a serious threat to dethrone Owens in the final weekend showdown. A victory on Saturday would not only mark one of the biggest wins of his career but could also deliver him his first Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series championship.

Path to the championship: Beat Owens — plain and simple. Staying ahead of Owens both nights should secure the $50,000 crown, but top-10 runs will still be crucial to hold off Hedgecock, Joiner, or Cook if one of them gets hot.

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3. Cory Hedgecock (23) – Loudon, Tenn. – 936 points (-32)

With eight victories across four different Super Late Model tours, Cory Hedgecock has been one of the Southeast’s top performers this season. A couple of midseason setbacks left him in a hole in the HTF Series title chase, but he still finds himself within striking distance if Owens and Mitchell falter at Cherokee.

While Hedgecock’s experience at Cherokee is limited compared to most of his championship rivals, his success this year proves he’s more than capable of rising to the occasion. If he can quickly dial in on the red clay, he could turn up the pressure on the top two in a hurry.

Path to the championship: Hedgecock needs to finish well ahead of both Owens and Mitchell — and winning would make that job much easier. Without a victory, he must finish at least 17 positions ahead of Owens and 15 ahead of Mitchell over the weekend’s two races. One win cuts those numbers to 15 and 13; a weekend sweep would reduce them further to 13 and 11.

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4. Joseph Joiner (10) – Milton, Fla. – 914 points (-54)

After a slow start to the year, Joiner turned his season around with six straight finishes of sixth or better, including three podiums, and finds himself within striking distance of the championship going into the finale.

Cherokee has also been one of Joiner’s best tracks this year. He’s already scored two wins and a runner-up there in the first three rounds of the track’s six-race Cherokee Chief miniseries, showing he has the speed to contend against anyone at the track. That success could prove vital as he looks to end the year with his first HTF Series victory and perhaps make a run at the championship if the three drivers ahead of him in the chase leave the door open.

Path to the championship: Sitting 54 points back, Joiner needs everything to fall perfectly into place, including likely at least one win and some bad luck for the three drivers ahead of him. A weekend sweep could still give him an outside shot at the title if the points leaders falter.

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5. Dalton Cook (44) – Salem, Ala. – 896 points (-72)

For Cook, the 2025 season has been a major step forward as he and his self-owned team continue to rise in the ranks of Super Late Model racing. Though he’s further back in points, Cook has shown steady improvement all season and finds himself a championship dark horse entering the final weekend.

Cherokee isn’t one of Cook’s most familiar tracks, but he’s proven adaptable all year. If he can quickly find his rhythm, he could turn the championship picture upside down should the frontrunners encounter trouble.

Path to the championship: Cook needs nothing short of a perfect weekend with major misfortune for the top four if he’s to have a shot at pulling off what would be a historic comeback.

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The 35th annual Blue-Gray 100 weekend at Cherokee Speedway kicks off Friday, Oct. 10, with an $8,022-to-win program, followed by Saturday’s 100-lap, $35,000-to-win finale that will decide the $50,000 Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series championship.

Complete event information is available at www.htfseries.com/press/article/182183 and presale tickets are available for purchase at www.myracepass.com/series/2068/tickets. Fans unable to attend in person can catch every lap of Championship Weekend live on Hunt the Front TV at www.huntthefront.tv.

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