Hayes Mattern had accomplished something often far-fetched for a regional racer — winning a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heat race — Saturday at Port Royal Speedway when he casually delivered some considerably bigger news.

His wife Shianne was in labor.

The Beavertown, Pa., driver had just won the second heat race of the Lucas Oil-sanctioned Rumble by the River finale, thus earning the third starting spot in the $50,000-to-win feature. After clearing the scales, he revealed during his interview with FloRacing pit reporter Chris Moore that his wife was preparing to give birth later that night.

Suddenly, an already special night took on an almost surreal magnitude. Mattern went from a driver hoping simply to qualify for the 50-lap feature to having a shot at a $50,000 payday against the sport’s best with the arrival of his baby boy imminent.

Mattern knew half of what awaited him Saturday, with his wife already arranging prior plans to be induced at 9 p.m. What he hadn’t accounted for was the speed he and his team found against national competition.

“Things just kind of worked out that her induction date was supposed to be today, and we moved it until tonight — 9 o’clock tonight,” Mattern told DirtonDirt before the feature, graciously granting an interview knowing he wouldn’t be around after the checkers. “So, yeah, this was all kind of planned, at least on that side of things.

“This side of things, we didn’t really plan for this,” he added through a laugh, alluding to his third starting spot. “Like I said, our goal was to make the race, and I don’t think any of us could’ve dreamed of winning a Lucas Oil heat race. I know that may sound silly, but for us, man, we’re Weekend Warriors. We’re just trying to make these races.”

The potentially storybook performance came tumbling down when Mattern jumped the turn-two cushion and smacked the wall while running third on lap four. He had just gotten by Dan Ebert to reclaim the position, trailing only eventual winner Jonathan Davenport and Friday winner Ricky Thornton Jr.

Had Mattern remained on the podium — or even finished inside the top five or top 10 — it would’ve easily surpassed his career-best finish in full-field national touring competition at Port Royal, a 16th-place run in 2024. But Mattern wasn’t banking on contending with Davenport and Thornton. A top-10 finish would have been plenty.

“Top 10, honestly, would make me happy,” Mattern said before the feature. “Again, we’ve exceeded our goal. If we can load it in the trailer in one piece, I don’t think anybody’s going to be disappointed. But a top 10 would be badass against this crowd.

“Yeah, we’ve just got to make some more good adjustments here and make some good decisions on the racetrack. We’ll see. You never know.”

Saturday evening carried another, far deeper layer of emotion for the Mattern family.

Hayes and Shianne lost their 9-month-old daughter Kynlee on June 28, 2025, after she battled neurocutaneous melanosis, a rare congenital disorder involving abnormal pigment-producing cells in the skin and central nervous system that can lead to serious neurological complications.

“She just kind of had a rough go from the start,” Mattern said. “We knew during her pregnancy that there were some things going on, but they didn’t know exactly what it was.

“Obviously, when she was born, she had the diagnosis. There are kids who make it a couple of months, and there are kids who live years with it. We just didn’t know how it was all going to pan out. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out.

“But we have a little bit of peace of mind knowing that she’s comfortable where she’s at. So, that’s always good.”

Saturday came almost 14 months after Kynlee’s death. On its one-year anniversary June 28, Shianne shared a lengthy reflection on Facebook about the family’s grief and the ways their late daughter remains part of their everyday lives.

“It still doesn’t feel real that we’ve lived an entire year without your beautiful smile, your perfect brown eyes, or all of your dramatics,” part of Shianne’s heartfelt post read. “And yet, you’re still a part of our daily lives.”

Kynlee’s sunshine pajamas remain on Hayes and Shianne’s nightstand. One of her socks still sits on her older sister Adlee’s bathroom windowsill. The Matterns still put money in Kynlee’s piggy bank.

And Adlee, now 4, makes sure the little sister she lost remains part of the family her baby brother is entering.

“She already talks to your baby brother about you, and I know she’ll teach him so much about who you were and how deeply you are loved,” Shianne wrote.

“To others, we may look like a family of four, but we will always be a family of five,” she added.

That reality makes welcoming another child joyous for Hayes and Shianne, but inevitably emotional, too.

“Especially with what’s going on right now,” Mattern said. “Having a child is exciting, but it’s going to be emotional for both of us because we’re always thinking about her.”

Hayes described the past 14 months much the same way his wife did in her anniversary reflection. Shianne wrote that grief “doesn’t get better, we just learn how to carry it.”

“I lived a mom’s worst nightmare,” she wrote of Kynlee’s final hours, recalling holding her daughter while knowing her life was nearing its end.

Mattern, who calls his wife “a trouper” for enduring such hardship, said they’ve each learned to carry their grief differently, leaning on family, friends and a racing community that has surrounded them with support.

“It’s tough. We’re a pretty tight-knit family,” Mattern said. “We’ve got a 4-year-old daughter, and she keeps us on our toes. She’s a trouper, too. We have great friends and great family. The racing community is like family.

“It’s not easy. There are good days and bad days. It’s something I never thought you’d have to cope with, ever, and everybody does it a little bit differently. My wife gives me a hard time because sometimes I don’t show my emotions like some people do, but inside, it’s still very emotional for me. She shows her emotions a little bit more. Everybody’s just a little bit different. A lot of family and friends have helped us along the way.”

The timing of Saturday’s Lucas Oil race and Shianne’s plans had been thoroughly discussed beforehand. Sunday was another possibility, but the availability of her preferred midwife made Saturday night the better option.

“She was like, ‘Is it OK if I do it tonight?’ ” Mattern said. “I told her, ‘Listen, don’t ask me. That’s more up to you and whether you’re willing to do that.’ She was good with it.”

So while Shianne prepared for their son’s arrival, Mattern unexpectedly found himself preparing to start third in the $50,000-to-win Lucas Oil feature. His phone, predictably, began filling with messages after word spread about what was unfolding both at Port Royal and back in Lewisburg.

Hayes and Shianne still had two or three names under consideration for their baby boy. Amid the whirlwind, one friend thought Saturday’s events had supplied another.

“I just got a text message from somebody who said, ‘I figured out the name. His name is Lucas,’ ” Mattern said with a laugh, the suggestion naturally inspired by the Forrest Lucas-founded series in which Mattern had just scored his unlikely heat victory. “So maybe we’ll throw that into the mix, who knows.”

Of course, Mattern still had a 50-lap feature to contest when he entertained the humorous, but not entirely unrealistic, suggestion. And apparently a heat victory wasn’t enough to earn naming rights.

“A heat race win won’t do it,” Mattern said. “But if we win, yeah, maybe it’ll be Lucas.”

Mattern’s bid ended with a thud three full laps into the feature, leaving Hayes and Shianne to settle on their son’s name after all.

Perhaps years from now Mattern will tell his son the story of the unforgettable night he was almost named Lucas.