CARSON CITY, Nevada — 19 year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo engineering student Bobby Hodges claimed his first Late Model feature win, in the second feature at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. on Saturday night.
The Westcar Late Model Series / NASCAR Whelen All-American Series dual sanctioned event saw two 44 lap features, with Hodges finishing second out of 20 cars in the first event before earning the win in the second race.
“Three years of hard work in late model racing has finally gotten us into victory lane,” Hodges said. “I really wanted to win for the team to get us back on our feet after the rough start, and this weekend it all just came together.”
Hodges had a career year in 2008, with four second place finishes and three fourths. He managed to rank in the top 250 in the NASCAR Whelen national rankings, despite only starting nine events.
This year, Hodges entered the season with a focus on a state championship run but was derailed by bad luck early on. Hodges hopes Saturday’s performance will turn that around.
Hodges fought hard with 2006 Westcar Series champion Shannon Mansch in the first feature for his second place finish.
Starting on the outside of the front row in the second feature, Hodges took the lead from track points leader Jason Romero on lap two.
Romero stayed glued to Hodges bumper as they raced through lap traffic in a 30 lap green flag stint. But Romero’s chances were ended when he crashed with a lapped car on the front-stretch.
“Jason has become one of the best in the west and it was fun to finally get to race with him,” Hodges said. “Coming off of two he got into me a little bit and I got sideways, but it was just some hard racing through the lapped traffic. We were lucky to get through the wreck on the front straight to retake the lead.”
Hodges had a strong restart over John Moore with 14 laps to go and cruised home to a comfortable win by several car lengths.
“With about five laps to go I knew he had nothing for us and I started crying out there,” Hodges said. “We finally got that stubborn monkey off our back and now hopefully we'll start reeling in some more wins.”
Hodges also thanks his crew, sponsors, and parents for all their support throughout his career.
Hodges will return to Roseville on June 6, with another shot at important state points and victories.
Race fans can learn more online at www.bobbyhodges.net
