Huntersville, N.C. (April 18, 2022) – In 1983, Neil Bonnet drove a
Rahmoc Racing car sponsored by Hodgdon to Victory Lane. Fast forward to
2022 and Darin Mock will attempt to repeat history driving the No. 75
Hodgdon Ford Mustang to victory in the TA2 Class of Trans Am Racing at
the upcoming Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway events in California.
Hodgdon Group is a Real Estate, Development and Construction company
located in Southern California. Back in the day, Warner Hodgdon sponsored
Butch Mock’s NASCAR team with Bonnett driving. The always charismatic
Hodgdon became a fixture in the NASCAR garage.
Like most sponsorships, they eventually go away from the team. But, the
relationship between Mock and Hodgdon continued until his passing in
2013 at the age of 80. Mock re-connected with Aaron Hodgdon, Warner’s
son, last year.
“I met Butch last year on a business trip to the Carolinas,” Aaron Hodgdon
said. “The last time I saw him, I was 16-years-old. After our visit, I decided
we would get behind his son, Darin Mock, and sponsor the two Trans Am
races. Butch builds fast cars and were excited to have a Hodgdon Mock car
on the track again.
“I vividly remember being with Butch and the team when we won the
World 600 in Charlotte and the Atlanta Journal 500 with the Hodgdon
name on board and Bonnett driving. Seeing the Hodgdon paint scheme on
Darin’s call will bring back a lot of great memories.”
Warner Hodgdon was a man ahead of his time when it came to utilizing
racing as a conduit for business and Hodgdon Group is doing the same.
Hodgdon forged sponsorship deals with Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt and
Darrell Waltrip and a partnership in Junior Johnson’s team. He also bought
into track ownership and worked on multi-race packages to air on national
television.
Butch Mock seems just as excited as the younger Hodgdon for the two
races and the special scheme, especially with his son now behind the
wheel.
“This is a case of life coming full circle,” Mock said. “Some of our best days
for my race team were with Hodgdon on board. We won races, ran well
and it was just a very special time for both of us.
“Now, to have Aaron and Justin Hodgdon agreeing to come on board with
my son, Darin, driving is incredible. I know there are a lot of NASCAR fans
out there that remember those days.
“With this replica Hodgdon scheme on Darin’s No. 75 Ford Mustang, the
fire suit he’s going to wear and the hero cards we had printed up is making
this even more special.”