April 23, 2014 — Audio, photo and story by Managing Editor Jacob Seelman for Speed77 Radio and Race Chaser Online — HAW RIVER, N.C. — Momentum is a funny thing in motorsports.
For Bandolero Outlaw driver Carson Hudson, he’s hoping ‘funny’ translates to ‘fast’ this weekend as he opens his 2014 season.
Hudson, 16, hails from Haw River, North Carolina and will kick off his campaign this Saturday at the 3/8 mile Orange County Speedway as the Bandolero class returns to OCS for the first time this year. For the young driver looking to make a name for himself, the season opener couldn’t come at a better time.
Hudson is entering his fourth and final season in Bandolero Outlaws this year, and after winning the 2012 Carolina Competition Sports touring series championship in the Outlaw division (for drivers 13 and up) was poised to have a breakout season in 2013 chasing the OCS track championship. The breakout struggled to get started, with mechanical failures plaguing the No. 46 team through the first portion of the season, but Hudson was still in contention for the title by the time the summer stretch began.
However, that breakout was sent into disarray shortly after.
In July of 2013, Hudson was involved in a near-fatal highway accident not far from his home in Haw River, and the aftermath and recovery from his injuries was enough to sideline the talented teenager from competition for multiple races through the late summer and end his chances at contending for the track championship.
Despite the bumps in the road though, Hudson says his passion to return to the seat was never diminished.
“If anything, having it taken from us like that only made me want to go back and prove even more why we should have gotten it in the first place,” Hudson said of the title that could have been in a recent sit-down interview with Race Chaser Online. “You can’t control life, and yeah, it stung pretty bad. But we knew after it happened that we needed to come back even stronger, and that’s exactly what we did.”
Stronger, indeed. Hudson grabbed his first win of the season in dominating fashion in his first race back from injury at the end of September, and began a streak that not only did no one expect, but onlookers could never have predicted. Save for an engine failure in his second race back, Hudson won two of the final three races at OCS for 2013 to prove the point that he was every bit as much a contender as before he was sidelined.
Add to that the fact that the Carolina native scored victories in the opening and closing rounds of the Superior Trailer Winter Series at Ace Speedway, a local track that Hudson had never won at despite numerous attempts in the past, and the stats sheet reads that Hudson won in four of his five entered races following his September return to the race car.
Oh, by the way? That last win was in a three-wide photo finish at Ace, with Hudson claiming the trophy by roughly three one-thousandths of a second (0.003).
“That last win (in December) to close out the season was amazing,” Hudson said of the Superior Trailer Winter Series finale. Superior Trailer is also the primary sponsor on his #46 machine. “Coming off of Four, I knew they were coming at me from all sides, and I made contact with the 44 (Josh Kossek) outside of me. Honestly, I thought he was gonna get me at the line, but I just kept my foot in it.”
“When we first crossed the line, I didn’t think we had gotten it, but I circled back around and they told me I had won it. I was just like, ‘are you kidding? That actually just happened.’ It was insane.”
For a while, Hudson was unsure what his 2014 schedule was going to look like, with the Bandoleros’ return to OCS unclear until last week. However now, with not only races on the schedule at the Rougemont race track, but the surprising announcement that OCS’s Bandolero races will be run under INEX sanctioning in 2014, a new path has potentially emerged for the young driver.
A path that could potentially lead to a national championship run.
“We’re waiting on a few things to shake out yet, but with Orange County awarding national points this year, we’re gonna take a swing at this and see what happens. If we can get ourselves in a decent place in the national picture come June, then we’ll make a decision as to whether or not to head for the national championship race in Atlanta. But I’ll be honest, it’s something we’re definitely considering.”
With a look at a national title run looming and a charge for a first-ever track championship on the agenda for Hudson, the path to 2014 success begins this Saturday. With momentum from the end of last year to draw from and enthusiasm to get the new season off on a strong note, the Haw River driver is focused on one thing and one thing only: continuing his stranglehold on Victory Lane.
Going back to the end of last year, Hudson is riding a streak of three straight victories and will look to make it four in front of his hometown fans Saturday night under the lights.
He knows it won’t be easy. But he’s also more driven than ever to prove what can be, and not what could have been.
“I’m pumped to finally be able to get back on track this weekend and get our year kicked off at Orange County,” an enthusiastic Hudson remarked. “It’s been a long four months, for sure. Me, my dad, this whole team, we’re ready to rock though. We know we’ve got a target on our backs because of how we ended the season last year, but I’m not worried about that.”
“I know they’re out for blood, but I’m confident in what we’re capable of. We’re going after that checkered flag on Saturday, and everyone else better look out.”
For more information about Carson Hudson or Hudson Racing, ‘Like’ the team on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @chudsonracing.
Listen in as managing editor Jacob Seelman sat down with Hudson to discuss his remarkable comeback, his plans for 2014 and his continued climb in the world of motorsports:
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