Brandon Hermiller "Rearing & Ready" For Big Berlin Twin Race Weekend
Team Hoping Testing Will Help Build On Recent Success (Special from H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Racing Team)
July 16, 2014
Walker, Michigan (July 16, 2014) – Brandon Hermiller and his H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford
Fusion Team will be pulling “double duty” this weekend at their home track, Berlin
Raceway. To say the affable young Michigan charger is looking forward to Friday’s 100-
lap JEGS-CRA All Stars Tour event and Saturday’s 251-lap ARCA/CRA Super Series
battles would be an understatement.
“We’re rearing and ready to go,” Hermiller said of his return to action after a three-week
hiatus from behind the wheel of his No. 6 race car. “It’s definitely the biggest race
weekend of the year so far for our team and we’re looking to continue to momentum we’ve
been building on this season.
“No, we haven’t been out there on the track racing during the last few weeks, but that
doesn’t mean we’ve been letting the grass grow under our feet,” said Hermiller. “We’ve
been doing everything we can to get as prepared as possible for this weekend and the
upcoming races on our schedule.
“We’ve tested at Kalamazoo and a few times at Berlin, in addition to putting in a lot of
hours in our shop,” said the affable 21-year-old driver. “The testing included quite a bit of time spent on the Berlin track last Friday. We had really old tires, but ran significant enough laps that we think will help us out a lot there this weekend.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge competing in both races this weekend, but it will be a lot of fun to see how much all our hard work pays off,” added Hermiller, a former Pro Stock champion and Most Popular Driver at Berlin Raceway. “It’ll be two different cars, but we are confident we can have them both dialed in to be successful both nights.”
Hermiller returns to action on his home track after showing winning potential in his most recent visits. He led his first-ever laps at Berlin in Super Late Model competition back on June 7 en route to a fifth-place finish. In his last visit, Hermiller qualified seventh and finished fifth in his heat race before posting another solid top-five finish in the feature.
“I think we’re beginning to turn the corner and be a big threat to win in the Supers (Super Late Model division) at Berlin,” Hermiller offered. “We’re getting the consistency where it needs to be, leading laps and running up front. We have a lot of momentum going and hopefully we can keep it up this weekend when the big guys roll into town.
“One of the biggest things I think we have going for us is what we have engine-wise,” said Hermiller. “I am confident that we’re not going to get out-horsepowered, that’s for sure. The crate engine we’ll run on Friday will be plenty strong enough to get the job done. The engine that Ernie (Elliott) has back for us to use in Saturday’s race definitely can power the winning car. He’s the best in the business. We are so proud to get to run his stuff and of the great relationship we have built with him.
“We’re looking at this weekend as having two opportunities to shine and make statements for the progress our team has made and the direction we’re heading,” said Hermiller. “It’s going to be challenging, it’s going to be fun and we’re hoping to turn heads with our performances out there.”
This weekend’s schedule begins on Thursday with practice going from 2 p.m. till 6 p.m. Friday’s schedule features three practice sessions for the ARCA-CRA Super Series cars beginning at 1:30 p.m. Practice for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour begins at 2 p.m. with qualifying slated for 5:30 p.m. Friday night’s race program gets under way at 6:30 p.m. and will include the Berlin 100 Presented by JEGS.com and Boyne Machine Company for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour. The Berlin Budweiser Outlaw Late Models and the Top Speed Modifieds will also race in Friday night’s program and there will be a 15-minute practice session for the Battle at Berlin 251 competitors.
Pits open on Saturday at 12 noon. A one-hour practice for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Battle at Berlin 251 cars is on tap at 3 p.m., with qualifying for the Battle at Berlin 251 beginning at 5:10 p.m. There will be an on track autograph session with all the drivers starting at 5:50 p.m. The race program will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will include the Battle at Berlin 251 Presented by Primera Plastics plus racing action from the Berlin Sportsman Division. The 251-lap feature event will pay out over $100,000 in purse and cash bonuses, for one of the largest purses template Super Late Model teams will race for all season. The race will pay $10,000 to win down to an astounding $2000 to start for the 30-car starting field. Berlin Raceway will also pay a $20 lap-leader bonus for all 251 laps.
Tickets for Friday’s events are just $12. Activities include a tailgating competition and DJ Keller spinning tunes in the Left Turn Lounge before and after the action. The night will feature $1 beer and $1 hotdogs. Saturday’s admission charge will be only $15. Rock band “Borrowed Time” will provide entertainment before and after the racing.
Speed 51 TV is offering PPV on-line coverage of both nights of racing. The two-day package cost is $24.99, while a single-day is offered at $14.99. For additional information, please log on to http://speed51.com/51livetv-events.
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)
