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Rocket Hockett – Daily Double at Grandview/One More at Double X!
(Bill W) June 9, 2009 – When it was announced USAC would be running two feature events at the Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania, no one was more excited than Jesse "The Rocket" Hockett. The Warsaw, Missouri driver made the most of that enthusiasm and turned it into not one, but two wins! Jesse came out of the eastern swing with USAC still third in the National sprint car standings. He added another win at Double X Speedway on Sunday. This week, he'll stay closer to home.
Jesse got upside down in his last visit to Grandview's banked 3/8 mile oval when running with the Keystone Cup series in late May. This time, he qualified sixth on Wednesday. "We qualified in a good spot, and we had to go through the B to get there (feature)," he says. "We set the car up to use the same set of tires in both features, but we kept the weight kind of neutral for the first one. We knew we'd have a break in between to adjust the weight, but not the tires."
Jesse led every lap despite challenges from Chris Windom. After a brief break, he drove the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 to another 25-lap win in the second feature. "We made a few changes for that second 25 and it all just worked out really well," he says. "USAC may count it as one 50-lap race, but I'm counting it as two! They gave me the checkers two times and they gave me two trophies, so in my book, that's two!"
Success in Pennsylvania was good tonic. "We've struggled there, despite having flashes of running good," says Jesse. "We had just never sealed the deal. We definitely needed those wins, and it gave us some confidence heading into the rest of the week."
Thursday saw USAC near Minersville at the Big Diamond Raceway. Jesse takes us through a night where he finished sixth. "Qualifying seventh is tough, because you are one spot out of the invert. If we were one spot better, we could have been in victory lane again. The track was dry and hard to pass on. I tried a few aggressive moves to get up there and I lost a few spots. I had to go back to the racing groove and I was able to move back up to about where I started."
On Friday, it was time to put the wings on and run with the All Star Circuit of Champions at the Lernerville Speedway near Sarver. "I hadn't run the wing car in a couple nights and had some rust to knock off," Jesse explains. "We got going pretty good in the heat (starting 7th) race, and got into a transfer, but they penalized us two spots for jumping a late restart. That put us way back in the B. We worked our way up to battle for a transfer and I made a mistake and spun out. That was basically it."
It was back to USAC racing on Saturday at Mercer Raceway Park. Dust filled the sky. "We had a good qualifying time again (6th)," says Jesse. "We made it through our heat fine, and started up front in the feature. We led the first few laps, but missed on the setup a bit. It was extremely dry, and that's not the type of racetrack for our car."
The end result was a fourth place finish. "Our car is setup in the middle, and some of the coil-over cars are built to hook up in the real dry stuff," Jesse says. "That hurt us and we settled for fourth. We could have finished a little better, but Cole Whitt showed us the top when he went by, and it doesn't take me much convincing to head to the top. We could have held on for a top three if I stayed on the bottom, I'm guessing."
The team had less than 24 hours to get back to the Double X Speedway in California, Missouri. "We took off from Mercer and drove to Indianapolis," Jesse explains. "From there, we got a couple hours sleep and hit the road again for California. My dad had our car ready for us, and we were able to win the heat and the feature, leading every lap. It was good to have a good night in our car after having bad luck the week before."
The win was his second of the year at Double X. This weekend, he'll run three shows in his home state. Friday, the Winged Outlaw Warriors invade Midway Speedway in Lebanon. On Saturday, he will run Lake Ozark Speedway before he tries it again at Double X on Sunday.
Video Highlights from Grandview
To see video highlights from Jesse's wins at Grandview, click on this link…
http://gspvideo.com/2009/06/grandview-speedway-june-2-2009/#more-383
Sprintcar and Midget Magazine!
Jesse is the cover story for June's edition of Sprintcar and Midget Magazine. Dave Argabright did a great job with the story! Go pick it up now!
On the Web
To learn more about Jesse "The Rocket" Hockett, including updated results and photos, visit http://jessehockett.homestead.com!
T-Shirt Trivia!
Last week's answer: Jesse competed in 93 race events in 2007.
Last week's winner: Erik Otteson from Salida, CA
This week's question: Before Grandview, how many sprint car races had Jesse won under the USAC banner?
Each week, we'll be giving away a Jesse Hockett t-shirt to our trivia winner! We will draw a winner from the correct answers submitted on Friday following the release. Submit your trivia answer, along with your name, address and t-shirt size to [email protected]! Put "Hockett Trivia" in the subject line.
Rocket Rambles
Jesse hopes to add to his four career wins in ASCS National competition. His first came at Sedalia's State Fair Speedway in Missouri late in 2003. The win came ahead of Kenny Adams, Garry Lee Maier, Tim Crawley and Jeff Mitrisin. He swept the 2nd Annual Lake Ozark Speedway 360 Nationals in 2005, winning both nights. He last ASCS win came in March of 2006 when he topped Jason Johnson, Gary Wright, Travis Rilat and Nick Smith at the Baton Rouge Raceway in Louisiana.
Partner Spotlight – Stanton Racing Engines
Jesse says – "Gary Stanton has been around longer than most and he builds a good product. When we were down on 410 motors, he stepped up to help us with the USAC car. We've been right around the top five every time out since then. They are really reliable, and I'd like to thank him for that."
Rocket Hockett
"Rocket Hockett" is an up close look at the past, present and future of Jesse Hockett. To receive "Rockett Hockett", send an e-mail to [email protected] with "Hockett" in the subject line.
Jesse would like to thank the partners of the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch team, including Parker Store of Phoenix, AMS Waterfall Systems, Rod End Supply, LRB Manufacturing, Penske Shocks, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Diversified Machine, Inc., Fischer Body Shop, Simpson, Hoosier, Conroy Bleeders, ARP Fasteners, Indy Race Parts, Massey's Truck and Tank Repair, RMS Racing Engines, Pro Powder Coating, Korte Transportation, Rocket Graphics, Lucas Oil, Weld Racing, Spike Products, Maxwell, Red Onion Lounge, Engler, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, FSR Racing Products, RH2, Canyon Apparel, JEI, Total Seal Piston Rings, JE Pistons and Wings Unlimited for all their help!.
Jesse swept two features in one night when USAC visited Grandview Speedway (Another Hein Brothers "Action" Photograph)
Bill W MediaMonroe, IA USA[email protected]
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