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6/16/14  Cottage Grove, OR – “This feels so good…I’ve been trying to get one of these for so long and the whole goal to come down here (Cottage Grove Speedway) this weekend was to try and get the win” – words straight from the winner, JJ Hickle, after his first career ASCS NW Win and first career victory at Cottage Grove Speedway. For Hickle, the 23 year old Quilcene WA native, it was a culmination of long hours in the shop and a dynamite setup on his Don Ott powered XXX that brought him the big check and big trophy following Friday night’s main event.

 The night began with a good, almost great heat race where Hickle advanced one position, from 4^th to 2^nd on the field before a late slidejob relegated him to third. The rest of the heats featured limited passing and Hickle was able to move into the redraw where he’d end up with a 7^th place start on the evening’s A Main. At the drop of the green, Hickle began experimenting with lines around the track, settling into the 4^th position early while mixing his line between high and low in each corner. Following an early race caution for Cam Smith, Hickle committed himself to the bottom of the track, where he quickly picked up third and began work on second place Colin Baker and leader Jayme Barnes. Baker would spin out in the high groove shortly after Hickle began his roll, making it Barnes and JJ battling for the lead. On lap nine, JJ gave Jayme his first glimpse of what was to come, showing him a nose on the inside of turn two before backing off heading into turn three. The next eight circuits saw the leaders dicing in traffic and amongst heavy lapped cars, Hickle found room underneath Barnes coming out of turn four to take the lead on lap 18. JJ worked traffic brilliantly from there, moving high and low around the track to pass the slower traffic before taking the win by a full straightaway.

 “Our car was awesome everywhere. We had the ability to go anywhere they weren’t. We absolutely nailed the setup on this XXX and traffic was tough, but we made it through. I can’t thank my dad and family enough for everything they do and hopefully this is the first of many” said JJ in victory lane.

 JJ Hickle is sponsored by Meyer Electric, Go Fast Stuff and Speedmart Inc. Follow Hickle all year long as he competes in 360 racing al around the Northwest, including ASCS NW and Frontier Region races as well as dates at Grays Harbor Raceway and Skagit Speedway.