ROCKINGHAM, NC (February 23, 2003) –  After picking up 17 positions during today’s Subway 400 from its original starting position of 40th, a cut down tire on lap 85 ended the day for the No. 54 National Guard team. Bodine and the crew tried to make repairs for over an hour but the damage was too much to overcome relegating the Guard guys to a 42nd place finish.

"We had a flat tire,” said Bodine to the media as the Guard crew worked on the car in the garage area. “That's the second Rockingham race in a row we've had a flat right-front when running well. It's a shame because the National Guard Ford was fast. We worked our way up to 23rd and got in a good spot, so I just started riding because we had a long way to go and patience is what it takes at a place likes this.”

Track time at the North Carolina Motor Speedway leading up to today’s race consisted of an abbreviated practice session and qualifying round on Friday. Regardless, a solid set up was underneath Bodine and within the first 40 laps, the Guard car was running in 29th position. Bodine radioed in to crew chief Derrick Finley during the first run to report a handling condition of “loose” getting into the turns. Meanwhile, a mandatory caution to check tire wear on lap 45 was cancelled when Dale Earnhardt Jr. experienced problems on circuit number 44. The yellow brought the lead laps cars, including Bodine onto pit road on lap 47. The No. 54 pit crew went quickly to work to make an air pressure adjustment, bolt on four new Goodyears and add gas. The fast stop enabled Bodine to pick up one-track position to resume green flag racing in the 28th running spot on lap 54.

Just five laps into the run, Finley encouraged his driver by reporting his lap times equivalent to the leader. However on lap 80, Bodine radioed in to report a problem and before the team had a chance to rectify the situation, the No. 54 hit the wall.  

“I started bouncing around and thought I had a broken shock, but when we went for 10 laps like that I’m not sure what happened,” continued the National Guard driver. “Tire wear on the first run looked really good. We were real happy with the tires and the car. Goodyear does a great job building tires for us. A place like Rockingham is so abusive on tires. It’s literally like running on a big piece of sand paper. Since all we did was put only put a pound of air into the right-front to tighten up the car, we must have just run something over."

Despite the disappointing day, the Guard crew is regrouping and targeting Las Vegas as the place to capture their first victory of 2003. Gambling for speed may not be necessary after a very promising test session from the Guard guys earlier this month. Bodine will attempt to defend his pole position this Friday at 3:05 p.m. ET. Sunday’s main event, the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 will get underway at noon, LIVE on FOX.

To Read More About Today’s Events:
Race Results   Point Standings   Three paratroopers injured during pre-race festivities

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