Friday plans for USAC and Bloomington, Indiana were doused by rain, so Jesse diverted the rig supplied by Korte Transportation to the IRA show at 34 Raceway. Armed with his non-wing car, wings were mounted and the “Rocket” laid down the second quick time of the night despite coming out 34th in the 42 car field. “Having a new motor and never having run it with a wing before, it wasn’t too bad,” says Jesse modestly. “That was actually our non-wing car. We threw the wing stuff on at the last minute after Bloomington cancelled. The way it worked out, to be that fast right off the bat had everyone pumped up.”
Jesse had to purchase some headers for his Mopar engine, as the ones he was planning on using were in Indiana. He charged from sixth to second in his heat before lining up inside row four for the 30-lap feature. After passing Brian Brown for second on the fourth lap, he got over the cushion in turn two and slid sideways into the tire barriers. The stop sent him to the tail for the restart with 25 laps remaining. “I hated to make a mistake like that right at the beginning, but it was definitely fun after that,” he says. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had that much power, and the credit goes to Gary Stanton and his Mopar. We were so fast, and I just made a mistake going over the edge there.”
Fast he was, charging all the way back through the field to finish second, and putting on a show for the fans. He passed Brown again with three laps to go. “I was just hoping to get back in the top ten, but we kept picking off car after car,” says Jesse. “It would have been nice to have some yellows to help a bit. I like the track. There are a couple of ways you can race it, and it’s the perfect size. It’s not hard on equipment, but it’s fast.”
The win on Saturday night was nothing new, and the night went well. It started with a heat win from outside row two. “The car was running well and we had the lead by turn three,” says the Warsaw, Missouri driver. “That track was in great condition, and when the car is running that well, it’s easy on the driver.”
One of the legends in sprint car racing, Terry Gray, towed up from the Memphis area to compete. He started outside Jesse in row one for the dash. “With Terry Gray in town, you know it’s going to be tough,” says Jesse, who won anyway. “It was good to have him there. We were lucky enough to start on the pole there, and win the dash.”
The pair started the feature in the same order, and it was the same story. “I kind of got the jump on Terry again there,” says Jesse. “The car was so good, it was pretty much cruise control from there on out. It was an awesome track; it was all the way up against the wall. That’s where I like to run, of course, and it was really fun.”
The World of Outlaws compete at Delaware International Speedway in Delmar on Tuesday and Williams Grove Speedway near Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on Thursday and Friday. Saturday plans are undetermined for the VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 team. One thing is certain. Buch will get to see the car run for the first time in awhile. “I would guess Tom (Buch) is ready to see us race! It will be good to have him around. We’ve been racing around home a lot lately. Running out there will be good, and we’ll return for the USAC swing, of course. It was also good to have Tom VanKeirsbilck with us last week too. It’s always good to have the people who make it all possible with you.”
Hockett set for POWRI midget race at Granite City!
(04.29.09 - JHR Press Release)
Jesse will do double duty this Friday night at Granite City, Illinois. He will drive the #13 VKCC sprint in fhe ASCS National Tour and the #05 Loyet Motorsports midget. Should be an exciting night!
This coming Saturday Jesse will be at Anderson Speedway in Indiana racing the the Finkenbinder #13 sprint car!
(Bill W) May 5, 2009 – Jesse Hockett captured his fifteenth career feature win at the Double X Speedway in California, Missouri on Sunday night. That followed a USAC foray on Saturday on the paved ¼ mile oval in Anderson, Indiana. The Warsaw, Missouri driver will again try to make three races this weekend, as he’ll travel to Bloomington, Indiana on Friday to compete with USAC, then tow to Little Rock to compete with ASCS, before returning home to Double X on Sunday.
Several inches of rain didn’t deter the folks in central Missouri from racing on Sunday night.
An uncharacteristically heavy track greeted the hearty throng at Double X. Jesse started things off with a heat race win in the Jesse Hockett Racing #77. “We started fourth in the heat,” he explains. “Randy Martin was in front of us, so we had to work for it, but we got through there.”
The heavy conditions are unheard of at the California bullring. “It was definitely a curveball with the track being as heavy as it was,” says Jesse. “It never gets that way. It got sticky and we were really rolling good.”
You may as well have penciled in the “Rocket” after he was slotted outside row one for the main event. He powered by pole-sitter Curtis Boyer, and never looked back in lapping all but the top three. “We were able to lead the whole way,” Jesse says modestly. “We were able to lap the whole field up to third, which was our second car (driven by crewman Andy Korte).”
(Bill W) May 12, 2009 – There’s no stopping Jesse “The Rocket” Hockett these days…unless you send him to the back, and run 25 non-stop laps. Then he’ll have to settle for charging back to second! That was the case with the IRA in West Burlington, Iowa last Friday night. He followed that with another win at Lake Ozark Speedway on Saturday night. This week, he’ll head for Delaware (yes, Delaware) to run with the World of Outlaws on Tuesday, and then continue with the series on Thursday and Friday at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. The team will race at either Port Royal or Lincoln Speedway on Saturday.
Jesse featured in Oct. '08 Flat Out Magazine. Read it now!
2009 Schedule
Feb. 20-21 Manzy
Feb. 25-26 Vegas
Feb. 28 Perris
Mar. 7 Watsonville
Mar. 13-14 Chico
2009 Stats
Races: 4
Wins: 1
Top 5's: 1
Top 10's: 2
Fast time: 0
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Local hot shoe Tim Crawley was out front and pulling away early, but Jesse was on the move and caught up to the leader, before an oil leak. “I was really happy how fast we were,” he says. “We really ran Crawley down from eighth. When he went to the top, we were pretty even with him and I liked our chances. Unfortunately, we had an oil line failure. The line came loose and there was oil all over the visor and everywhere else. Sooner or later, I knew it would blow, so I pulled it in to save the motor.”
Rocket Hockett – Oil and Trouble!
(Bill W) June 2, 2009 – A leaking oil line plagued “The Rocket” Jesse Hockett last weekend in two of four races in the Jesse Hockett Racing #77. The leaks were frustrating, because in both cases, the Warsaw, Missouri driver was on the move towards the front. This week, as many as six races await him. In typical “Rocket” fashion, they will be with the wing and without!
Last weekend started at the I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday as part of USCS Speedweek. After running a strong second in his heat race, Jesse lined up outside row four for the main event.
Grandview, Pennsylvania (6.02.09) The annual USAC National Sprint Car Series "Eastern Swing" kicked off last night in a big way for Jesse. He pulled off the unthinkable winning both 25 lap features at Grandview Speedway Tuesday night!
Watch video highlights from both featues right here! Grandview Speedway video highlights.
Stay tuned for more updates from the USAC tour!
USCS traveled on to Monticello, Arkansas on Friday and the Drew County Speedway. Track conditions dictated the finishing order once it was sorted out. Again Jesse started eighth, and this time he finished fifth. “The track took rubber around the tenth lap, and we pretty much followed Shane Stewart to the end,” he says. “We were pretty even with the top guys, so it was frustrating that it was one lane like it was.”
Jesse returned to Lake Ozark Speedway on Saturday, and the field was a strong one, with Knoxville off up in Iowa. After running third in his heat race, Jesse started inside row three of the feature. “We were able to get up to second,” he explains. “Jonathan Cornell got by us. We were just a little too tight, but he did a good job and they were fast.”
The oil problems returned at Double X Speedway near California, Missouri on Sunday night. “We were able to get up to second in the feature again, and we blew an oil line…so we had all kinds of problems with that this week,” says Jesse. “It was the same line, so the problem we had in Little Rock may have caused this one. We probably should have replaced it, and that’s a mistake on my part.”
“The Rocket” is currently third in the USAC National point standings, and their Eastern tour in Pennsylvania is this week. The VKCC Motorsports/Tom Buch #13 will be in action, starting tonight at the Grandview Speedway near Bechtelsville. Wednesday will find USAC at the historic Williams Grove Speedway near Mechanicsburg, and Thursday the series heads to Big Diamond Raceway near Forestville. Saturday night, the series will be at Mercer Raceway Park near Mercer. “We usually run well with USAC, especially on the bigger tracks,” says Jesse. “It’s really fun, and we’ve been good every time out with USAC this year. The Stanton Mopar motors will be good, especially on the tracks we’re going to.”
If you noticed, there was a night off on Friday, but not for Jesse. He will run with the All Star Circuit of Champions at Lernerville Speedway near Sarver. On Sunday, he will be either back at Double X Speedway or in Kokomo, Indiana.
