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(Bill W) October 20, 2009 – The last two weeks have been time well spent in the Lone Star State for Jesse “The Rocket” Hockett. The disappointment of a rainout in the finale at the Cowtown Nationals dampened the excitement of drawing the pole, but he bounced back last weekend at the Devil’s Bowl with a top five finish and a charge from the tail of the field with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Series. This weekend, he’ll pilot the Harold Main #35 in Tulare, California for the Trophy Cup. Both Texas shows were to be Friday/Saturday affairs, but rain dictated both to be run on Saturday and Sunday. On October 10, the Cowtown Nationals finally got underway south of Kennedale. Jesse went from seventh to second in his heat race, earning a chance amongst the 71 cars assembled to draw in the first four rows of the feature. “We had a solid night there the first night at Cowtown,” he says. “We didn’t have that good of a draw, but we were able to move our way up through the heat.” The Warsaw, Missouri driver drew in the fourth row for the preliminary feature event, and ended up fourth at the checkers, locking himself into Sunday’s finale. “We had a good battle there with (Terry) McCarl for awhile, and once we got ahead of him, we were able to keep some pretty good cars behind us,” he says. “We had a pretty good night. It was a good feeling, because we hadn’t had much luck lately with the 360 deal, and the size of the track is similar to Little Rock.” Luck shined on Jesse when he drew the pole for Sunday’s $8,000 to win finale, but Mother Nature put an end to it after the B main events were complete. “We couldn’t have asked for a better redraw,” he says. “The car felt perfect in hot laps, but there’s not much you can do about the rain. We didn’t get the chance to go for the $8,000, but the track paid out the purse, so we couldn’t really complain.” Last Saturday, the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 was running well on the big ˝ mile in Mesquite. Jesse finished second in his heat after starting fourth. “We’ve never really run the best at Devil’s Bowl,” he says. “We have a third there, but we’ve never really been consistent. We tried some things with the car that seemed to work for us. We were able to move up a couple of spots in the heat.” Jesse fell one spot short of locking himself into Sunday’s finale, as he ran fifth in the feature. “We were able to make the redraw, but that didn’t matter much because we drew eight,” he says of his starting spot. “We were able to move forward to fourth and ran there a long time. Later in the race, we were held up in lapped traffic and Sam Hafertepe Jr. got by me. That dropped us from locking in and we had to start all over the next night.” The draw bit the Ultimate Challenge champion on Sunday. He ran fourth in his heat after starting sixth, and fell one spot short of a transfer through the B. “It was as good as I’ve ever been at Devil’s Bowl, but Sunday was frustrating,” he says. “We had a tough draw and a tough heat race. That put us in a tough B main with Tony Bruce Jr. and Jason Johnson starting on the front row. Once they got in clean air, they were pretty much gone and we had to settle for third.” Jesse was forced to take a provisional and started scratch on the 24-car field. He would end up in eleventh. “We really had a good start,” he says. “We were up to twelfth in a hurry. Then everyone started getting to the top side where we were running and it became a bit one-lane. I was running with Sammy (Swindell) most of the way. I don’t know what happened, but he took off there the last few laps and I stayed where I was at. I guess that’s why he’s Sammy. We settled for eleventh. Starting 24th, that wasn’t bad. I was looking at the guys in front of me and couldn’t find any that would be easy to pass, so we’ll take it.” While work in the shop prepares the team for the Short Track Nationals in Little Rock at the end of the month, Jesse will head to the Trophy Cup this weekend at the Tulare Thunderbowl in California. “We’re partnering with Harold Main again out there as a teammate to Wayne Johnson,” he says. “The Trophy Cup should be a fun deal and I’m looking forward to it. This week, we’re getting the #13 ready for the Short Track Nationals, and getting the (Jesse Hockett Racing) #77 ready for Kyle Hirst (from Loomis, California). He’s coming out to the Short Track Nationals with the whole crew including Rod Tiner. I think Kyle has proven himself to deserve a shot in this sport outside of California.” On the Web To learn more about Jesse “The Rocket” Hockett, including updated results and photos, visit http://JesseHockett.com! T-Shirt Trivia! Last week’s answer: Dickie Gaines won the first race that Jesse ran at the Lucas Oil Speedway. Last week’s winner: Eric Otteson from Salida, California This week’s question: At how many tracks has Jesse won at in Indiana? Each week, we’ll be giving away a Jesse Hockett t-shirt to our trivia winner! We will draw a winner from the correct answers submitted on Friday following the release. Submit your trivia answer, along with your name, address and t-shirt size to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net! Put "Hockett Trivia" in the subject line. Rocket Rambles Jesse has competed in 41 360 winged features this season. He has recorded 16 wins (39%), 29 top fives (71%) and 35 top tens (85%). Wins have come at the $13,000 to win Ronald Laney King of the 360’s at East Bay Raceway near Tampa, Florida, Lake Ozark Speedway near Eldon, Missouri (4), Double X Speedway near California, Missouri (7), US36 Raceway near Osborn, Missouri, Southern Oregon Speedway near Medford, Cottage Grove Speedway near Cottage Grove, Oregon and Willamette Speedway near Lebanon, Oregon. Sanctions have included ASCS-Rebel, ASCS-Northwest and ASCS-Midwest. Partner Spotlight – Indy Race Parts Jesse says, “Indy Race Parts has everything from entry level stuff to top of the line equipment. They are always there for me and Bernie helps me with my car when I’m in the area too.” Indy Race Parts is located on Gasoline Alley in Indianapolis. Visit their website at www.IndyRaceParts.com today! Rocket Hockett “Rocket Hockett” is an up close look at the past, present and future of Jesse Hockett. To receive "Rockett Hockett", send an e-mail to sprntcar@iowatelecom.net with "Hockett" in the subject line. Jesse would like to thank the partners of the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch team, including Parker Store of Phoenix, AMS Waterfall Systems, Rod End Supply, LRB Manufacturing, Penske Shocks, Butlerbuilt Professional Seat Systems, Diversified Machine, Inc., Fischer Body Shop, Simpson, Hoosier, Conroy Bleeders, ARP Fasteners, Indy Race Parts, Massey’s Truck and Tank Repair, RMS Racing Engines, Pro Powder Coating, Korte Transportation, Rocket Graphics, Lucas Oil, Weld Racing, Spike Products, Maxwell, Red Onion Lounge, Engler, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, FSR Racing Products, RH2, Canyon Apparel, JEI, Total Seal Piston Rings, JE Pistons and Wings Unlimited for all their help!.
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