Hayden Cardwell Wins the $4000 Crate Week at the Creek

On By Steve NewboldIn Dirt, Local Racing (Dirt)

August 10, 2025

Blue Ridge, GA — Knoxville, Tn. native Hayden Cardwell claimed victory in the American All-Star Series feature at Sugar Creek Raceway after a heartbreaking mechanical failure sidelined race leader Zach Sise.

Cardwell’s night began with a seventh-place qualifying effort of 16.285 seconds, putting him outside row one for his heat race. There, he fought tooth-and-nail with polesitter Zach Sise, ultimately finishing second by just 1.6 seconds. That set him up mid-pack for the 40-lap feature.

The opening laps saw TJ Steele spin in Turn 2. By lap 7, John Ellison lost a front-left tire just half a lap behind leader Sise, adding to the tension. On lap 19, Seth Wimpey slammed the Turn 4 wall, forcing Cardwell to react quickly to avoid becoming part of the wreckage.

Cardwell’s biggest break—and perhaps his toughest moment—came on lap 23. Running just behind Sise, the leader’s car threw a shock down the backstretch, forcing a sudden change in the race’s dynamic. Cardwell inherited the lead but immediately had to defend it through multiple restarts, including a lap 31 spin by Ryan Smith and a multi-car incident in Turn 1 involving Junior Whitener, Aiden Morgan, and Sam Green.

Through it all, Cardwell kept his composure, leading the final 21 laps to secure the win.

“Man, this is badass,” said Cardwell. “Sise and I were racing really hard, and when he broke, I knew it was going to be tough to pass him again if he came back. We’re gonna try to keep this train rolling.”

Crossing the line behind Cardwell in second was Junior Whitener, who failed post-race technical inspection due to being 19 pounds under minimum weight. This would move third place finisher Jody Nipper to the second position and the fourth place finisher of Jason Deal to third, rounding out the podium.

Crate Week at the Creek Results

  1. Hayden Cardwell
  2. Jordy Nipper
  3. Jason Deal
  4. Joshua Chesney
  5. Kasey Hall
  6. Alden Morgan
  7. Trevor Sise
  8. Sylvan Schutte
  9. Tyler Arrington
  10. Sam Green
  11. TJ Steele
  12. Mathew Porter – 6 laps
  13. Bailie Lowe – 6 laps
  14. Ryan Smith – 6 laps
  15. Zach Sise – 17 laps
  16. Seth Wimpey – 22 laps
  17. Brycen Fleming – 25 laps
  18. Cade Brookshire – 27 laps
  19. Kenny Hall -32 laps
  20. John Ellison -35 laps
  21. Joe Picklesimer – 39 laps
  22. Keaton Smith – 39 laps
  23. Phillip Ramirez – DNS
  24. Junior Whitener – DQ

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Photo: Mitchell Bell

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