Cody Hodgson: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Iowa Speedway Race Report
NEWTON, Iowa – Cody Hodgson of Escalon, Calif., finished 12th in NASCAR K&N Pro Series Pork ‘Be Inspired’ 175 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on Saturday, May 21. Hodgson finished eighth among K&N Pro Serie East teams in the event and ran as high as fourth in the second half of the combination K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West teams. Hodgson qualified the Dave Davis Motorsports entry 12th out of 58 cars to give the team its best-ever qualifying effort in the event. With his finish, Hodgson moved unofficially to fourth in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
WHO: Cody Hodgson, Escalon, Calif.
TEAM: Dave Davis Motorsports No. 03 Ocala Gran Prix Dodge
WHAT: NASCAR K&N Pro Series Pork ‘Be Inspired’ 175
WHERE: Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa (.875-mile oval)
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 12th
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
LAST RACE: April 28, Blue Ox 100, Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va. (15th-place)
NEXT RACE: June 4, Bowman Gray 150, Bowman Gray Stadium, Winston-Salem, N.C. (.25-mile oval)
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CODY, HOW WAS YOUR RACE?
We were really good in practice and qualifying. We were good in the race, too, but during the first (green flag) stint, the shifter came loose. The yellow flag came out, I was going down through the gears and the shifter was floppping all over the place. I had to do every start in third gear until about Lap 40.
One one of the restarts, I got hit from behind and spun sideways because I couldn’t get going – so we came in (and pitted) and took fuel and fixed the shifter.
I was fast all night, up until we put two tires on to get track position. I kind of lost the balance of the car, but the car was way, way loose for the first 10 laps. I gradually picked some off, but we just were not good as some of the cars ahead of us that had four tires.
ALL IN ALL, IT WASN’T A BAD NIGHT FOR THE TEAM.
We’re confident. It was my first time at Iowa, and I think we did really well. We were fifth in practice and gained two-tenths (of a second) in qualifying. Yeah, I wanted to finish in the Top-10, but 12th out of the almost 60 cars that were there is still pretty good.
Right out of the box from the get-go, the car was right up to speed. The guys did an awesome job setting up the car for the weekend. It was just a matter of me getting up to speed on such a big track.
HOW WAS RACING AT IOWA SPEEDWAY FOR YOU?
I got up to speed right away, but to feel really comfortable – 100 perent – it probably took me 15 minutes or so in practice. It probably takes me a little longer than some of the other guys that have been doing this for a while.