(Bill W) June 30, 2009 – Jesse “The Rocket” Hockett went into last weekend hoping for a win at the Daniel McMillin Memorial. The result was a strong seventh place run. He did, however, win again at the Double X Speedway in California, Missouri on Sunday, while mixing in a road trip to Richmond, Virginia and back again!
There was some added competition on Sunday night at Double X. Jesse started third in both his heat and the feature, and won both. “There was a solid field there this week,” he says. “Seth Bergman (from Washington) was there, and so were Derrik Ortega (from New Mexico) and Darren Long (from Ohio).”
The win was Jesse’s fifth of the season at Double X, and the eighteenth of his career. “We ended up lapping all but three cars,” he says of his run. “We were running as well there as we have all year.”
Friday, it was off to Richmond for another pavement race with USAC. After registering 16th quick, Jesse finished 14th in the feature. “We actually weren’t too bad, we were just a little off, and when you’re a little off on a track as big as Richmond (7/8 mile), it shows,” he says. “We were about three tenths off. We were off a half-second to a second in practice, and with the help of Robert Hubbard and Chris Santucci, we at least got in the ballgame. They definitely helped me a lot.”
It was a long drive back overnight (just shy of 1000 miles) to the Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri and the Daniel McMillin Memorial. “We got back in plenty of time,” assures Jesse. “The track was a lot different in the heat than it normally is. We tried our regular setup and it didn’t work for us (finished third). We made some adjustments for the B, and we were actually really good in that.”
Jesse won the B, and lined up inside row nine for the main event. Immediately, he began to pick off cars. “We left the car with the same setup for the A, and we were really good,” he says. “We were able to get all the way up to sixth, and I got to racing really hard with Paul McMahan. We were racing in the slick part of the track so much; it took its toll on my tires.”
In the end, he would finish seventh. “We were able to win that battle to get into sixth,” says Jesse. “On the last lap, Jack Dover got so hard into the cushion that I thought he was going to flip. I pitched it sideways to avoid him, and Gary Wright got by me, so we finished second.”
Jesse was happy with the way the event honoring his late cousin and crew chief turned out. “It was a pretty good run, and the race turned out to be a good one,” he says. “It was a good crowd, a good car count, and good racing overall. I was happy about that part of it.”
So far, Jesse has been able to juggle the USAC National Sprint Car Series with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. For the first time, the schedules will clash this weekend, forcing a decision. “We’re going to change our direction a little bit, and go with our original plan of running with ASCS, and just run the big USAC races whenever we can,” he says.
Thursday night, Jesse will run with the USCS series at the Camden Speedway in Tennessee. Friday and Saturday, he’ll compete at the Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Arkansas with ASCS. The Rock ‘N Roll 50-lap feature will be contested on Saturday night at “The Ditch”.
Sprintcar and Midget Magazine!
Jesse is the cover story for June’s edition of Sprintcar and Midget Magazine. Dave Argabright did a great job with the story! Go pick it up now!
On the Web
To learn more about Jesse “The Rocket” Hockett, including updated results and photos, visit http://jessehockett.homestead.com!
T-Shirt Trivia!
Last week’s answer: Jesse competed in a sprint car for the first time at Dallas County Speedway in Urbana, Missouri.
Last week’s winner: Dustin Arnall from Hartville, Missouri
This week’s question: Who did Jesse share a ride with at Dallas County Speedway when he was getting started?
Each week, we’ll be giving away a Jesse Hockett t-shirt to our trivia winner! We will draw a winner from the correct answers submitted on Friday following the release. Submit your trivia answer, along with your name, address and t-shirt size to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net! Put "Hockett Trivia" in the subject line.
Rocket Rambles
The win at Double X was Jesse’s 14th feature victory in 45 2009 starts. That is 31%. He also has 26 top fives (58%) and 32 top tens (71%). He has already eclipsed last year’s career high win total of 13!
Partner Spotlight – Hoosier Tires
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Rocket Hockett
“Rocket Hockett” is an up close look at the past, present and future of Jesse Hockett. To receive "Rockett Hockett", send an e-mail to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "Hockett" in the subject line.
Jesse would like to thank the partners of the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch team, including Parker Store of Phoenix, AMS Waterfall Systems, Rod End Supply, LRB Manufacturing, Penske Shocks, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Diversified Machine, Inc., Fischer Body Shop, Simpson, Hoosier, Conroy Bleeders, ARP Fasteners, Indy Race Parts, Massey’s Truck and Tank Repair, RMS Racing Engines, Pro Powder Coating, Korte Transportation, Rocket Graphics, Lucas Oil, Weld Racing, Spike Products, Maxwell, Red Onion Lounge, Engler, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, FSR Racing Products, RH2, Canyon Apparel, JEI, Total Seal Piston Rings, JE Pistons and Wings Unlimited for all their help!
Photo -
Woody Hampton Photo
- Bill Wright on Jun 30, 2009
- Article Date: 6/30/2009