Cody Hodgson: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Race Report
LOUDON, N.H. – Cody Hodgson of Escalon, Calif., finished 16th in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East New England 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday, July 15. Hodgson struggled with a bad set of tires in qualifying that would give him the 34th starting position. After making some adjustments and getting a new set of tires, Hodgson began pushing forward into the Top-20 to bring the Dave Davis Motorsports No. 03 Ocala Gran Prix Dodge home 16th place in his first career race on an oval measuring a mile or more in length. The rally over the final half of the race helped Hodgson jump two spots in the K&N Pro Series East standings to ninth.
WHO: Cody Hodgson, Escalon, Calif.
TEAM: Dave Davis Motorsports No. 03 Ocala Gran Prix Dodge
CREW CHIEF: Robbie Harrison, Pownal, Maine
WHAT: NASCAR K&N Pro Series East New England 125
WHERE: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H. (1.058-mile oval)
STARTED: 34th
FINISHED: 16th
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
LAST RACE: June 18, VisitHamptonVA 175, Langley Speedway, Langley, Va. (15th)
NEXT RACE: July 23, JEGS 150, Columbus Motor Speedway, Columbus, Ohio (.333-mile)
POINTS POSITION: 9th
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CODY, SUM UP YOUR WEEKEND.
“It was definitely a long weekend. We had a pretty balanced car in practice, and we thought we were going to be pretty good in qualifying. We went out for qualifying and we just had no grip with the set of tires we put on. We weren’t really sure what we were going to have in the race, but we knew that in practice we had a good car.
“The first 30 laps I still had absolutely no grip, couldn’t get off the corner and I struggled for a while. Then we came in and pitted. We made some adjustments to the car, went to new tires, and the car was completely different. We over-adjusted it a little bit and I was moving up pretty good. When we got to the last 30 laps we got a little over-stuck.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS CLEAN AIR ON THESE BIG TRACKS?
“Clean air played a big role. There’s a big difference in being on your own, and I was in the middle of the pack most of the time. When we did get out, I was able to pull away from the guys I was racing with.
“It’s such a big track and everything gets so fanned out that you’ve got to keep the momentum up. You can’t really dive-bomb people or do anything too obnoxious.”
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU LEARNED SOME THINGS FOR WHEN YOU COME BACK HERE IN SEPTEMBER?
“Yeah we definitely learned some things. And just for me, getting some seat time at these tracks is important. It takes time. I definitely feel comfortable on the track here.
“It’s just a matter of finding the setup for me. I think we have a good idea of where we need to be. It’s just unfortunate the way we came in. I mean we were in the Top-20, and that keeps us pretty decent in points.”