DAYTONA BEACH, FL (July 7, 2003) – The final round of pit stops or lack of for that matter dictated the outcome of Saturday night’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Rookie driver Greg Biffle gambled on fuel mileage and won big by capturing his first Winston Cup victory.  Meanwhile, it was a solid night for the No. 54 National Guard team as its driver, Todd Bodine drove a strong race to claim 13th place, his third-top 15 finish of the season.

“I can’t complain,” said Bodine after starting the 160-lap event in 41st position. “I really wasn’t sure how good of a car we were going to have but the guys did a good job getting our car race ready. We really turned things around because we struggled most of the weekend during qualifying and practice. For some reason, this car likes to race and that’s really all that matters at a place like this.” 

A tight handling condition plagued the Guard car during the early stages of the event. The No. 54 was not the only car struggling since most cars in Bodine’s pack were forced to run at half throttle when exiting the corners and running through the straight-aways. Despite the disadvantage in track position, Bodine was able to work his way up into 24th place before being called down pit road for the first round of adjustments on lap 36. The crew went to work by changing right side tires, adjusting tire pressure and adding gas. The two-tire strategy helped Bodine gain valuable track position. After the entire pit stop rotation was completed, the Guard car had jumped up 16 positions to 8th place. 

“For the most part, the air pressure change helped,” continued Bodine. “But I really needed more because the car just didn’t want to stick to the bottom of the race track. It caused us to drop back a little bit when running with the lead pack. I knew if we continued to loosen up the car, we’d be able to get back up there. It was just a matter of finding the right balance.”

The opportunity to go back to work on the No. 54 machine occurred after a single-car incident brought out the caution flag on lap 63. The pit crew was able to make a significant wedge adjustment along with bolting on four fresh tires and adding fuel. 

Shortly after the stop, Bodine was running the high line in 20th spot when Kurt Busch lost a tire and went sliding across the track. Bodine’s spotter, Cal Lawson guided his driver through the incident as the yellow flag was thrown to slow down the field. The caution period allowed the frontrunners to come down pit road including the Guard car. Bodine needed four fresh tires, gas and a track bar adjustment. The service was completed on lap 75.

Twenty laps into the run, Bodine radioed in to the crew to report the car was running much better.  Pit strategy was starting to come into play. The leaders opted to duck down pit road on lap 102 for fuel and tires.  For guys like Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart one more pit stop for gas would be required. The same applied for Bodine as he brought his car down pit road for two tires and gas on lap 110. Crew Chief Derrick Finley came over the radio to tell his driver to keep an eye on Dale Jr. When Dale Jr. made his final stop, Bodine was to follow one lap later. It happened on lap 140.

The remaining 20 laps saw Bodine running with Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., and Michael Waltrip. NASCAR timing and scoring had the pack running the fastest, however the Roush cars of Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton were a mile ahead on the track gambling on gas mileage. The same applied for the Labonte brothers and Ricky Rudd who was running a Roush Racing engine. The gambling paid off as Greg Biffle led Jeff Burton, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag. Bodine guided the Guard car to a respectable 13th-place finish.

Images from Pepsi400 Weekend  -- Official Standings --  Official Points Standings

Read More About The Race:
http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/07/05/bc.car..nascar.daytona.ap/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/07/06/topfour_daytona/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/07/05/wreck_daytona/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/07/05/hood_pepsi400/index.html
 

By: Traci Hultzapple
Senior Account Manager – BelCar Racing - No. 54 National Guard Taurus
Cox Marketing Group / Mooresville, NC  28117