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Hodges Motorsports Update - Devil's Bowl Speedway

Our night is over at "the bowl" here in Mesquite, TX. It was a good night which for the Napa Auto Parts, BR Suspension Tuning, The Oil Medics, Mesilla Valley Transportation No. 74x race team, which started by pulling pill #3. That was good enough for me to start on the pole of the 2nd heat race. The track was still heavy and really fast, a complete 180 degree turn from last night's super slick track conditions. I was able to get a good start and got out to a good lead in which I was able to strech to almost a straightaway by the end of the green-to-checkers heat race. The car was handling better than ever, and the balance felt really nice. That win was enough to get us in the top 8 re-draw where I drew 6th to start on the outside of row 3 in the A feature. Now the track seemed to get really dry slick in turns 1 and 2, but had good moisture on the top side of 3 and 4. I was able to get a good start and get to the bottom in 1 and 2 in which I came out running 3rd going into turn 3 on the first lap. That is where I would run the majority of the race with everybody tip-toing through 1 and 2 and haulin' wide open through 3 and 4. The was a caution on lap 19 involving the leader spinning in lap traffic, and that moved me up to the 2nd spot. I had been just as fast or faster than the people around me, so at that point I felt like I had a shot at the win. On the restart, I was right on the tail of the leader but was not able to get close enough to him before a red flag came out on the same lap. When the engines were refired, I started off in 2nd again, and was able to hold my own, but I didn't seem to be quite in rythm like I had been before and fell back about 10 car lengths. With about 3 laps to go, I slipped a little in turn 2 and that opened up the door for 3rd to get by me, and after challenging him in the next corner, I was not able to get the spot back. There was another caution with 2 to go, but I was not able to capitalize on the restart and ended up finishing on the podium in 3rd. It was a turn around from last night, and a good night all in all, but we'd still like to keep getting better and hopefully go for the win here soon. A big thank you to John Stroud and Wayne Priddy again for their tremendous help and support this weekend, and Happy Father's Day to all the great, hard-working fathers out there. A special shout out to my dad who has supported me and been a great role model my entire life. Next weekend it looks like we might be able to make it to Tucson, AZ for an ASCS Southwest race, but we are still not 100% sure if and where we are going.

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