Geoffrey Bodine to run NHIS in a modified: Geoffrey Bodine will attempt to qualify for the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series New Hampshire 125 on Sept. 14 in a car owned by Don Barker of Newtown. Bodine has not driven in a Modified since 1983. Barker currently fields a car for rookie Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield. “I’ve been friends with Geoff for many years,” Barker said. “He came over to see us at [NHIS] when we raced there [in July]. When he was standing next to the car I said, `Hey Geoff, what do you think of this?’ He said `This is gorgeous, I love it.’ I said `It runs as good as it looks, and, by the way, I have another one back home just like it in case you ever get itchy.’ “Two weeks ago he called up and said `Hey, are you serious?’ … He said he’d love to make a comeback and do a race up there. I just told him I would make that happen.” Bodine, a native of Chemung, N.Y., was a terror in a Modified in the Northeast in the 1970s. He won track championships at Stafford Motor Speedway in 1975, ’77 and ’78. Bodine has 18 career Winston Cup victories, including the 1986 Daytona 500. His last Winston Cup victory came in 1996. He has never raced in the Featherlite Modified Series, which began in 1985.(Hartford Courant)(9-6-2002)
