DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 13, 2015) – – He’s back.
With some unfinished business at the “World Center of Racing”, Brett Hudson, crew chief John Hayden and their all-volunteer Kentucky team return to ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards competition seeking redemption.
In fact, Saturday’s Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone will mark the first time the Owensboro, Kentucky native has competed at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in two years, where an early race incident in 2013 made for an early but long 12 hour drive home.
Feeling refreshed after 24 months away from restrictor plate racing, the 27-year old and his Brett Hudson Motorsports team finally hope their bad luck is over and their fourth Daytona effort is flawless.
“We’re excited to be back at the race track and feeling optimistic about our chances in our No. 09 Brett Hudson Motorsports Dodge,” said Hudson. “We haven’t had the best of luck in our three previous races there, but the gang is back together again for another try.”
Hudson added, “John (Hayden, crew chief and car owner), Eric, Scott and Jared worked extremely hard to get this car ready. John spent his winter putting his car together for me to drive. I can’t begin to tell anyone what that means to me. We didn’t test, we don’t have the new motor, but we love to race – that’s why we’re back.”
With only Daytona and the upcoming May superspeedway race from Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway on the docket for the Brett Hudson Motorsports team this season, Hudson, a former ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards pole sitter knows making an impression is of most importance.
“We’re not running for points and only have the budget to do Daytona and Talladega, so we’re going all in,” added Hudson. “We’ve been working hard on this car over the winter knowing that if we played the game right, we could emerge as a winner. For us, that’s what it’s about, winning.”
Unlike his previous experiences at Daytona and Talladega, Friday will see the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards group qualify, something that Hudson has yet to experience but a change he embraces.
“The closer that you can start near the front the better off I think you’ll be,” said Hudson. “I think that hurt us in 2013, we didn’t have a good qualifying effort and were collected in someone else’s mess. Group qualifying puts us in a position to get with some strong cars and lay down a good lap that will hopefully put us in the top-10. I like the new procedure and feel it will benefit us greatly.”
Outside of racing, Hudson has been busy. Between working, he’s racing locally while enjoying being married to Lindsey and the father of three.
“Life is good,” sounded Hudson. “Unfortunately, the girls can’t be with us this weekend at Daytona, but I know they’ll be cheering back from Owensboro. My daughter Brystal keeps talking about me racing on television. You never want to disappoint a two and a half year-old, so we’ll do all we can to bring her home a trophy.”
Hudson’s car will carry sponsorship from Hudson Performance Drivelines, Pedley’s Garage, Tim Pedley Truck & Trailer Repair, Mayfield & Hodges and Fisher’s Towing for the first of 20 races on the 2015 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule.
“Without the generous support of our sponsors, Daytona wouldn’t be possible,” added Hudson. “I’ll never be able to thank them for what they’ve done and their belief in me without coming home with the trophy, because that’s what every racecar driver dreams of hoisting at Daytona.”
During the first of two ARCA Racing Series practices at the “World Center of Racing,” Hudson posted the 14th quickest time of the 46 cars that participated in the session. Hudson’s fastest lap in the draft produced a time of 47.850 seconds at 188.088 miles per hour.
In 31 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards starts, Hudson has produced three top-fives including a career best of fourth at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in 2007 and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway (April 2011) and 12 top-10 finishes overall. Hudson has one career ARCA pole also coming at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in 2005 driving the No. 62 Hudson Machine Shop Chevrolet.
The Lucas Oil 200 presented by AutoZone (80 Laps / 200 Miles) is the first of 20 races on the 2015 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins for the three-day show on Thursday, February 12 from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Final practice is slated for Friday, February 13 from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., before Menards pole group qualifying presented by Ansell takes place later in the day at 3:30 p.m. The preamble for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ “Sprint Unlimited” is set to take the green flag on Saturday, February 14 at 4:15 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 while MRN Radio will also broadcast the race online and through its affiliates. ARCARacing.com will steam live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.
