HAMPTON, Ga. (October 27, 2003) – Shortly after restarting the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on Monday, the No. 15 car of Michael Waltrip broke loose entering the straightaway at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Waltrip’s back end struck the No. 54 National Guard Ford sending it hard against the wall. The Guard car sustained serious damage & could not continue. Todd Bodine was transported to the infield care center where he was checked out and released. Car 54 finished 42nd.

“It’s such a shame because we had such a good car,” said Bodine to TNT’s Marty Snider. “The best way I can describe what took place is it’s just one of those racing deals. Michael did not come up into me. I think what happened is he simply got aerodynamically loose. It’s typical because of the way our cars are designed. They are so aerodynamically dependent so when they get slightly upset, they really react. Michael’s car was so sensitive on that first lap that he actually got into me two times. The first time, I was able to recollect it. Then the second time, my car just hooked around and went straight for the wall. There wasn’t a thing I could do.”

Bodine’s weekend started out very promising after recording his second-top ten start in three weeks. The speed charts clocked him going 191.814 miles per hour or 28.903 seconds. According to the driver, “The car was actually tight off both corners. I actually had to lift off a little bit coming out of turn four to keep from hitting the wall. It didn’t hurt us that much because the car was fast enough. I think we could have had something for Elliott Sadler if we didn’t have the pushing problem. That’s racing, and that’s the way it goes sometimes. The time should be good enough for a top 10.”

The National Guard driver was right on target. He started Sunday’s event in seventh position. With inclement weather lurking, the race was started and Bodine moved up to fifth place in theng laps. Despite the fast start, he was forced to drop back into 10th place on lap 20. Bodine then radioed in to Crew Chief Gary Cogswell that the car was handling tight through the middle and off of the corners. 

At the 51-mile mark, NASCAR threw the yellow flag after raindrops started dampening the track’s surface. The frontrunners, including Bodine took the opportunity to pit under caution. In 17 seconds, the crew made an air pressure and wedge adjustment along with taking on four new Goodyears and fuel. Once the cars got realigned, the race was red-flagged due to rain showers. Unfortunately, the raced was called shortly after 6 p.m. and rescheduled for Monday morning at 11 a.m. 

“When we took the green flag today, the car really stuck,” continued Bodine who restarted the race in 12th place. “I think what few adjustments we made on that first pit stop seemed to work. It’s just so disheartening to see all the work we have done come to this. 

I said it last week and I’ll say it again, we have a great group of guys assembled and we’ll continue to work towards next season. We are not going to let the last two weeks get us down.” 

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