The Red Rocket Returns
The Red Rocket will be back, after a one race hiatus, and will be ready to rock Kern County Raceway (CA) with the flair and panache only Bobby Hodges can deliver, in the “Bulwark Protective Apparel 50/50 presented by Spears Manufacturing 50th Anniversary” on June 29th. Hodges has found his fair share of success, at the high-speed ½-mile tri-oval, with four top-five and six top-ten finishes, in his nine Spears Srl Southwest Tour Series starts. His best finish was a second-place result behind four-time SRL Champion Derek Thorn.
Hodges is looking forward to the challenges and excitement that Kern County Raceway provides, and he knows that it will take a team effort to put everything together to place the #89 in Victory Circle.
“Racing at Kern is all about the speed, there is no better feeling than banging through the gears, getting up to speed on the back straight”, Hodges told the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series. “It’s a great facility and has a great staff running the show. It’s always a challenge keeping it rolling, but also having enough grip off. To win at Kern, it takes a true team effort, and you know you’ve earned it when you win there.”
The Carson City, NV driver has a new VanDoorn Racing Development Chassis under his Toyota Camry this season. He also has a new crew chief in Chuck Carruthers, as the team continues to improve with the increased familiarity with each other, and their new equipment.
“This year has been a lot of fun so far”, Hodges began. “The team that Mike Naake and Chuck Carruthers have put together is top notch, and each race we’ve gotten better with the new car. I really enjoy working with Chuck, as my crew chief. We have a similar approach to things, and the guy works insanely hard. He even gave up his vacation to come spend a weekend at the track, and that just shows how much he loves it.”
The 2017 Speed51.com Most Popular Driver, for the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series, will be making his 51st career start in the series. He has wins at both ALL AMERICAN SPEEDWAY – ROSEVILLE CAand Irwindale Speedway (CA) to his credit, in the SRL competition. He will be making his fourth start of the season, after just missing out on his second top-ten of the season, following a late race incident and an 11th place finish at the Bullring @ Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hodges has been racing in the series since 2010, but competing in a full season only once. That 2016 effort resulted in a fourth-place finish in the championship standings. The 29-year-old adrenaline junkie loves racing in the SRL for various reasons, and competes as often as his budget allows.
“There’s so many great things about running in SRL it’s hard to pick one, but I’d say the challenge”, Hodges estimated. “You know if you win in the SRL, you are at the top of your game. You have to be near perfect to do it, and that feeling is irreplaceable, of being able to go toe to toe with the best, and come out on top.”
Hodges will bring the heat to Kern County Raceway and will be looking for the $5,000 win, thanks to the “Winner’s Bonus” provided by Kevin Harvick‘s KHI Management. Giving Hodges the opportunity to compete this weekend are a variety of companies and people he would like to thank.
“I’d like to say thank you to Break-A-Heart LLC, JRi Shocks, StopTech Brakes, Swift Springs, Naake – Klauer Motorsports, Impact Racing Products, Chuck Carruthers, NATC, the whole team for always working hard, and of course my family. I’ve been racing in SRL part-time for 9 years now, and it’s all thanks to them.”
The action for the weekend gets underway Friday night, with three practice sessions for the SRL Super Late Models, beginning at 5:00 pm. The teams will qualify that evening at 10:00 pm. The Legends and Spears Modified Series presented by Lucas Oil will also practice.
On Saturday, June 29th, the Modifieds will have two practice sessions, with the Legends, Mini Dwarf’s and Jr. Mini Dwarfs also practicing. Spectator Gates open at 4:30 pm, with Qualifying for the SPEARS Modifieds and Legend cars scheduled for 5:30 pm, with the Dwarf Main Events to follow. The On-Track Autograph Session begins at 6:15 pm, with Opening Ceremonies set for 6:45 pm.
The first 50 lap segment for the “Bulwark ‘FR 50/50 presented by SPEARS Manufacturing 50th Anniversary”, featuring the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series is slated thereafter, with the Modifieds, Legends and Modifieds running their features. The SALUTE TO AMERICA FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR is tentatively up next, with the 50 lap Segment #2, for the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour Series, scheduled to round out the evening’s activities.
