April 8, 2015 – For the second year in a row, Jerrod Hull and the Heartland Trailer Manufacturing #12 recorded victory in their first race of the season. Last year’s win came at Jacksonville Speedway with the MOWA series, while this year’s victory came last Saturday at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa with the Sprint Invaders. It was the Sikeston, Missouri driver’s sixteenth career win with the Sprint Invaders and fifth with the series at 34 Raceway.
Things started with a heat win on Saturday. “We started with a good draw, which always helps,” says Jerrod. “That put us on the outside of the front row. We were able to get the jump from the start. The car was really fast and really good.”
The redraw for the Shake-up Dash saw Jerrod draw the last pill, the eight. “We were able to gain a few spots and get up to fifth there,” he says. “The car felt pretty good. It was fast around the top in the Dash. We wanted to make a few changes for the feature.”
He would start inside row three for the main event. “Everything was just great,” says Jerrod. “We took our time there at first, and settled in. As the race went on, the car got better and better.”
Jerrod picked his way forward and was into second behind Paul Nienhiser when the caution flew with seven laps to go. “We were able to go around the top on the restart and get into the lead,” he says. “We ran the top in one and two and the bottom in three and four. The car was working everywhere on the track.”
One final yellow was displayed with five laps remaining. “I pulled the wing back earlier and the car was good,” says Jerrod. “I pulled it back again on the last caution, and it was even better. Once we were out by ourselves, I thought we were fast enough that it would be really tough for anyone to get around us.”
Winning the first night out always eases a racer’s mind. “We were just having fun,” says Jerrod. “To win the first race takes some pressure off. Otherwise, you’re going from week to week wondering when that first one’s going to come. We got it out of the way. I can’t say enough about my crew chief, Scott Bonar. He puts that car on rails every single night and makes my job a lot easier.”
The four-time and defending MOWA champion is hoping that series can get underway this Friday night at Jacksonville, Illinois. Last Friday’s event at Lincoln Speedway in Illinois was a wash. “The weather just hasn’t been cooperating with us the last couple weeks,” says Jerrod. “Hopefully, we can get Jacksonville in. We have a 12-head motor right now that we actually won there with last year. We’d like for that one to be our spare. We’re waiting on our other one right now.”
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.