At A Glance: Hodnett, Dietrich Sound Off on the Morgan Cup
After Williams Grove Speedway the Outlaws head north to Weedsport Speedway and New Egypt Speedway
CONCORD, N.C. – May 14, 2015 – Historic Williams Grove Speedway welcomes the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series tomorrow and Saturday nights as the Outlaws battle the Pennsylvania Posse for the right to take home the coveted Morgan Cup.
Since 2011 the sterling silver trophy has been in Outlaw hands. Daryn Pittman, Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser have all claimed the trophy on behalf of the touring drivers.
As the Posse tries to change the trend of recent history, two of Pennsylvania’s own, Greg Hodnett and Danny Dietrich, sound off on the competition, the Morgan Cup and their momentum heading into the weekend.
What would it mean to you to bring the Morgan Cup to Pennsylvania for the first time?
Hodnett: “It would be nice to do that just because it’s never been done. We haven’t been up to the task yet but hopefully after however many years it has been, somebody can pull through and race with us.”
Dietrich: “The Morgan Cup don’t mean anything. I just want to win on Saturday night. I think we’re all after the same thing – just to win on a Saturday night show. We’ll see what we can do – if you win, you bring the Morgan Cup with you.”
Do you approach the Outlaws events differently than you would a weekly show here in Pennsylvania?
Hodnett: “Not me personally. We try to attack it the exact same way. You have to, one, show up, evaluate the circumstances, the track conditions and make the best decisions we can whether it’s Donny Schatz or Brian Montieth. It doesn’t matter, we still have to race the race track. That’s our team’s personal approach. We try not to do anything out of what the circumstances dictate because the program is pretty reliable. So we try to make the right decisions at the right time. That’s our biggest objective.”
Dietrich: “We try not to. We try to look at it as a regular show. More competition there obviously, just more cars that’s it. There’s just a little more enthusiasm going into them. The fans get really riled up with this whole Posse, Outlaw thing. That’s good for them so you kind of feed into it. There’s definitely more enthusiasm going into the weekend.”
You have had success this season, either racing locally or with the Outlaws. How much confidence does that give you as a driver heading into the two-day Morgan Cup event?
Hodnett: “I think our biggest thing is, if you have speed, you can put yourself in a position to accomplish things. I know all of these guys have speed. It comes and goes, at least for us. Right now I think we have it. I think our motors are running really good. I think our cars are handling decent. Again, if we can just keep the speed, maybe we’ll have a shot.”
Dietrich: “It makes us more comfortable going into the weekend. We feel like we’ve got some speed. We’re comfortable with our car knowing we’re fast with where we’re at so that transitions well to the race coming up.”