Teddy Hodgdon Takes Nine Consecutive Checkered Flags at Stafford Motor Speedway
- 19 Sept 2011
Qualifying three-tenths faster than the field, Hodgdon started out on the front row. Upon the waving of the green flag, he took an early lead, but lost his first place spot on the restart. With no intentions of bidding farewell to his winning streak, Teddy overtook the two drivers after a caution flag and never looked back during the 25 lap event until crossing the finish line and earning the checkered flag. Granted, a driver and his or her team savors every win, but Hodgdon considered this particular race even more exciting than the norm and rightfully so, as he had anticipation of walking away with the championship. With eight consecutive wins already under his belt at this particular venue, the young driver's confidence level was high. Hodgdon entered the race without any doubts about his abilities or the set-up in the kart. "Teddy has made a lot of progress as a driver this year," explained his father, Ted. "He has been looking at the big picture and understanding what is happening around him. In prior years, he would just drive the kart. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year. Teddy has been running smooth, consistent laps, and thinking outside the kart during the race," he continued. "He is growing into a fine young man and racer. His confidence is through the roof, in and out of the kart. The experience that he is gaining will carry with him the rest of his life! The season has been a dream! He has won eleven features at two different tracks (50% of all races run thus far) and a track championship!" Teddy's string of victories were eventful, and lent to a couple of races that wouldn't soon be forgotten by the driver and his team. In fact, according to his father, Teddy's sixth consecutive win was action packed and exciting. "He started in the fifth position and charged to the front," recalled the driver's father, Ted. "He led for a few laps until he got stuffed back to the fourth position. He kept a cool head and picked them off one by one, until he was leading again," continued the proud father. "He took the lead just in time for the checkered flag." Recalling the importance this race, Ted said, "He was trailing by one point in the standings and knew he had to have a good finish to help in the points. He did a great job and won the race." When asked what he enjoys most about racing karts, the young driver said, "Learning about how parts of the karts work and learning race strategy." Referring to becoming a better driver with each and every race, Teddy continued, "I've been learning from on-track situations. My dad and I talk about what happened during each race." As one might suspect, Teddy Hodgdon's kart has been running on the mark for the entire season. That said, the crew is obviously aware of the importance of proper maintenance, and has been using K&N air and oil filters on the Briggs and Stratton Animal Engine and in the tow vehicle as well, for the past two years. According to the Teddy Hodgdon team, "K&N provides a quality product. Not only does it keep the air clean, but also provides a performance gain. We would never race without a K&N filter again." The kart driver's team is also acutely aware of the importance of their sponsors and fans. That in mind, in closing they said, "Without them, this would be very difficult. We as a family, and racing team, would like to thank them very much. Teddy has started to gain quite a list of sponsors and supporters. Once they meet him and see the passion he has for the sport, they want to be involved. We are very lucky!" Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
