Brandon Hermiller Looking Forward To Return Trip To Auto City Speedway
H.S. Die/VISI-TST Ford Fusion Driver Recalls “Learning Curve” at the 0.393-Mile Oval (Special from H.S. Die/VISI-TST/Ford Racing)
August 7, 2014
Walker, Michigan (August 7, 2014) – Promising young Michigan racer Brandon Hermiller
says he “can’t wait” to get back to the tight little 0.393-mile Auto City Speedway for
Saturday night’s Auto City 100 JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour battle. The driver of the H.S. Die/
VISI-TST Ford can’t help laughing when he thinks back on his “love-hate relationship” with
the historical facility located in Clio, Mich.
“I honestly hated the track the first time we raced there,” Hermiller chuckled as he
recalled his first visit to the track in 2012. “We were absolutely terrible that night. Turns 1
and 2 were just so tight. I thought, ‘man, this is about the craziest layout I had ever
seen. There is no room to race down there. What fool is responsible for designing this?’
It was a pretty short learning curve for us.
“Now, if you fast-forward to today, I can sincerely say that it’s one of my favorite tracks of
them all,” said the easygoing 21-year-old charger. “It was a situation where we adapted
to it quickly and learned to drive it during that very first race. It’s not like any other track;
it’s a monster of its own for sure.
“The biggest thing about racing there was learning to get our car handling well on the bottom of the track,” Hermiller said. “The key to success I feel is getting your car to handle coming off the corners and especially being able to work the traffic.”
Hermiller qualified ninth and finished 14th in the August 2012 JEGS race at Auto City. He came back last season and ran both JEGS and CRA Super Series races. He qualified third and finished 12th in the Silver Bullet 100 JEGS race last August.
In last August’s Mid-Michigan Toyota Dealers 125 ARCA-CRA Super Series race, Hermiller qualified fourth and appeared to have a car capable of winning. He ran in the top five the majority of the race and was battling for second in the waning laps. Contact with another car relegated him to an eighth-place finish. Hermiller recalls the race as “a great finish that slipped away.”
“That was our most recent race at Auto City and it gives us so much confidence as we head back,” said Hermiller. “I think we have made so much progress at that track since our first race there. With the competitive races we had on that track last season, it was like we placed a bull’s-eye on the calendar for this weekend entering the season. We are coming in there with such a positive attitude. We’ve been building a lot of momentum with our consistency and a lot of good finishes over the last couple of months.
“They already have more than 30 cars on the entry list, so it’s shaping up to be one of the best races of the year,” Hermiller said. “I think we can get back there, qualify well and run up front. With a little luck, I think we can win the race. We’re heading in there with such a positive attitude. We just have to get out there, do our best and get the job done.”
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.
This weekend’s action at Auto City Speedway kicks off with an open practice session on Friday scheduled from 3:00 p.m. till dusk. Saturday’s card sees pit gates opening at 1:30 p.m. and the JEGS drivers’ meeting at 3:15 p.m. JEGS practice is set to begin at 4:00 p.m. with qualifying slated for 6:15 p.m. Racing will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the local Pure Stock, Street Stock and Figure-8 divisions also in action.
Tickets for Saturday’s big night of racing are $20 for adults and $5 for children 6-10. As always at Auto City, kids 5 and under will be admitted free.
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For additional information on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, please visit their site at http://www.cra-racing.com. You can follow them on Twitter at @CRAracing and they are on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation
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For additional information on Auto City Speedway, please visit their website at www.autocityspeedway.com or call the track at (810) 686-9500. The track is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Auto-City-Speedway/46344191690.
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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)
