Ocala Gran Prix and Double Nickel Enterprises recently announced the addition of Escalon driver Cody Hodgson, 19, to race for Dave Davis Motorsports in the NASCAR K&N Pro East Series for 2011.
Hodgson had the opportunity to test with Dave Davis a couple of weeks ago at Wilksboro Speedway in North Carolina on his way to the second round of the Florida Winter Tour Rotax karting series in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hodgson was able to come away from the test with a glowing report and an offer to become part of the DDM team before leaving for Florida. Dave Davis stated in Hodgson's test report that he explained to Cody prior to getting in the car "we were not there to set a track record" but to run a pace he felt comfortable at and take his time to get acclimated to the heavy cars. Cody took to the track for a 15-lap run and picked up the pace quickly and was very smooth by lap 9 turning a 20.85.
"Cody was able to get up to speed very quickly," stated Davis. "His car control was impressive, running consistent laps and the car was never out of control."
Davis also noted that Hodgson's throttle management and feedback were impressive and that "Cody showed maturity far beyond his age when at full speed the motor laid down and he quickly shut it down to avoid a major catastrophe."
After changing motors and running several scenarios of car set ups on day two, Hodgson picked up the speed even more consistently turning lap times in the 19 second range.
The K&N East series consists of 12 races this season beginning in Greenville, South Carolina on March 26. The race schedule will include races at South Boston Speedway, Richmond, Iowa, Bowman Gray Stadium, Langley, Gresham, New Hampshire, Columbus and Dover. Hodgson, a 2010 graduate of Escalon High, has raced for Ocala Gran Prix for the past two years, running Rotax karts in the DD2 class. While racing with OGP Hodgson has earned the title of Grand National Champion at the US Rotax Finals for the past two years. Winning the U.S. championship gave him a spot on the U.S. team to the Rotax World Finals in Egypt (2009) where he placed third in DD2, and a spot on the U.S. team to Italy (2010). In addition to karting he has also been racing in the Whelen Late Model stock car division at Stockton 99 Speedway and All American Speedway in Roseville, California with Nascimento Motorsports for the past two seasons.
Hodgson said he is extremely happy to become part of the Dave Davis team and is looking forward to working with Davis and his crew this season. He also offered special thanks to long time supporters Ocala Gran Prix, Panavise Products, Truss Systems Hawaii, Nascimento Motorsports and Ram Mechanical Contracting INC, Leroy and Janai Stanton, Advanced Rock Crushing, Escalon Tire Supply, DJ Tease and Townsend Bell.
To learn more about the K&N Pro East series, visit the website Hometracks.Nascar.com.
Also race updates and schedules will be posted to codyhodgsonracing.com beginning soon.
Hodgson had the opportunity to test with Dave Davis a couple of weeks ago at Wilksboro Speedway in North Carolina on his way to the second round of the Florida Winter Tour Rotax karting series in West Palm Beach, Florida. Hodgson was able to come away from the test with a glowing report and an offer to become part of the DDM team before leaving for Florida. Dave Davis stated in Hodgson's test report that he explained to Cody prior to getting in the car "we were not there to set a track record" but to run a pace he felt comfortable at and take his time to get acclimated to the heavy cars. Cody took to the track for a 15-lap run and picked up the pace quickly and was very smooth by lap 9 turning a 20.85.
"Cody was able to get up to speed very quickly," stated Davis. "His car control was impressive, running consistent laps and the car was never out of control."
Davis also noted that Hodgson's throttle management and feedback were impressive and that "Cody showed maturity far beyond his age when at full speed the motor laid down and he quickly shut it down to avoid a major catastrophe."
After changing motors and running several scenarios of car set ups on day two, Hodgson picked up the speed even more consistently turning lap times in the 19 second range.
The K&N East series consists of 12 races this season beginning in Greenville, South Carolina on March 26. The race schedule will include races at South Boston Speedway, Richmond, Iowa, Bowman Gray Stadium, Langley, Gresham, New Hampshire, Columbus and Dover. Hodgson, a 2010 graduate of Escalon High, has raced for Ocala Gran Prix for the past two years, running Rotax karts in the DD2 class. While racing with OGP Hodgson has earned the title of Grand National Champion at the US Rotax Finals for the past two years. Winning the U.S. championship gave him a spot on the U.S. team to the Rotax World Finals in Egypt (2009) where he placed third in DD2, and a spot on the U.S. team to Italy (2010). In addition to karting he has also been racing in the Whelen Late Model stock car division at Stockton 99 Speedway and All American Speedway in Roseville, California with Nascimento Motorsports for the past two seasons.
Hodgson said he is extremely happy to become part of the Dave Davis team and is looking forward to working with Davis and his crew this season. He also offered special thanks to long time supporters Ocala Gran Prix, Panavise Products, Truss Systems Hawaii, Nascimento Motorsports and Ram Mechanical Contracting INC, Leroy and Janai Stanton, Advanced Rock Crushing, Escalon Tire Supply, DJ Tease and Townsend Bell.
To learn more about the K&N Pro East series, visit the website Hometracks.Nascar.com.
Also race updates and schedules will be posted to codyhodgsonracing.com beginning soon.
