2011 Berlin Raceway Racer of the Year & Pro Stock Champion
H.S. Motorsports
HERMILLER READY FOR NEXT ROUND OF JEGS/CRA ALL-STARS ACTION
-H.S. Die/VISI-TST Chevrolet Driver Looking To Gain More Experience In Lisa Thomas Salon 100-
WALKER, Mich. (May 17, 2012) Brandon Hermiller is convinced that his H.S. Die/VISI-TST Chevrolet Team can qualify well and battle up front in Saturdays Lisa Thomas Salon 100 at Illiana Motor Speedway. The young Michigan charger is eager to make his mark along the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour and is determined to win races in the super-competitive series.
It would be easy to just write our season off so far on the JEGS Tour to just bad luck, said the college engineering student. But, Im a guy who fully believes that you make your own luck. I really do, so youd never hear me say that.
Our whole season so far has been a huge learning process and weve made a lot of progress, Hermiller said. We dont have the good finishes yet to prove it, but everyone on our team knows that we are headed in the right direction.
Learning the tires we run was the first challenge we met and had to figure out. Were on top of that situation and continue to get better in our qualifying. I think our preparation has been good and were getting stronger every time we go to a race track.
Were heading into this weekend with a lot of confidence, said Hermiller. Great preparation is what makes for good fortune; thats what Ive always believed was true. So, were headed to Illiana well-prepared and hoping to do well there.
Hermiller has never visited the semi-banked half-mile paved oval before, but is confident that he can quickly adapt to the Schereville, Ind., track. His team planned a test day at the track before heading over for the race.
Each of these new tracks we are racing on for the first time has been a lot of fun, said Hermiller. Ive heard quite a bit of comparison between Illiana and O.R.P. (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, formerly O'Reilly Raceway Park) and we sure hope thats the case. Illiana isnt quite as big, but you have to race them similarly. Weve run really well before on the Indy short track.
Im really looking forward to racing the format they have for the 100 laps this weekend at Illiana, Hermiller said. Well be racing two 50-lap segments, with a 10-minute break to work on the cars. You cant actually change to a new set of tires during the break, but you can move your four tires around from one location to another if you like. Of course you can make chassis adjustments during the break. You line back up according to how you finished the first 50 laps. It sounds like a fun way to run the 100 laps and Im really looking forward to the challenge the format presents.
Saturdays race or races if you want to look at it that way will give us more experience at another different track, offered Hermiller. Were looking to qualify well, run consistent and be there at the end.
Pits open at Illiana at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Practice is set for 3:00 p.m. and qualifying will begin at 5:30 p.m. The 20 fastest qualifiers will be locked into the starting field. Positions 21-22 will come from the current series car owner points and the final two starting spots will come from the last chance race. The race program begins at 7:00 p.m. CDT. Turbo Stocks and Pure Stocks are also on the card. The admission charge is $15 for adults and $5 for children 8-12 years of age. Children 7 and under are admitted free.
* * *
LAST WEEK: Brandon Hermiller qualified sixth for the Berlin 125 ARCA/CRA Super Series race at his home track, Berlin Raceway. The inversion put the H.S. Die/VISI-TST Chevrolet on the pole for the start of the race. Hermiller ran in the top-five for the first half of the battle. He finished 13th and in the lead lap. We really saw how much we could fall off on worn tires, but we were pretty pleased with the overall effort, Hermiller said. It was great seat time running against some really stiff competition. We learned a lot and finished in front of some of the really strong veteran drivers.
* * *
For additional information on the ARCA/CRA Super Series Tour, please visit the CRA site at http://www.craracing.net/. For information on Illiana Motor Speedway, please visit http://www.illianaspeedway.com/
For additional information on Brandon Hermiller, please visit his site at http://www.brandonhermiller.com/.
For the latest news and insights, we invite you to follow Brandon on Twitter: @bhermiller (www.twitter.com/bhermiller) and Facebook: Brandon.hermiller (http://www.facebook.com/Brandon.hermiller)
# # #
