Because of lack of sponsorship, it appears unlikely the team of Busch series points leader Todd Bodine will compete this weekend at Richmond, Va., team officials confirmed. Bodine, who was testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with his Winston Cup team Tuesday night, declined to comment on the situation when asked. Bodine’s team, which is expected to remain in business, has been without a sponsor since the start of the season.(ThatsRacin.com)(4-30-2003)
UPDATE: Todd Bodine’s Busch team will make the trip to Richmond this weekend after all. Bodine, the Busch Series points leader in the #92 Chevy, said Wednesday that his Busch Series team has found a sponsor to keep the team going for the next few races. “We weren’t going to Richmond as of last night,” Bodine said. “But we have a sponsor that was going to sponsor us for four or five races starting at Charlotte that agreed to move that up. …It just buys us some time.” Bodine said three car owners in the Busch Series offered to put him in their cars at Richmond if his current team didn’t make it. One owner offered to build him a new car, but the car would have been entered past the NASCAR deadline and therefore he would not have been eligible for points had he driven that one. Bodine said the team is talking to another sponsor about a long-term deal for the rest of the season.(ThatsRacin.com)
AND Busch series points leader Todd Bodine secured enough financing Wednesday to race Friday night in Richmond. Employer Supporting Guard and Reserves will sponsor the #92 Chevy for the next four to five events, Bodine said.(Sporting News/AP)(5-1-2003)
BUT hearing that ESGR will not be the sponsor at Richmond, but a company Garmin will be. Garmin is a leader in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and an innovator in consumer electronics.
UPDATE 2: thegpsstore.com with help from Global Positioning Systems (GPS) manufacturer Garmin have signed on for a one-race deal allowing the #92 to run in Friday’s Hardee’s 250 at Richmond. thegpsstore.com came on board this past week in order to allow Todd Bodine and his crew to continue their quest for the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship. Even with a 99-point lead over second place, the points lost if they were to miss the event this weekend could send the team plummeting in the standings. With the considerable media covering the team’s sponsorship plight, Herzog Jackson Motorsports caught the eye of The GPS Store business owner Drew Reger. Fortunately, thegpsstore.com with help from Global Positioning Systems (GPS) manufacturer Garmin signed on for a one-race deal allowing the #92 to run in Friday’s Hardee’s 250 at Richmond. thegpsstore.com came on board this past week in order to allow Todd Bodine and his crew to continue their quest for the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship. “The media we have generated these past weeks has allowed us to be here today. In fact, our sponsor, Drew Reger, heard about our situation on XM Radio. He tracked us down and made us an offer. That’s the power of NASCAR’s media and NASCAR’s fans,” explained team co-owner Randy Herzog. “He heard about our situation and as owner of The GPS store he was able to make something happen for us – I can’t believe our good fortune. Drew understands the business benefits of NASCAR. Our job is to run up front and make sure our fans know that thegpsstore.com made it possible. I am so excited to be on the No. 92 Chevrolet Monte Carlo this weekend,” explained Reger. “I have been a NASCAR fan for years and I know the business opportunities a NASCAR sponsorship can provide. With this team running as well as it has, it just made sense for us to help out. We are all going to be on hand to see the race. Hopefully thegpsstore.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo will make its way to victory lane.”(Eclipse Management PR)(5-2-2003)
UPDATE 3: Busch Series points leader Todd Bodine and #92 Herzog Jackson Motorsports (HJM) have signed a six-race partnership deal with ESGR (Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve) that will allow the team to continue its quest for the 2003 Busch Series Championship. The #92 HJM Chevy has been unsponsored for most of the season. The team, which is co-owned by Bill, Randy and Stan Herzog along with baseball Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson, ran without funding for the first nine races of this season. Questionable to run last weekend at Richmond, the team managed to land a one-race partnership deal with thegpsstore.com, an online site which specializes in the sales of Global Positioning Systems (GPS). Garmin, a leading manufacturer of GPS equipment, partnered with thegpsstore.com for the event. ESGR’s partnership with the HJM team allows the racing organization’s future to be less uncertain. Locations named in the partnership deal include: Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway, Nazareth (Penn.) Speedway, Lowe’s (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Kansas (Kan.) Speedway. Chartered in 1972 by Presidential Proclamation, the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency that acts as a liaison between those serving in the Guard or the Reserve and their full-time civilian employers. Based in Arlington, Virginia and using a network of 4,200 volunteers nationwide and overseas, ESGR serves as the official employment rights information source for members of the Guard and Reserve and their civilian employers. Herzog Jackson Motorsports and ESGR will team up for the first time this weekend for the running of the Charter Pipeline 250 at Gateway (Ill.) International Raceway in Madison, Illinois. For more information on Herzog Jackson Motorsports, Todd Bodine and ESGR, please visit www.hjmotorsports.com, www.reggiejackson.com, www.todd-bodine.com and www.esgr.com.(Eclipse Management PR)(5-8-2003)
