EARLY ACCIDENT IN
RICHMOND
DISAPPOINTS EXCEDRIN
RACING TEAM
RICHMOND, Va. (May 3, 2002) – An
incident on lap 51 of Friday night’s 250-lap NASCAR Busch Series event
at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway critically injured the No. 92 Excedrin
Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Due to the extent of the damage, driver Todd
Bodine and the Excedrin Racing team had no choice but to retire from the
Hardee’s 250 early, and were credited with a 39th-place finish.
Persistent rain showers on Thursday
forced the NASCAR Busch Series teams to line up on the starting grid based
on the 2002 Busch Series owner point standings. It was the second
week in a row that Mother Nature washed out qualifying and Todd Bodine
and the Excedrin Racing team started the Hardee’s 250 in 10th place.
The green flag flew for the start
of the first of seven night races of the season and almost immediately
Bodine radioed to crew chief Tony Liberati that the No. 92 Chevrolet Monte
Carlo was tight in the middle of the corners. Despite the tight handling
condition, Bodine remained in the top-10 in the early stages of the event.
A sealer applied to the track surface
to protect the .75-mile oval from the somewhat harsh Richmond winters made
for tough passing and a one-groove racetrack. Unfortunately, on lap
51, Bodine found out all too well just how tight the racing was.
While racing with Jeff Green, driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet, Bodine and
Green got together in the middle of turns three and four. The damage
to both cars was severe and neither car was able to continue. Bodine
completed 50 laps of the 250-lap event.
“I hate it for the Excedrin team,”
said Bodine after the mandatory trip to the infield care center.
“Jeff was trying to get in line and I was trying to let him in line.
I got on the brakes a little hard and the back end started to come around
on me. I couldn’t turn the steering wheel and I ended up getting
into Jeff. It’s a shame. We tore up two good racecars.
It wasn’t intentional. The outside groove was just treacherous and
I was just trying to be careful and ride around. Unfortunately, we
got in trouble anyway.”
The NASCAR Busch Series travels to
New Hampshire International Speedway next weekend for the running of the
Busch 200 on Saturday afternoon. The event in Loudon, New Hampshire
will be broadcast live on FX television and MRN radio at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Qualifying for the race will take place on Friday, May 10, at: 3:30 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.
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