By Bill W
June 13, 2016 – Jerrod Hull and the Heartland Trailer Manufacturing/Neal Tire and Auto Service #12 team racked up their third win of the year last Saturday night at the Tri-State Speedway near Haubstadt, Indiana. The win was the Sikeston, Missouri driver’s 21st with the MOWA series. The team heads back to Indiana and Bloomington Speedway this Friday with the MOWA.
The night got off to a slow start for Jerrod. “We weren’t very good in hot laps or qualifying,” he says. “We made some changes, but they didn’t seem to do and we timed in tenth quick.”
That put him outside row two of the first heat. “After qualifying, (crew chief) Scott (Bonar) started changing some things and really got things going for us in the heat,” says Jerrod. “We were able to pass a couple cars there and run second. The car felt really comfortable, and we were already up on the cushion by that time.”
The feature invert draw was four, putting Jerrod on the pole. “That worked out pretty slick,” he says. “We were able to get out front. I was feeling good. The cushion kept getting bigger and bigger and I ended up jumping it and getting into the wall. In the very next corner, I jumped over it again. That allowed Hunter Schuerenberg to run us down.”
The challenge for the lead meant changing tactics. “Things got pretty racy at that point,” says Jerrod. “I changed my line a little bit and pulled the wing back. I was running the middle there for a while. I ended up moving the wing back forward and went back to the top. We finished the race up there. The track was slick from top to bottom, up to the cushion against the wall. Entering the corner, especially turn one, the cushion was really thick. It was hard to enter there without getting too tight.”
Jerrod earned this one. “It was a tough race, and it was hot,” he says. “But it was really fun. I really enjoyed it. We always have fun at Haubstadt and we look forward to going back there July 3.”
Photo: Jerrod is all smiles in Victory Lane at Tri-State Speedway (MOWA Photo)