7/9/2015
Joshua Hodges
Indiana Sprintweek Preview
We're nearing the end of our stay here in Indiana and I've been pleased with some of the results we've seen. We were able to capture a 2nd and a 4th place finish at Lincoln Park Speedway in June and we also visited Kokomo Speedway, Tri-State Speedway, Gas City I-69 Speedway, and Bloomington Speedway to get some valuable laps.
This past weekend we raced at Lincoln Park two times, Friday with MSCS and Saturday with USAC. After a bad pill draw Friday I started 6th in the heat and got to 3rd quickly behind Kevin Thomas Jr. and Shane Cottle. I was able to catch them and battle a bit before I cut the RR tire on debris, ending our heat race. With no heat race points we had to race the B from the back and I missed the racetrack so we weren't able to make the transfer for the A. I was really disappointed but we came back stronger the next day. Unfortunately we lost a cylinder in hot laps on Saturday and had to change motors, missing qualifying. That meant we had to start 10th in our heat and everything lined up right for me to drive up to 3rd in order to transfer to the A. This time we tightened way up and I'd say it worked; without a qualifying time we had to start 22nd and after a few laps I got the hang of things and started moving forward. I got to about 10th before biking one corner which set me back to about 15th again, and by the checkered flag I was able to get back to 12th. It was a lot of fun getting to pass cars and move forward with that caliber of drivers. The final day, Sunday, we went to Kokomo Speedway for the first night of the Indiana Sprint Car Series TV races. I qualified 3rd in my group and ran 2nd in my eventful heat race to put me starting 5th in the A Feature. Early on I held my own running the cushion until the bottom came in and I got shuffled back. I was about 13th on a late restart when I moved to the bottom and made some shock adjustments to move forward and finish 8th. It was a great experience for sure; I don't ever remember having to race that hard for a spot that far back.
This weekend we set our sights on Indiana Sprintweek. It kicks off tomorrow night at Gas City I-69 Speedway and continues on to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday and Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday. We then have a two day break and we're back at it on Wednesday. A big thanks to Jon Stanbrough once again for giving us a place to keep the car and to Chuck Jackson and Dan Appel for making this all possible. Thanks as well to Brad Alexander, John Stroud, and Mark Rosborough for their help in the past month. I'm looking forward to working with Jake Argo and David Landis again along with my dad and brother. I'll try to keep our social media outlets as updated as I can so keep an eye on those the next week!
Submitted By: Jack Hodges
