With Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Bubba Pollard and Ty Majeski all entered in last week’s Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin, local Super Late Model points leader Austin Hull never imagined he would be the one to prevail.
Berlin Raceway’s final crown-jewel race of 2025 went about as perfect as possible for the Belmont, Michigan native. After carefully saving his equipment throughout the night, Hull went on the offensive during the closing stages, picking off his competition before making the winning pass on Blake Rowe with nine laps remaining.
Hull experienced plenty of emotions at Berlin that evening as he climbed out of his No. 20 Super Late Model to celebrate the most prestigious victory of his career to date. Countless hours have been expensed on building up Hull’s program into something that could hold steady with the seasoned Berlin regulars.
Now he is forever immortalized as a Battle at Berlin champion.
“This is like the culmination of everything I’ve ever worked for,” Hull said. “It’s crazy, and it’s still weird because it hasn’t completely set in. I’m so back in the normal swing of things right now, and I almost blanked out that we won. For someone like me to be able to do that, it just seems unreal.”
The journey to Hull’s Battle at Berlin triumph started in 2014 when he began competing in Berlin’s weekly Sportsman division.
Hull needed some time to acclimate himself to the Sportsman cars, but his patience and dedication eventually rewarded him with two championships. With the Sportsman class figured out, the next step for Hull was to advance to Berlin’s premier Super Late Model division starting in 2020.
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic ended up delaying Hull’s venture into Super Late Models until the following year. Hull admitted the 2021 season at Berlin was an arduous experience, as he regularly struggled to maintain a competitive pace with the older chassis he and his father David had purchased.
Undeterred despite the poor results, Hull remained committed to finding success in a Super Late Model just like he did with the Sportsman cars. He attached front and rear clips manufactured by short track veteran Johnny VanDoorn for the 2022 season before replacing the old car with a brand new chassis.
Consistent results eventually started to manifest for Hull. He obtained his first Super Late Model checkered at Berlin last season before embarking on a stellar 2025 that has now seen him visit Victory Lane four times.
Hull said it has been difficult to flourish at Berlin due to the competitive depth of the Super Late Model class along with different tire combinations that have been utilized in recent years. Yet the unpredictability of Berlin’s weekly program has made Hull a more vigilant competitor, particularly when it comes to understand the limits of his car.
“When we raced Sportsman, those cars didn’t have a lot of tire or downforce and were really heavy,” Hull said. “You had to really muscle those things around the track. With the late models, you really have to rely on the car doing half of the work. Basically, you have to try and not make any bad symptom you have worse by making it do something that it’s not wanting to do.
“I don’t think we’ve mastered the car yet, and I feel like there’s a lot of speed left on the table.”
Hull entered the Battle at Berlin expecting to continue his ongoing learning curve with the Late Model despite his status as the points leader. In three previous Battle at Berlin appearances, Hull’s best finish was a ninth-place run he obtained during his first attempt in 2022.
With the Battle at Berlin being a points race, Hull knew one mistake could unravel the momentum he had curated throughout the year. The plan was to ride around during the first 150 laps and keep the car in one piece so he could salvage a solid points night at the very least.
Instead, Hull led a solid portion of the race, oscillating between the front and middle of the pack while being conservative with the tires. As the laps clicked off, Hull gradually cycled back to the front of the field, with a fellow Berlin competitor in Rowe being the only obstacle standing in the way of a crown-jewel victory.
After a spirited battle, Hull emerged victorious not only in front of the Berlin regulars, but also ahead of drivers who possessed NASCAR, Snowball Derby and All American 400 wins on their resumes.
“Honestly, I’m super proud of my team and being able to progress like we have” Hull said. “It still is kind of one of those feelings where it doesn’t feel real. You never put yourself in that position where [you have] these guys who are super competitive wherever they go [and I feel like] I can beat them.
“It doesn’t make sense for someone like me to be able to do that, but the progress we’ve had this year has been phenomenal.”
Hull’s Battle at Berlin triumph also bolstered his advantage in the Berlin Super Late Model standings to 133 points over Brian Campbell, who finished 29th that evening due to a mechanical issue. A championship in Berlin’s premier division is all but assured for Hull with two more clean points races to close out 2025.
Even though Hull now faces minimal resistance for the Super Late Model track championship, he does not plan on being complacent in the final weeks. Each race is an opportunity for Hull to build on what he has learned throughout the year, all of which can be applied to a potential title defense in 2026.
“We’re going to do just like we do every week, which is to go in and make sure we execute,” Hull said. “With Berlin as finicky as it is, a quarter inch of stagger can win or lose you the race by four spots. It’s very critical that we need to be very disciplined, keep our heads down and stay humble.”
Hull knows the feeling of celebrating a Berlin track title, but doing so in a Super Late Model would carry plenty of euphoria and catharsis.
It was only a few years ago that Hull was struggling simply to hold his own in Berlin’s top short track division. He is now at the top of the pedestal at Berlin with a Tekton 250 Battle at Berlin victory to his name and a Super Late Model title within his grasp.
Reaching this point in his career required tremendous sacrifice on Hull’s behalf. He credited David, VanDoorn and every other member of his support system for providing him the confidence and motivation necessary to become a driver capable of besting many of the top names in both NASCAR and short-track competition.
“When my dad and I first started out, [my goal] was to race late models and be good in those,” Hull said. “I had never raced anything up until [Sportsman], and I’m not going to lie, I was terrible my first year. I would have never thought we’d be here. Just to be able to be where we’re at is a testament to the people around me.
“I couldn’t do it alone.”
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