NAZARETH, Penn. (May 19, 2002) – Todd Bodine and the Excedrin Racing team had an eventful day at Nazareth (Penn.) Speedway during the running of the Stacker 2 200 on Sunday.  Bodine, who ran solidly in the top-10 in the early stages of the race, was involved in several on-track incidents and finished the event in 23rd.

For the third time in the past four weeks, qualifying for the NASCAR Busch Series event was cancelled due to inclement weather.  NASCAR set the starting grid based on owner points and Bodine and the No. 92 Excedrin Chevrolet were set to start 12th.

The green flag flew on Sunday afternoon and Bodine worked his way into the top 10 early.  He remained there until lap 89 of the 200-lap event, when several cars made contact, which caused Bodine to spin.  Following the spin he was hit by the No. 24 car driven by Jack Sprague, which caused damage to the right side of the car.  Bodine, who told crew chief Tony (Rambo) Liberati that the incident might have caused a problem with the steering box, brought the car down pit road to the attention of his crew.  The crew changed four tires and checked the extent of the damage on the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  Though Bodine returned to the track, he brought the car in several laps later to allow the team to check and then reset the toe of the car.

Things went from bad to worse when, on lap 124, Bodine realized he had a flat left rear tire.  He brought the car into the pits once again for another four-tire change.  Despite the day’s problems, Bodine was running in 25th when a scary accident involving Greg Biffle and Jeff Purvis brought out the red flag on lap 166.  After a 20-minute red flag period, the race resumed with 20 laps remaining in the Stacker 2 200.  Bodine, still encountering problems with the No. 92 Excedrin Chevrolet, spun on the frontstretch with 18 laps to go.  Luckily, Bodine was able to keep the car off the wall and continue.  The Excedrin Racing team finished in a respectable 23rd place and now stands in the 13th position in the owner point standings. 

The NASCAR Busch Series sticks close to home next weekend for the running of the CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s (Charlotte, N.C.) Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon.  The event will be broadcast live on FOX television and PRN radio at 1:00 p.m. EDT.  Qualifying for the race will take place on Friday, May 24 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. 

For more Excedrin Racing information log onto www.excedrin.com. Excedrin is a family of non-prescription pain relievers for safe and effective pain relief for a range of headache types.  Excedrin is produced by Bristol-Myers Squibb, a leading diversified worldwide health and personal care company, whose principle businesses are medications, nutritionals and medical devices.

For more information on Herzog Jackson Motorsports, Reggie Jackson and Todd Bodine please visit www.hjmotorsports.com, www.reggiejackson.com and www.todd-bodine.com.
 
 
 

Prepared by: Michelle Marckwardt - Excedrin Racing/Eclipse Management Co.