DOVER, Del. (June 1, 2003) – After the running of the MBNA Armed Forces Family 400, the No. 54 National Guard team recorded its second top 15 of the season with a 12th place finish. The finish marks four-straight top 25 finishes and a gain of three positions in the driver standings.

"We had a good car,” said Bodine. “At the end of the runs we were faster than the leader, but at the beginning of the runs, I was just so loose that I had to hang on. I had to let a couple of cars go by until the Guard car came back to us. When it did, it was so much fun because we were real quick.  I’d like to see us go back and work on our pit stops this week. They weren’t as consistent as they needed to be and coming off good stops at the Coke 600, I know this crew can get the job done. We just need to practice even more to get that consistency we need to gain positions off the track as well as on it.”

For the first 100 laps, Bodine was running consistently in the top 25. His only comment to the crew was the car would break loose upon exit of each corner at the one-mile facility. Three opportunities under caution allowed the No. 54 to visit pit road for adjustments. A series of air pressure and track bar adjustments were completed on laps 40, 78, and 112. The changes helped dial in the car as the No. 54 was able to break into the top 20 by lap 196.

Bodine started having some fun dicing things up with the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch around the 250-lap mark. Both opponents were able to make their moves during the early stages of the run, however, 30 laps later the Guard car was faster than the Bud and Rubbermaid cars. Bodine passed both drivers to run in 13th place on lap 266.

A tense moment occurred on lap 312 when Bodine radioed in to report a possible rear tire going down. Crew chief Derrick Finley did not call the driver onto pit road after the team’s spotter reported the tire was fully inflated. The Guard car stayed out and fortunately the ill-handling feeling went away within three more laps.

“I thought I had a right-rear flat,” said Bodine to the media after the race. “I went down in three and four and it just kicked sideways for no reason at all. It was doing the same thing the next couple of corners, but then it got better and better. I was trying to ease up on the tire and trying not to spin it and it came back. We got lucky because the car still ran good after that."

One final stop for fresh Goodyears took place on lap 391. While most of the frontrunners stayed out, Bodine and his running mates, Ricky Craven, Robby Gordon and Jamie McMurray chose to take fresh tires for the final eight-lap dash to the finish. The call for new tires worked, as the Guard car was able to over take Jamie McMurray in the closing laps to finish 12th. Ryan Newman was victorious, capturing his second win of the season.

Todd Bodine’s comments after qualifying for the MBNA Armed Forces Family 400:
(Qualified 21st) - "The car has just been a little tight up off the corner all day and we never figured out exactly what it was. We made a small change to qualify and it was better. We ran the same speed and everybody else has slowed down a little - not everybody - one guy went faster, but that was a good run. That's not what we'd want. We want a pole and we want to be up front, but that's good enough to put us midpack and it's a long race."
 

To Read More About Sunday’s Events:

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/06/01/dover_lede/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/06/01/jjohnson_dover/index.html

http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/wc/06/01/early_crash/index.html

Results   ---   Standings   ---   Images from Dover
 

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