FONTANA, Calif. (April 28, 2003) – Todd Bodine and Herzog Jackson Motorsports picked up their fourth top-five finish of the season on Saturday at California Speedway. Bodine finished fifth in the CaliforniaSpeedway.com 300, which helped him maintain his place as the points leader in the NASCAR Busch Series driver's points standings, 99 points ahead of second place.

After Friday's qualifying efforts, Bodine started the 150-lap event in the fourteenth position. When the green flag was thrown on Saturday for the commencement of the race, the No. 92 quickly battled its way into the tenth position after just 22 laps. Lobbying for track position with fellow Winston Cup drivers Micheal Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick, Bodine was running in the eighth position when a caution on lap 41 brought him into the pits. Crew chief Tony "Rambo" Liberati made the call for four new tires and a small air pressure adjustment. Upon the stellar performance by the Herzog Jackson Motorsports pit crew, Bodine gained valuable track position.  When the green flag was thrown for the restart on lap 47, the No. 92 was in fifth place. 

Bodine continued to battle for track position for the next twenty laps. When the third caution of the day was thrown on lap 67, Liberati once again made the call for Bodine to enter the pits for four fresh tires. With fresh Goodyears on the No. 92, Bodine left the pits in the 22nd position after most of the cars on the lead lap decided to stay on the track, but had no problems making his way back into the top-10, at times matching lap speeds of the leaders.

A caution on lap 117 gave the Herzog Jackson Motorsports Chevrolet one more opportunity to enter the pits for fresh rubber and a splash of gas. Upon the restart on lap 123, Bodine battled for position in the top-10. After jockeying for position with the No. 48 in a remarkable display of racing, Bodine managed to make a pass on the inside to grab the fifth place finish.  

"The Herzog Jackson Chevy was really great today." stated Bodine. "We knew we had a car capable of running well, but Tony made some great calls as far as the pit situations. I hoped that it would come down to racing and not just a fuel mileage war. Hopefully we can get sponsorship for the Herzog Jackson Chevy because these guys really deserve it. They have proved themselves every weekend to be one of the premier teams in the Busch Series. I'm just extremely grateful to be a part of a team that gives 100% week in and week out."

Herzog Jackson Motorsports will head to Richmond, Virginia this Friday for the Hardee's 250 at Richmond (Va.)  International Raceway. The Friday night race will be broadcast live on FX beginning at 7:00 pm EDT on May 2nd. MRN Radio will also broadcast the race live beginning at 7:00 pm EDT.
 

Holly Heidenwirth / Eclipse Management Co., Inc.