Jerrod Hull and the Heartland Trailer Manufacturing #12 team didn’t think they’d be racing for points again with the MOWA series in 2015. But a pair of solid finishes at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois last weekend has them within striking distance of another title with the series. This weekend marks a traditional September doubleheader in Illinois with the Herb Barlow Memorial Friday at Jacksonville and the Tom Knowles Memorial Saturday at the Spoon River Speedway near Canton.
Jerrod would start outside row one for Friday’s heat race. “We were able to win the heat race,” he says. “It felt pretty good, but the motor ran a little warm and started missing a little bit. That gave us some concern.”
In the Dash he would also start outside row one. “We ran second, but still we weren’t that comfortable,” says Jerrod. “We made some changes for the feature. I felt like I was a little tight. It had some push up on the cushion.”
The second place run in the Dash put Jerrod back in the front row for the feature. “Right off the bat, we were just a little loose,” he says. “I was fourth in the first few laps. I was able to get the wing back, and we were able to hold onto fourth running the cushion. I really felt like we were going to get passed, but I guess everything settled down. Hats off to the racetrack. It didn’t take rubber either night.”
The team would go to work to get ready for Saturday’s finale. “We made a bunch of changes for Saturday…bars and shocks,” says Jerrod. “We started third in the heat and ran second. We were still struggling getting into the corners. We weren’t bad, I just wasn’t as comfortable with the car.”
Jerrod would start fifth in the Dash. “A couple cars got locked up and we ended up running third in the Dash,” he says. “That put us inside row two for the feature. (Jimmy) Hurley got around us and we passed him back for second. I was starting to get pressured. I started searching around. I was running the top of one and two and the bottom of three and four. Kevin Thomas got us around the outside of three and four. I moved back to the top and we finished third.”
Overall, two top fives have the team optimistic heading to Jacksonville and Spoon River. “All in all, it wasn’t bad with a third and fourth,” says Jerrod. “We were disappointed though, because that’s one of my favorite places to race. We just weren’t comfortable all weekend. We’re working hard to get ready for this weekend. I love Jacksonville and Canton, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Jerrod and the #12 team would like to thank: Midland Performance, Super Shox, Sebastian Sand Blasting & Powder Coating, Inc., Chuck’s Small Engines, Don Hamilton, HRP, Lighthouse Christian Center, Rockstar Graphics, King Racing Products, DMI, KSE Performance Products, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld, Automotive Machine, Maxim and Heartland Trailer Manufacturing.
(Mark Funderburk Racing Photo)
- administrator on Sep 15, 2015
- Article Date: 9/10/2015 by Bill Wright