Hodges looks to claim Big Dog championship at Altamont on Saturday

Steven Blakesley / Bobby Hodges Racing

Carson City, Nev. - 18 year-old Bobby Hodges, from Carson City, Nev. and currently attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, will look to claim the 2008 Western Late Model Big Dog Series championship this weekend at Altamont Raceway Park in Tracy, Calif.

Saturday will see 20 lap heat races, with Sunday action featuring a 125 lap feature on the half-mile asphalt oval.

The standout racer has had a tremendous season, after finishing second in the Westcar Late Model Series points, and second in the Tri-Holiday Series points. Through 10 starts, he has accumulated eight top-fives and nine top-tens and was in the top 250 of all NASCAR drivers in the country.

“To win the Big Dog championship would be pretty big,” Hodges said. “It’s basically three of the premiere Late Model races in California right now.”

The first two Big Dog events, in April and June, have attracted 32 and 39 cars respectively. Hodges will be racing for a piece of a $20,000 purse in the show this Saturday and Sunday.

A look at the Big Dog Series standings shows Hodges leading southern California veteran James Weston by 14 points, and third place Carlos Vieira by 26 points. Both are comfortable margins. If Hodges finishes better than seventh he is guaranteed the championship.

His season average finish so far is 5.2.

Hodges is coming off of his only non top-ten finish of the entire season, back on September 20 at Altamont.

The resilient racer was gathered up in a serious crash involving his racing hero Chet Danburg, a veteran also from Nevada.

Despite the damage, the Nevada Automotive Test Center team got the car back on the track to allow him to finish 19^th in the 25 car field and still claim second in the Westcar Series points.

“I felt bad for Chet and my team,” Hodges said. “We finally fixed the tight in the center condition and the car was a rocket ship.”

This weekend, fans will see a repaired #89 car that shows no signs of the accident.

Racing action kicks off at noon both days this weekend.

Bobby Hodges Racing is online at www.bobbyhodges.net

Bobby Hodges is sponsored by: Nevada Automotive Test Center, Café Fiore, Team Marines Racing, No Coast Customs, Sierra Racing Products, and the American Cancer Society.