Brandon Hermiller Happy To Return Home For Saturday's Berlin 125
H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion Driver Confident Berlin Raceway Experience Will Be Beneficial (Special from H.S. Die Motorsports)
May 29, 2014
Walker, Michigan (May 29, 2014) – For young Michigan racer Brandon Hermiller, there’s
nothing that gets him pumped up like returning to his home track, Berlin Raceway. The
driver of the H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion says he’s “doubly excited” about heading
back to Berlin to wage battle in Saturday’s Berlin 125 ARCA/CRA Super Series race.
“It’s always really cool to race at our home track,” said Hermiller, a former Berlin Raceway
Pro Stock Champion and Most Popular Driver. “Man, we’ve logged so many laps around
that track, but it certainly never gets old. The track is challenging and we always look to
learn something every time we race there. I think that with all the experience we have at
Berlin, it adds to our conference level, especially for a race like this when the CRA Super
Series guys come to town.
“But the fact is that we’re doubly excited about this weekend’s race at Berlin,” said the
21-year-old charger. “After trying to make a new setup package work for the first couple
of races there, we’re going back to our old reliable setup. We spent a lot of time and
effort working with the rear-end geometry, trying out new suspension parts and all. It
might be something that we look at on down the road when it’s more proven.
“We’ll be coming back to Berlin this weekend with the same setup our car had the night we were our strongest last season,” Hermiller offered. “Nothing fancy or trick at all; just what we know works and are really comfortable running.”
“The biggest plus for us returning to the old proven setup is the adjustability factor,” said crew chief/spotter Josh Slade. “The new stuff was supposed to be effective in getting the rear of the car equally as strong as the front. What we found was that it made our car so tight that Brandon was at a deficit from the first lap on. We pretty much boxed ourselves in because no matter what you threw at it as far as changes, we were still stuck with a tight race car.
“Brandon is quick to tell you that he doesn’t like a tight-handling car,” said Slade, the 25-year-old second generation racer whose late father (Brian Slade) was a noted engine-builder. “A perfect-handling car is always the objective, for sure, but he would always prefer a loose race car any day over a tight-handling one. That’s definitely fine with me.
“Like I’ve always heard, loose is fast in racing,” chuckled Slade. “Seriously, it’s gonna be a nice change to get back to Berlin with an adjustable car. We’ll have a chassis that responds to a little massaging if needed and we know we’re going to have a much more comfortable driver behind the wheel this time around.”
“With so many of the regulars in the Supers (Super Late Model division at Berlin Raceway) running with the CRA guys who are coming in this weekend, it will definitely be the most competitive race of the season so far,” Hermiller added. “We are hoping that all the experience we have there and going back to our proven setup will help us run up front on Saturday night. We’re pumped up and really looking forward to it.”
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.
Friday’s open practice, scheduled from 4:00 p.m. till 8:00 p.m., kicks off this weekend’s schedule at Berlin. Saturday’s busy schedule begins with the ARCA/CRA Super Series drivers’ meeting at 2:45 p.m. Practice begins at 3:30 p.m. Qualifying is set for 5:20 p.m., followed by an on-track autograph session at 5:50 p.m. Racing will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m., with the Berlin Raceway Four-Cylinder, Sportsman and Modified divisions all also in action.
Saturday’s card at Berlin is being billed as “I Love the 80’s Night,” with local celebrity “DJ Keller” spinning the tunes from 4:00 p.m. till 6:00 p.m. Saturday’s admission charges are $15 for adults, $8 for students and $5 for kids.
LAST WEEK: Brandon Hermiller competed in the Calypso Lemonade 150 at Illiana Motor Speedway. Promoted as “Border Wars II,” the race was a combination battle of the ARCA/CRA Super Series and the ARCA Midwest Series. Hermiller qualified 20th and started the 150-lap feature on the half-mile track from the 26th position. He battled to a 14th-place finish and won the C.V. Products Hard Charger Award. “We just went the wrong way choosing the carburetor,” explained Hermiller.
“We went with the four-barrel and the two-barrel was the way to go. We just had so much power coming off the corners that we burned our tires off. If you can’t use that power and spin the tires, it’s like carrying a knife to a gun fight. It was another weekend of learning for us. We were still on the lead lap at the halfway break. We were running at the finish. We just burned the tires off the thing with the four-barrel carb.”
For additional information on the ARCA/CRA Super Series Tour, please visit the CRA site at http://www.cra-racing.com For additional information on Berlin Raceway, please visit their site at http://www.berlinraceway.com/. The track is active on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/wherespeedbelongs You can follow them on Twitter at http://www.berlinraceway.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)
