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Jerrod Hull – Queen’s Royale Down to Last Corner!

Last year, Jerrod Hull was finally able to get the monkey on his back at the Queen’s Royale. This year, one of the most exciting races of the year anywhere ended with him a close second. After leading in the late stages at the event at St. Francois County Raceway near Farmington, Missouri, he was nipped at the line by Jimmy Hurley after a pass in the last corner. The Sikeston, Missouri driver will take his solid point lead in the MOWA series to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois this Friday and Saturday.

Qualifying saw Jerrod time in second quick in the Rockwell American #12, though no one was quite sure about that. “They must have timed them with a stopwatch,” he jokes. “The car who beat us by half a second was on seven cylinders. Everyone was laughing a bit. It was Jason Keith, and he got balled up on the cushion and slowed way down. It was a steel-headed modified motor, and they said it broke the track record. Even Jason was laughing.”

The qualifying effort took some pressure off of the team. “Second quick locked us into the Dash,” says Jerrod. “We did do three or four laps in a heat race and made some changes. We started fourth in the Dash, and we were able to get to third. Things felt really good heading into the feature.”

One of the best races of the year was heating up early on. “We got to second early on behind Tommy Worley,” says Jerrod. “We stayed with him. We had a caution, and after that, Jimmy Hurley was able to get around us. I was running the bottom, and the other two were running up top. The three of us ran in a group for probably ten laps. It was great. The fans said it was an awesome race. It was fun.”

With three laps to go, Jerrod saw a chance for the win. “Worley got balled up on the cushion, and Hurley did the same thing a couple laps later,” he says. “I was able to sneak by both of them and get in the lead. I was about the same speed on the bottom as they were up there.”

The last lap saw everyone holding their breath. “I saw the white flag and I was surprised it was that close to being over,” says Jerrod. “I went into one and two like I had been. In three and four, I went to the top in the last corner and got balled up on the cushion. Jimmy drove underneath me. It looked like it was going to be a slidejob and I wish it would have been. He stuck it through the middle. I went to drive underneath him, but he didn’t come up the track. He inched me out at the checkered.”

After leading taking the white flag, second was little consolation. “It was a heartbreak to get beat like that,” says Jerrod. “We’ve won some like that, and we’ve lost some. You remember how bad it hurts when it happens again. It was just a mistake. I took the wrong line and I paid. It was a fun race though. I haven’t run the bottom like that for a long time. Scott (Bonar) had the car really hooked up down there. We’re hoping to keep that going at Granite City.”

Jerrod and the #12 team would like to thank: Rockwell American, Midland Performance, Super Shox, Sebastian Sand Blasting & Powder Coating, Inc., Chuck’s Small Engines, Don Hamilton, HRP, Lighthouse Christian Center, Logo Daddy, Hoosier Tire, Simpson, Weld, Automotive Machine, Maxim and Heartland Trailer Manufacturing.

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