6/19/2015
Joshua Hodges
Indiana Update
It's been 20 days since we've made the trek from New Mexico up here to Indiana to race in the land of nonwing sprint cars. We've attempted to race 8 times and have got in 5 shows these past few weeks.
Our first two attempts were rained out in Putnamville and Bloomington May 30th and June 5th, respectively.
The first night we were able to race was Saturday, June 6th at Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville, IN. It was certainly a learning experience as we battled the car in the heat race. The track came to us a bit in the feature and Jerry Coons was kind enough to give us a few pointers. We started 11th and made it to 5th racing with Scotty Weir and Coons before I hit an infield tire and ended our night early.
After that we kicked off a week filled with racing at Gas City I-69 Speedway on Wednesday the 10th. Our first laps on track were group qualifying per the format and I felt comfortable but didn't have great speed. We started deep in the heat and made it to 3rd in the first few laps to transfer but faded back once again as the handling went away. That placed us in the B Feature and I was unable to transfer out of it battling some of the same issues (car feeling unstable and hard to use any throttle).
The next day, the 11th, we headed back to Putnamville and made a few drastic changes in hopes of improving the handling. It turns out these changes did help and I was able to transfer out of my heat by running 5th after starting last due to a bad pill draw. That saw is start the A a Feature from 14th and the cushion was largest I've ever seen that night. The first ten laps or so I struggled to run it properly and backed up to about 18th but then I started making ground back up and made my way back to 13th before the race's end. The car finally felt comfortable to me and I built up some confidence.
Then on Friday, the 12th, we went south to Bloomington Speedway on a track that was something unlike I'd ever raced on. High banked, round, narrow, and red clay. Once again we group qualified and I felt good but a car fell off the track and came back on in front of us, hurting our lap times. I started 6th in the heat and the track started slicking up while I backed up. I felt up on top of the racetrack and struggled to find forward bite so we made some changes for the B Feature. The car was better but still not up to speed. We transferred out and started in the rear of the A. Brent Beauchamp from CSI helped get us get a baseline and I passed a few cars making it to 12th at one point. However, a late race caution allowed the tire temps to cool off and I sealed over the right rear, losing grip and backing up after that. I ended up running 16th but the car felt much better than earlier in
the night.
We then had choices for Saturday but with a good chance of rain present everywhere we chose the track closest to us and that was once again Lincoln Park Speedway. The car count was smaller given there were three tracks racing but the top of the field was still strong with Beauchamp, Boespflug, and recent winner AJ Hopkins all fielding cars. We started the heat from 4th and I was able to grab the lead early and win the heat race. The car wasn't perfect but get pretty good compared to prior nights. That gave us high points for the night and that put us on the pole to tart the A Feature. There was once again a big cushion and the first couple laps I had to feel it out. In the process I lost the lead to Beauchamp but I finally got in rhythm and held my ground. In traffic I actually made a bit of ground up and there was a late caution that closed the gap up. On the restart I tried the bottom
with two laps cars between us and cleared them quickly before pulling alongside the leader the next lap. However, the top was still better if you didn't hit the bottom perfect and I wasn't able to make the pass. I had to settle for a 2nd place finish but I was still pretty happy about the progress we made that week.
The following night we were scheduled to race at Kokomo Speedway but unfortunately those plans were washed away by the rain early I the afternoon.
This weekend we were planning on first racing tonight at Bloomington but it has already been rained out. We have a choice between Putnamville again or Paragon Speedway tomorrow and we'll look at weather to decide where we go. Then on Sunday we'll head back to Kokomo to give it another shot. Keep an eye on our Twitter and Facebook pages to stay up to date!
Submitted By: Jack Hodges
