Catchfence

Mooresville, N.C. (February 16, 2010) – Germain Racing has a new look for 2011. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champions are kicking off the year with a sponsorship from Tire Kingdom on the No. 30 Tundra and this season will be the first in two years that sees the 30 Tundra have a full-time teammate again. In fact, Bodine will be flanked by three teammates—Max Papis in the No. 9 GEICO Tundra, Brendan Gaughan, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Tundra and Justin Lofton, No. 77 Lofton Cattle Tundra. Germain Racing’s three full-time additions to the Truck Series have played into the recipe for what could be the most competitive season in history, according to the reigning champ who is attempting to race in all three events at Daytona International Speedway this weekend.

“I’m excited about the truck series and for the series because we’ve got a lot of new teams coming in with really good drivers. I feel like this is probably going to be the most competitive year in the Truck Series ever,” explained Bodine, who is racing at Daytona International Speedway for Tire Kingdom in the No. 30 Tire Kingdom Tundra on Friday night, in the No. 15 Tire Kingdom Camry on Saturday and on Sunday in the No. 60 Tire Kingdom Camry.

Bodine says the reason 2011 should go down in history as the best season ever is that the Truck Series fields are brimming full of competitive racing teams and drivers and it’s why the fans keep coming back to watch the Trucks.

“When the series first started, they had a lot of good guys, but there was only five or six teams that really could step up anytime and win a race. If you look at the list of teams we’ve got and drivers, I think this year there’s an honest 12 or 15 teams that could win on any given week. To have that kind of level of competition is incredible,” said Bodine, noting that in a 36 truck field, nearly half of the competition is regularly competing for the win each week. “I believe that’s one reason that fans are drawn to the Truck Series,” said Bodine. “We’ve got a lot of good teams that are on level playing fields. We don’t have four or five that are going to run away with the show every week. When the fans show up to watch, they never know who is going to win.”

Bodine and Germain Racing are part of the deeper talent pool this season. They have recruited three full-time drivers to add to their Truck Series fleet this year. Bodine did his part. They are also part of another big three in Daytona as Bodine and Germain Racing attempt to race in the Truck Series season opener as well as the NNS and NSCS openers all with sponsorship from Tire Kingdom.

“It’s pretty neat. I don’t know that it’s ever been done where one sponsor sponsored all three series at Daytona — the same driver, same team. Tire Kingdom has been in racing — they do a lot of other things in NHRA and drag racing, and they partnered with Valvoline to come up with this program for Speed Weeks. We’re really proud to be able to be with them in NASCAR. Hopefully we can grow the program and make it bigger and better down the line,” said Bodine.

Bodine is strapping into racing chassis TRD-058 for Friday’s season opener. It is the only chassis to ever be a No. 30 Tundra at Daytona or Talladega. The truck has four restrictor plate wins in a stretch that began with a pole and win in 2007 at Talladega and continued through a win at Daytona in 2009 in a then unsponsored No. 30 Tundra. No driver had collected four consecutive superspeedway wins when Bodine accomplished this.

Watch Bodine in the No. 30 Tire Kingdom Tundra on Friday, February 18th, at Daytona International Speedway on SPEED with race coverage beginning at 7:30 PM Eastern. Or, tune your radio to your local MRN affiliate.

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

ABOUT SERVICE CENTRAL:

Service Central® is the automotive service offering available exclusively at Tire Kingdom®, NTB-National Tire and Battery®, Merchant’s Tire and Auto®, and Big O Tires®. Available at nearly 1,300 locations nationwide, its trained and certified ASE technicians use state-of-the art equipment to provide quality service on cars or trucks. The nationwide warranty provides peace of mind while it protects consumers and their investment in over 40 states. (http://www.facebook.com/ServiceCentralRacing)

ABOUT TBC RETAIL GROUP

Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, TBC Retail Group, Inc., a subsidiary of TBC Corporation, operates more than 800 tire and automotive service centers under the brands: Tire Kingdom®, NTB – National Tire and Battery®, and Merchant’s Tire and Auto Centers®, along with nearly 500 franchised Big O Tires® locations. The contingent of nearly 1300 stores has trained and certified ASE technicians who use state-of-the-art equipment to provide quality service on cars and trucks. The nationwide warranty provides peace of mind while it protects consumers and their investment in over 40 states. TBC Retail Group employs more than 300 associates at its Juno Beach, Fla. headquarters and approximately 10,000 associates nationally. To locate a store near you, call 800-NEW-TIRE. TBC Corporation, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, is one of the nation’s largest marketers of automotive replacement tires through a multi-channel retail and wholesale strategy.

- Germain Racing Press Release