@Jake_Hooker38 •@SouthBuxton •CHATHAM-KENT, Ont. – June 30, 2016 – Jake Hooker continued the impressive start to his 2016 season with three consecutive top-five finishes in the month of June at South Buxton Raceway. The Chatham-Kent teenager has been nothing short of impressive during his debut UMP Late Model campaign at the Merlin, ON track.
Hooker narrowly missed his first career win in a Late Model on June 18, but still earned a career-best finish of second to go along with a pair of fourth-place finishes on June 11 and June 25.
“We were really close to a win. We had a green-white-checkered finish. The first restart they said that I jumped and it was a really close call,” Hooker explained. “We did another restart and it was pretty close. (Jim Dale Jr.) didn’t pull away from me. It was a good race.”
Hooker has the benefit of a strong crew to prepare his Triple P Farms/Profota’s Garage/AP Engines No.38. Led by his father and former South Buxton racer, Kirk Hooker, as well as Matt Wauthier, Darrian Wauthier and John DeForest, Jake knows he has an impressive car under his seat. Hooker’s mom, Dianne, and sister, Taylor, provide plenty of support as well.
“We have a car capable of winning. Now it’s on the driver, it’s on me. The guns all loaded, I just have to pull the trigger,” Hooker said confidently. “I’ve learned a lot, especially how to drive these corners in a big horsepower car. It’s all a learning curve.”
With all of his early success, it’s easy to forget Hooker is just 15 years old. The Ursuline College student just finished grade 10 and admits there’s still plenty of nerves for him that don’t meet the eye of fans in the grandstand.
“The nerves are still with me. The line-up chute just kills me. You’re the rookie and you look beside you and you have your home track heroes. Sitting in the car still gets me nervous, but that’s to be expected,” said Hooker, adding the horsepower in the car still keeps him up on the wheel.
“When you really hit the gas, the car just shoots like a rocket ship. It’s unbelievable. I don’t really know how to explain it,” he added.
As the calendar flips to July, Hooker has written his final exams for the school year and is excited to focus his attention on racing. With the excitement of his new venture this year, racing had started to fill the youngster’s notebook.
“It was basically like Talladega Nights. I have pretty decent grades, but I was drawing the racecar, drawing the racetrack, and watching videos of South Buxton on the computer,” Hooker said with a laugh.
Hooker spends time during the week reviewing video to get another view of what’s happening while he’s in the car. He’s committed to improving, but also recognizes his achievements thus far are satisfying through his first two months of Late Model racing.
“These top-fives we’re getting are awesome. The team and I are all happy,” Hooker said. “We’ve passed drivers that are the Jimmy Johnson’s and Dale Earnhardt’s of South Buxton. Those are wins in themselves.”
Hooker is set for a busy month of racing at South Buxton with Mid-Season championships on July 9 and the Quad Memorial night on July 23. Half-price admission night is on July 30. Find the complete schedule at www.southbuxtonraceway.ca.
SEASON STATS
Jake Hooker 2016 Season – 6 Races: 0 Wins, 5 Top-5s, 6 Top-10s
GET HOOKED!
Follow Jake Hooker’s rookie Super Late Model season at the following links
Facebook: facebook.com/JakeHookerMotorsports
Twitter: @Jake_Hooker38
Schedule: www.southbuxtonraceway.ca/schedule.
Jake Hooker would like to thank his dedicated corporate sponsors who support his 2016 UMP Super Late Model, including: Country View Golf Course, Triple P Farms, Profota’s Garage, AP Engines, Harris, Vertec Contractors Ltd., Churchill Transport, Steve’s Pizzeria, Waddick Fuels, Ray-Mac Auto Parts, Xtreme Bodies by Hook, RPM Design, Five Star Racecars, Westside, Inside Track Motorsport News, Spira Fire Protection, Chatham Outdoor and Pedal, Leaf Racewear, Drum Chip Inc, and Clayton Johns Media.
Prepared By Clayton Johns Media
claytonjohns@hotmail.com
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