Illiana Border Wars Battle Up Next For Brandon Hermiller

H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion Driver Looking Forward To Combined ARCA/CRA & Midwest Event

(Special from H.S. Die Racing Team)

May 21, 2014

Walker, Michigan (May 21, 2014) – Brandon Hermiller posted a strong top-10 finish in his

only visit to Illiana Motor Speedway, the half-mile paved oval located in Schererville, Ind. 

The young driver of the H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion can’t wait to get back to Illiana for

this weekend’s Calypso Lemonade 150.

“The only time we’ve ever raced there was back in 2012 when we were running the JEGS

car (JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour) with the crate engine,” Hermiller said of the track located

some 35 miles south of Chicago.  “I really liked the track from the first time I saw it.  It’s

relatively flat and I just seem to do well on the flatter tracks. I like to think that I’m a pretty

well-rounded competitor, but I guess you could say that flat tracks are my strong suit.

“It has been two years since our last visit, so I’ve been watching videos of the racing there

in order to get reacquainted with the layout,” offered the promising 21-year-old Michigan

racer.  “When we get to the track on Sunday, I’ll watch a little of the practice to make sure

I remember the fast line around the place.

“We had a pretty solid race day there the last time and I am expecting the same this

weekend, too,” Hermiller said.  “I remember that we ran strong all race long and finished 10th.  It was a 100-lap feature and we were really coming on up through the field toward the end.  I think if we’d had another 25 laps, we’d had a great shot at a top-five finish.”

Hermiller understands that there will be stronger competition and adjustments he has to make since his last visit to the facility that opened in 1947 as a half-mile dirt track.

“There definitely will be a ton of top drivers and teams there this weekend,” Hermiller said.  “The biggest difference we’ll face will be in the amount of power we have with the Supers versus the JEGS cars.  These Super Late Models are so much fun to drive and our Ernie Elliott-built engine certainly provides us the horsepower under the hood that we need.

“Man, I can’t wait to get back to Illiana,” said Hermiller.  “We’re hoping to turn some heads with a great qualifying run and solid performances in the races.”

Hermiller’s No. 6 H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion also carries sponsorship from River Hills Lodge, West End Body Shop, T.A.A.G. Tooling and Accessories Group, Stehouwer Frozen Foods and Beaver Research Company during the 2014 season.

          

Monday’s race will mark the second time this season that the ARCA/CRA Super Series drivers and ARCA Midwest Tour competitors battled each other on the same track and on the same weekend.  Chad Finley was the fastest qualifier for the April 12th 7-Up 150 at Toledo Speedway, while Brian Campbell claimed the victory.

This weekend’s event is being billed as “Border Wars II” as the two series unite once again for the Calypso Lemonade 150.  The pit gate at Illiana Motor Speedway opens at 12:00 noon on Sunday.  A mandatory drivers’ meeting at 1:30 p.m. will be followed by practice beginning at 2:00 p.m.  Practice ends at 6:00 p.m.

Monday’s schedule sees the pit gate opening at 8:00 a.m.  “Happy Hour” practice begins at 9:30 a.m. Hedman Headers/EDCO Welding Qualifying will begin at 12:30 p.m., with an on-track autograph session on tap at 1:30 p.m.  Racing begins at 2:30 p.m. with SLM qualifying races first up.  That will be followed by Street Stock and Pure Stock heat races.  The SLM Fast Dash Top 16 and SLM Last Chance battles will help set the starting field for the SLM feature.  The Street Stock and Pure Stock features are next.  Then, the Calypso Lemonade 150 drivers will be gridded, introduced and given the green flag.

Starting Field:  The Top 16 in time will be locked into the main event. The top 16 will run a qualifying event with an invert of 12 cars that will race to determine the starting spots for the main event based on each drivers finish. Cars not locked in will run transfer heats starting straight up based on their qualifying times with 3 cars transferring from each race for positions 17-22. Remaining cars will run a last chance race starting straight up based on their finish in the transfer heats with 2 cars transferring. Provisionals 25 and 26 will be ARCAMT Points, 27 will be Highest Touring Star or ARCAMT Points. Positions 28-30 will be ARCA/CRA Super Series Points.

LAST WEEK:  Brandon Hermiller competed in the second night of action for the Super Late Models at Berlin Raceway.  After turning in the fourth-fastest lap in practice, he qualified eighth.  He finished third in his heat race.  In the 60-lap feature, Hermiller started third and finished 12th, running in the lead lap at the checkered flag.  “We just weren’t able to get the handling right on our H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford,” Hermiller offered.  “Our biggest problem was that we just couldn’t get off the corners like we needed to.  That led to us really getting clobbered down the straightaways.  It was frustrating, but we did finish in the lead lap.  We’ll be much improved when we return to Berlin in a couple of weeks.”

For additional information on the ARCA/CRA Super Series Tour, please visit the CRA site at http://www.cra-racing.com/.  For information on the ARCA Midwest Tour, please visit http://arcamidwesttour.com .  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)