LONG POND, PA. (June 8, 2003) – National Guard driver Todd Bodine busted off another top-15 finish after Sunday’s running of the Pocono 500. The team’s 11th-place finish allowed Bodine to jump two positions to 30th place in the NASCAR Winston Cup driver standings. 

“This is exactly what we need to be doing,” said Bodine after the event. “In the last five races, we have improved with each race. As a driver, I can’t ask for anything more. This team continues to progress. I remember at the start of the season, we set a goal to be a top-25 team. I think that’s within our grasp.”

The Guard Car started the Pocono 500 in 14th position and wasted no time in getting to the front.  By the time the first caution flag flew on lap seven, Bodine was driving in the 10th spot. It was at this time the leaders came down pit road for the first round of pit stops. In 14.24 seconds, the Guard guys made an air pressure adjustment to loosen up the car along with changing four tires and adding fuel.

“All and all we weren’t too bad,” recalled Bodine. “We had to guess on our race set up since rain washed out Saturday’s practices. My only real complaint was that the car was too tight through the middle and off the corners. It was especially tight in turn three. But when it came to fixing it, I have to hand it to the pit crew; they really worked hard to improve upon last week’s pit stops. They really stepped up this week and showed me what they were made of and they were awesome.”

The next round of stops took place on lap 48 under green-flag conditions. Bodine’s car continued to run on the tight side so the crew went to work by adding a track bar adjustment to the mix. The change loosened up the car when exiting the corners however; it was still a challenge going through the middle of Pocono’s three turns. Despite the handling challenges, Crew Chief Derrick Finley opted to stay out in favor of track position when the second caution of the afternoon came out after Dale Jarrett crashed. The strategy worked moving Bodine from 14th to second place. 

By the halfway mark, the Guard car was running in the top 10 as well as managing the tight handling condition. A green-flag pit stop was successfully completed in 15 seconds on lap 125. It set up a new point of interest for the competition -- fuel strategy. Tabulations completed by the team showed one complete pit stop along with a gas-and-go service would be required to make it to the checkered flag.  For the competition, the pit stop came under caution flag conditions on lap 152. In 14.26 seconds, the National Guard crew changed four tires, made an air pressure adjustment and refueled the car to maintain 15th place. The stop-and-go service came on lap 190 after the No. 54 machine ran in first place for three laps. Leading the field also allowed Bodine to collect valuable driver standing bonus points. A caution came out two laps later for a crash involving Terry Labonte and Jeff Green.

“We tried to gamble and stay out in hopes for a caution,” said Crew Chief Derrick Finley. “We were the final car to take on gas and just two laps short from getting that caution flag we wanted.   However, it didn’t matter. I had to call Todd in because he would have run out of gas. Some tracks you can gamble, but with a track this size, 2.5-miles is a long way to go if you have to coast. We stood absolutely no chance in making it.” 

Winston Cup champion, Tony Stewart got his first victory of the season and first at Pocono by winning the Pocono 500.

Todd Bodine’s comments after qualifying for the Pocono 500:
(Qualified 14th) - "DID YOU HIT SOMETHING OUT THERE?  "Yeah, there were a couple of birds on the back straightaway on the get-up-to-go lap. One of them just missed the roof as it went over and one decided to take off in the wrong direction and he took off right in front of me and I got him with the front end. We're a little disappointed with that run. We thought we could pick up more, but we've been fighting a little bit free up off the corners the whole practice and we didn't get it fixed for qualifying. That's better than we ran in practice, so we've got to be happy with that. We felt like we could have gotten a little more, but we'll be alright for the race."

UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS   UNOFFICIAL POINTS STANDINGS

Read More About The Race:
http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/06/08/bc.car..nascar.pocono.ap/index.html
http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/06/08/jgreen_pocono/index.html
 

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