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Ashley Cappetta grew up around racing and at the track, there was one driver she always looked up to, Greg Hodnett. Cappetta’s uncle, Rob, was the engine builder for the Apple #12 when Greg was behind the wheel and that is how Ashley was introduced to her hero. The first time Cappetta met Hodnett, it was Opening Day at Williams Grove Speedway in 2004, a race which Greg would win, “Greg’s personality was what drew me to him and made him my favorite driver, which will never change.” The Apple #12 team had a lot of wins with Rob’s engines and Hodnett behind the wheel which means there are a lot of photos with Ashley as a kid growing up with those two Central PA racing titans.

One night at Sherry Hodnett’s salon, Cappetta and Sherry were talking about the Hodnett Classic, “Sherry and I were talking about bringing the tribute cars back to make the race feel more like it was for Greg and I asked Sherry if she needed a car that mine would be available. Sherry liked the idea and gave me the green light to do the Apple Car.”

Cappetta and her dad started with a black car which meant a major transformation was needed, “Dad and I primed and spray painted the wing red and we wrapped the car.” A lot of different people played a part in pulling this project together. Dustin Beard from Posseland Apparel helped wrap the car and Andrew Rucker had the vector files of the design and most of the decals. Ashley also had the opportunity to see one of the Apple Cars that is in the storage building at the Eastern Museum of Motor Racing, to make sure all of the details on the car were accurate. The only thing not exactly the same was the wheels, “We kept black wheels because it was what we had and it wasn’t cost-effective to get chrome ones.”

“It was definitely hard to put this deal together and there was a lot of emotion behind it but it was totally worth it.” In addition to the emotion, there was a lot of history behind the project, “Bob Stewart (Stewart owned the Apple Car), sponsored me and my softball number was always #12, that car and number got me invested in racing.” Another tie-in to the #12 was that Greg attended Ashley’s 12th birthday party, “that was my best birthday party ever.”

“Rolling into Port Royal, it was emotional, I know how much it meant to Greg.” Fans loved seeing the car and many stories were shared about Greg throughout the night, “I met a lot of nice and new fans at the autograph session. It’s always nice to connect with fans and it was rewarding seeing the fans appreciate the car.” 

Ashley and the other tribute cars got ready to pace the field before the feature, “I was ok emotionally until I got into the race car and was sitting out on the track, and then as soon as the car fired I teared up right away.” Along with Cappetta’s Apple #12, Dylan Orwig had a replica of one of Greg’s Australian cars Kody Hartlaub was in the Trone #39, Anthony Macri had a Jim & Sandy Kline #22 wing and Troy Wagaman was running a Heffner Racing #27, “I had tears in my eyes the entire time I was on the track. The crowd had their phones lit up, officials were giving us thumbs up and I had some of the best sprint car drivers in the country along side of me.”

Cappetta watched the feature from the infield, “Overall it was an awesome night. I got to spend time with Sherry, I had my friends and race team with me and it was a huge honor to run the car in honor of my favorite driver who is the reason I fell in love with racing.”

After positive feedback from fans at the Hodnett Classic, fans were looking forward to seeing the car in action on the track. Ashley had a discussion with Bob Stewart, Sherry Hodnett and Pat Sterner and the car will be raced at the 21st Annual Weldon Sterner Memorial at Lincoln Speedway on September 28.

“I am very grateful to have met someone like him because if it wasn’t for him I don’t know if I’d be in the driver’s seat. It was incredibly hard to climb back in the car but in 2019 I did it for him because I know he wouldn’t want me to quit and I wouldn’t have gotten my first win.”

Sometimes when you get what you wish for it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Last year Cappetta wanted nothing more than to pull a low number at pill draw. Cappetta’s pill draw luck took a turn this season and the team has been consistently drawing low numbers, but not low enough to start on the pole of her heat, most weeks she has lined up second, “I’m tired of starting second, if the person in first is playing games you don’t want the jump to be called. At this point I would honestly rather start third, there is so much pressure starting on the front row.”

The start of Cappetta’s heat race put her behind the eight-ball, “I felt that the start of the heat race was not good and thought it should have been called back and it wasn’t.” Cappetta fell back to third right away, “Falling back early on a track like that was rough. Coming off turn 4 it was dirty and slick and I just didn’t have the car to make up for it.” Cappetta did move her line up after seeing other drivers make it work but it was too late at that point to make much of a difference, “It sucks that deal happened, but if I had a better car I would have been able to make up for it.”

Cappetta lined up 17th for the feature and was able to make her way up through the field, “If I could have gotten by one car a little bit sooner I think we could have had a top 10. The last several months we have been having issues with the car falling on the right rear and on Saturday we did not have that problem at all.” Similar to the heat race, moving up the track would have likely led to better results, “When its slick like it was on Saturday I need to work on getting comfortable moving up to the top. I wasn’t comfortable enough to move up during the feature but it would have helped me get by cars running the same line as me.” Cappetta finished the night crossing the line thirteenth, “I’m looking forward to moving on to next week and hope for better results.”

Fallen Firefighters Night Special for Cappetta

Once again Cappetta ran a special wing for the Fallen Firefighters Race/”Guise-Little Memorial” on Saturday, “I’ve known the Little Family for a long time and have gotten to meet the Guise Family being involved with the race, they are an incredible group of people.”

Cappetta, a volunteer firefighter herself, knows how special this race is, “Anytime you lose someone that commits a service to the community it is an honor to honor their life. These people are dedicating their time for free with no other benefit than helping people, and they paid the ultimate sacrifice in doing that.”

There are a lot of incredible people that put their heart and soul into the race, Don Livingston, Whitney Dietrich and Jeff Staub, plus countless others. Prior to the start of the 410 sprint car feature, Cappetta had the opportunity to pace the field alongside Chad Trout, who was also running a special wing design for the night, “We’re thankful that Chad is willing to work with us to have the special wing wrap and it was neat to get to pace the field with him.”

Racing With a Heavy Heart

News spread through the pits prior to cars taking the track about fellow racer, Riley Emig’s motorcycle accident, “Before I even started racing on Saturday I heard the news about Riley and it was on my mind all night.” Not far from the track, Emig was involved in an accident that unfortunately took his life, “I raced with Riley and watching him race quarter midgets, it was a hard pill to swallow, especially hearing the news on Fallen Firefighters Night, knowing his sister is involved with the fire company.”

Ashley and the entire Cappetta Racing Team are keeping Riley’s friends, family and fellow racers in their thoughts and prayers as they navigate this difficult time.