Some records seem destined to last forever, like Bill Elliott’s qualifying marks of 210.364 and 212.809 mph, respectively, at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. Geoffrey Bodine (No. 03 Team EJP Chevrolet) holds the title to one such lap – with the 197.478 speed he posted in November 1997 during qualifying for the NASCAR premier series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The pavement on the 1.54-mile track was brand new and Bodine took full advantage of its grip. “I don’t know if it was the perfect lap but it sure was one of the wildest laps ever run there,” Bodine said. “I was able to run it flat all the way through turns 1 and 2 and I was planning on trying to do the same thing through three and four. I had to just come off the throttle coming off turn 4 to keep it off the wall so it wasn’t perfect. “I am also very proud because that is a record that will last a long time with the rules the way they are and the track continuing to age.” It’s highly unlikely that Bodine or any other driver will come close to matching that speed in qualifying for Saturday’s inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 but one thing is certain: Atlanta will be one of the fastest venues on the series – alongside Daytona and Texas Motor Speedway. “The speeds will be high and that will offer a chance to pick up the draft,” said Bodine, who finished 10th in last month’s 2004 season-opening race at Daytona. “I am fortunate to have a lot of laps around the track, so we will have a head start against most of the field. “Some of what we know will transfer over from the (NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series) cars but the trucks are really totally different. So all you can do is make the best educated guess and fine-tune it from there.” Bodine, who finished third in the 1990 NASCAR premier series championship, won 18 times with more than $16.1 million in career winnings. He also added six NASCAR Busch Series wins. But Bodine also is a charter member of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series – as an owner as well as a driver. Bodine finished fifth in the series’ first race at Phoenix International Raceway. The Chemung, N.Y., native fielded full-season efforts in 1995 and ’96 with Dave Rezendes. In 1997, the seat in Bodine’s Ford was occupied by Tammy Jo Kirk, the first female competitor on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series whose 11th-place finish at Topeka that year remains best by a female driver in the series. Although he has yet to win a series race, the 53-year-old Bodine has come close, finishing second on three occasions. He came within two laps of victory at Martinsville Speedway in 1995 before a turn 4 shoving match with Mike Skinner (No. 42 Toyota Tundra Toyota) gifted the win to Joe Ruttman. “What you saw (in 1995) was a lot of (premier series) drivers came over and ran some of the races. It was a brand-new series and everyone wanted to be part of it,” said Bodine. “And you had a lot of top-notch drivers in the series back then – winners and champions from every form of racing you could think of. “But as the Cup schedule grew, it made it harder and harder for the drivers to come over and run truck races.” Shortly before the 2004 season began, Bodine got the opportunity to drive Peter Prescott’s Maine-based Chevrolet, thereby extending a NASCAR career in which Bodine believes still has some victories – and maybe even a championship – left. It’s the same philosophy that fuels the competitive drive of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rivals Skinner, Bobby Hamilton (No. 4 Square D Dodge), Ted Musgrave (No. 1 Mopar Dodge) and Steve Park (No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge). “What you have now is a real demand for the young drivers over in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup garage so it has given many of us older guys a chance to come to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and have some fun,” Bodine said.
NEWS & NOTES, PART II
* Where Atlanta will rank speed-wise … The 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway should be in some pretty fast company after Friday’s Bud Pole qualifying. The two quickest one-lap records are 187.563 at Daytona and 181.953 at Texas. Atlanta is the 42nd different venue to host a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
* Streak on the line in Atlanta … Dennis Setzer (No. 46 Chevrolet Silverado Chevrolet) notched his 21st consecutive top-10 finish on Feb. 13 at Daytona, a streak that began May 30, 2003 at Dover. He’s just three shy of Jack Sprague’s (No. 16 Chevy Trucks Chevrolet) record of 24, a string that opened on July 27, 1997 and ran through July 18, 1998.
* Etc. …Kelly Sutton (No. 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet) recently was awarded a Gene Autry Courage Award, which is presented to athletes who have overcome hardships and disabilities. Sutton competes despite being afflicted with multiple sclerosis (MS). Former Chicago Cubs third baseman and broadcaster Ron Santo also was honored at the Phoenix-area banquet, a fund-raiser for Arizona scholarship programs and youth charities.
* … Featherlite, a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series sponsor for nine seasons through its Long Haul Award program, has revised its program in 2004. Now known as the NASCAR/Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award, the award of $1,500 will be paid to the eligible driver improving the most positions from the finish of the previous event. Featherlite, the official trailer and coach of NASCAR, will pay a $10,000 end-of-season bonus to the driver winning the greatest number of Most Improved Driver awards during the 2004 season.
* … Tony Raines, a four-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner, returns to the series to drive the No. 08 Phoneco Chevrolet. Raines’ last appearance came in 1999 at The Milwaukee Mile. He most recently won at the old Louisville Motor Speedway in August 1998.
* Plenty of Atlanta experience in the field … Many series competitors have significant Atlanta Motor Speedway experience entering this week’s inaugural race at the 1.54-mile facility – especially Mike Skinner, winner of the 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Yellow Freight 200 and Ken Schrader (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Chevrolet), who won a 1991 NASCAR premier series race. Schrader is among the top-15 money winners at Atlanta with more than $1 million in earnings. Skinner also won a 500K ARCA race in 1995. … Hank Parker Jr. (No. 21 Innovative Motorsports Inc. Toyota) finished fifth in last year’s NASCAR Busch event while Shelby Howard (No. 23 Bill Davis Racing Toyota) nabbed a runnerup finish in the track’s 2003 ARCA race.
* Kimmel could take K Automotive team to victory lane … Frank Kimmel (No. 29 K Automotive Ford) has done everything but win at Atlanta, a track that has figured prominently in the Indiana native’s five ARCA RE/MAX championships. Kimmel counts six poles and nine top five and ten top-10 finishes in 15 trips to AMS.
* Mike Skinner could be considered the “series king” of debut races, having won six of them – all in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ inaugural season. Ted Musgrave and Jack Sprague have won a pair of first-time events. Bobby Hamilton and Kenny Schrader count one apiece. Musgrave’s May 2003 victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway is the most recent.
Fast Facts
What: EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 (Race No. 2 of 25).
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway.
When: 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, March 13.
Track layout: 1.54 -mile banked paved oval.
Race length: 130 laps/200.2 miles.
Posted awards: $487,932.
TV: SPEED Channel, 1 p.m. ET.
Radio: MRN, XM Satellite.
2003 winner: None – new event.
2003 polesitter: None.
Pre-race schedule (all times local): Friday – Practice, 9 – 11:15 a.m. Qualifying, 1:30 p.m. Final practice following NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practice, time permitting.(NASCAR PR)(3-12-2004)
