MOTORSPORTS: Revolution Racing team finds home in Kingsport

Jefferson Hodges is hoping to change the face of NASCAR.

As the director of competition for Mooresville, N.C. based Revolution Racing, Hodges oversees six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model teams featuring minorities and females.

    Hodges and his ambitious gang of racers and mechanics were a regular part of the popular Late Model show at Kingsport Speedway this season. While the Revolution contingent failed to produce a headline-grabbing triumph, Hodges said the opportunity to compete on the unique concrete-surfaced track was invaluable.

“We race all over the East Coast with our teams, and Kingsport is by far my favorite track. It’s an amazing deal here,” Hodges said.

Learning curve

On a typical Friday night this season at Kingsport, the Late Model field included four Revolution Racing drivers and around 12 crew members.

It’s never easy to find a comfort zone on a new track, but Hodges saw signs of progress. For example, Byran Ortiz (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) put together several strong runs.

“Bryan was around the top five at some point about every race,” Hodges said. “Our drivers run totally different cars on different tracks. They’ve got a lot on their shoulders - a lot more than people realize.”

According to Hodges, the deep Late Model field, consistent rule package and prestige of Kingsport Speedway promoter Robert Pressley offered the perfect proving ground.

 “Kingsport is one of the only Friday night NASCAR sanctioned speedways left,” Hodges said. “It’s over a four-hour drive for us, but we decided to try it.”

The experience of competing against some of the elite Late Model teams in the Southeast proved worthy of the long hours.

“After our first trip, our drivers and crew members talked about how much they loved racing at Kingsport all the way home,” Hodges said. “It’s hard to race against talented drivers like (track champion) Nate Monteith and Lee Tissot, but our folks did a good job.”

Revolutionaries

Revolution Racing is owned by Max Siegel and John Story. An attorney and entertainment executive, Siegel formerly served as the president of global operations at Dale Earnhardt Inc., where he made history as the highest-ranking African-American executive in NASCAR.

Story has handled a variety of sports marketing, management and communications roles, including leadership roles at DEI and Robby Gordon Motorsports.

Last season, the group fielded four NASCAR K&N Pro Series East teams along with six NASCAR Whelen All American Series teams. The Revolution umbrella also includes a youth racing initiative in the INEX Legend and Bandolero series plus a Drive for Diversity crew member development program.

Despite several grandiose plans, the pace of diversity has been slow in NASCAR. Hodges can see the big picture, which centers on a lap-by-lap approach.

“Our goal this season at Kingsport was to be competitive and not cause any problems,” said Hodges, a native of Williamsburg, Va. “To run in the top 10 at this track is not an easy task.”

Dream weaver

Mackena Bell of Carson City, Nev., has been affiliated with Revolution Racing for three years. In the Aug. 28 season finale at Kingsport Speedway this season, Bell finished 18th in a 22-car field which featured NASCAR Sprint Cup series regular Joey Logano.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to race with guys like Logano on an awesome track like this,” Bell said. “A few of the tracks we’ve gone to have just one racing line, but you can have a lot of fun out here.”

Bell made the trek to Kingsport three times this season. Each event was educational

“We’ve also run at places like Greeneville, Hickory and even Tri-County before it closed down, and Kingsport is really different from all those places,” Bell said. “I had never run on concrete before, plus there is some banking to deal with. I felt very fortunate to be picked to run the final race of the season.”

In a splashy 2009 press conference in Charlotte, N.C., Bell was selected as a candidate in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program. She was 18 at the time. Since then, the former dirt kart and Super Late Model racer has learned much about the inner working of the racing game.

“Hopefully in the next couple years, I will be able to move up to the truck series in NASCAR and be competitive there,” Bell said.  “And I’d love to move up to the Nationwide and Cup series one day.

“If I haven’t reached my goals by age 25 I will hang it up. But right now, I don’t want to put a time limit on anything. I’m learning to race along with the rest of my team members.”

The ladder

The 25-year racing resume for Hodges includes stints with NASCAR legends such as Junie Donlavey and Dick Trickle. In 2004, he directed the Late Model program for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Hodges came away impressed and enthused from his latest adventure.

“The folks at Kingsport are class acts,” Hodges said. “We weren’t treated as special. We were just treated as racers. We love the track, and hopefully we can come back next season.”

Pit stops: Abingdon’s Caleb Holman posted his second win of the season and seventh of his Pro Cup career in Sunday’s Salute to America 200 presented by Food Country USA at Lonesome Pine Raceway. Holman’s Henderson Motorsports teammate Forrest Reynolds finished second while 14-year-old Blake Jones was third.

 agregory@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports | (276) 645-2544.