Jody Lavender charged from the rear of the field at the South Boston Speedway Saturday night to finish 6th in the NASCAR Camping World East Series race but it wasn’t easy because about 50 laps into the race, Lavender broke his transmission shifter and had to make a pit stop. There was not enough time to repair the shifter so Lavender stopped long enough to pick up a set of vise grip pliers. He used the vise grips to make a shifter that was still working at the end of the race.

Jody said, “This team never gives up and it really paid off tonight. We almost went a lap down and I had to drive harder to get to the front and “used-up” the tires. We would like to have finished better but we’ll settle for 6th tonight considering our problems.” He was given the Powerade Power Move Of The Race for improving the most positions. He also moved up to a tie for 10th in the point standings.

Jody’s next race will be another challenge for him. He will compete at the Watkins Glenn road course on Sunday, June 8th. He said, “I’ve never driven on a road course but it sounds like fun. I know I’ll have to do a lot of gear shifting and I’ll be sure to have the vise grips close by. Our car has never been on a road course either but we’ll do our best and won’t give up.”

For more information, go to www.jodylavender.com, www.eastseries.com, and www.localracing.nascar.com.