5/26/2013
Joshua Hodges
HMS Update - "Salute to Indy" Night 1 @ CSP
Day 1 of the “Salute to Indy” with the USAC Southwest Sprint Cars at Canyon Speedway Park is wrapped up and it was a good night for the Napa Auto Parts, Momentum, MVT No. 74x. We started off by pulling pill number 17, which lined us up 4th in heat 2. On the initial start the first two cars got tangled and, after making minor contact, I was able to sneak by without damage. However, I moved up to the front row and on the start I was able to jump out to the lead. The track had a slick bottom groove and a cushion built up in the middle of the track. I was a little tight but the car got better as the race went on and the track got drier. That put us starting 6th in the dash and we had a couple of adjustments that we wanted to try. After a wreck on the first lap I once again moved to the outside pole but could not hang on and slipped back to 5th. I wasn’t all that strong in the dash but we learned a few things that we applied to the feature. The track was reworked before we rolled out but the surface did not hold up very long and we were back to a dusty slick track with a wicked cushion on top at both ends. On the start I was able to jump into 4th on the bottom but I had to fall in line on the top after that. About 8 laps in I started to gain ground on second and third. The balance of the car was good and I felt good but a caution came out. On the restart, I was able to get some momentum in turns 1 and 2 and then make the move to the bottom in 3 and 4 to go from 4th to 2nd. I ran there for a few laps until another yellow came out at the halfway point. This time I didn’t get the same jump and actually slipped back to 4th after showing them the line. The rest of the race I tried the top and bottom, wherever cars weren’t in front of me, and with a few laps to go I was able to sneak into 3rd in lapped traffic but that was all that I had in the end. A podium finish is definitely a good way to start off our weekend, especially being out of the nonwing car for a few months so I’m happy with our run and the changes we made. Tomorrow we’ll do it all over again and hope to improve!
Submitted By: Jack Hodges