KANSAS CITY, Kan. (October 5, 2003) – The No. 54 National Guard team brought home an 11th place in the Banquet 400 at Kansas (Kan.) Speedway. The result allowed the team to bounce back after last week’s unfortunate set back and claim it’s fifth-top 15 of the season.

"I am so happy for my guys,” said Bodine after qualifying 23rd. “After our last stop of the day, we went from 20th to 11th position. I drove my butt off the last 20 to get those spots. I think we could have had a top 10 but I ended up running pretty hard against Sterling Marlin. We battled side-by-side for a long time so it allowed Ricky Rudd to get a jump on us and take off in front.  

Honestly, I can’t complain. We were up and down all day with the car being tight and then loose, but Gary (Cogswell) worked on it and got it good at the end. It’s a great way to rebound after a really disappointing time in Talladega.”

In the early stages of the 400-mile event, the Guard car needed to turn more in the middle of the corners. The first opportunity to make adjustments occurred under green flag conditions on lap 62. In a blistering 14.97 seconds, the crew made an air pressure change along with bolting on four new Goodyear tires and adding gas. It allowed the team to take the restart on lap 77 in 15th place.

“It was pretty evident that Bill Elliott’s car was the class of the field,” said Crew Chief Gary Cogswell. “He was a good two-tenths faster than the second place car. When comparing our National Guard Ford to the rest of the field, we were running lap times good enough for a top five, top 10 position. All we needed to do for a good finish was keep it together and have a little luck on our side.”

At the 200-lap mark, the Guard car was running in 10th place. However after a stop on lap 202, the team experienced a minor set back. The car did not react well to a track bar adjustment. Bodine was forced to manhandle his machine. The challenge forced the driver to drop back to 20th place.

“I just had to hold on to the race car,” remarked Bodine. “It just did not want to turn in the middle of the corners and it was pushy loose when exiting. We desperately needed a caution flag to come out so we could pit and make changes. Fortunately, we got the break we needed when Mark Martin spun out on the frontstretch.”

Under caution on lap 236, Cogswell called car 54 in for track bar and air pressure changes as well as changing four tires and taking on fuel. Bodine took the restart in 20th spot and in the final 47-circuits; he worked his way up to finish eleventh.

“One thing that really helped us today was the pit crew,” added Cogswell. “I can’t say enough about our over-the-wall guys. They did an awesome job. Every time I clocked them, they were in the 14, 15-second pit stop range.”

“I drove my butt off the last 20 to get those spots,” said Bodine. “It was a great day for us. We needed this. This is a great team. We're probably not considered one of the better teams but we are. We've just got to get our act together every week like this. We can run up front, we've just got to do it."  

Meanwhile, it was Ryan Newman holding off Bill Elliott for his eight victory of the year. Elliott was followed by Jeremy Mayfield, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

To Read More About The Banquet 400 Event At Kansas City:
AP Story --- Kenseth --- ESadler Wreck --- TStewart / 4th

Unofficial ResultsWC -- StandingsWC  (TODD GAINS ONE SPOT)
 

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