From The Inside
by Todd Bodine-Staff Writer and Winston Cup Driver
08/29/2003

Hi Race Fans - -

The BELCAR Racing team headed to Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, hoping to do two things, one recover from Michigan, and two survive the race, as we were unlucky in the spring and got washed out in an early accident.

When we unloaded, the No. 54 National Guard Ford was decent. We were battling a handling problem throughout the practices and qualifying. First, the car would be loose, then it would be tight, leaving us to make all kinds of adjustments in order to get the Ford Taurus to handle better.

It was not until Happy Hour, when we finally found something and we were able to rocket off the 13th fastest lap in the final practice session. The main plug was our car was better on old tires compared to the other drivers, which I felt would leave us with an advantage heading into raceday. The entire team was optimistic heading into the race on Saturday night.

It did not take long for the sparks to fly, and to our misfortune, we were caught up in the mess. It was just typical Bristol. Somebody got into somebody up in front of me. I'm not quite sure who it was, but usually the fifth car back or so gets it and that's what happened. That's just Bristol. I'm not gonna blame anybody for me being wrecked, but somebody got into somebody. It's a shame for the National Guard Ford and this crew, as we all deserve better than this.

We were able to come back from the garage after making lengthy repairs, but we would be forced to come back twice, once because the car was so loose, I couldn't drive it, and the other our battery failed in the car leaving us no power.

It's been a struggle for the BELCAR Racing team this season. We are so much better than what we are doing right now. It's not fair to the crew, to the sponsors, and to the fans, but I guess it's all a part of the game, and we can only hope that the rest of the 2003 season brings us everything that we are looking for.

The series rolls back into Darlington Raceway, or the track "To Tough To Tame." I am really looking forward to heading into the track for two reasons. We had a really good car in the spring, before getting collected in someone else's wreck and I scored a thriller win in the NASCAR Busch Series and I think that if we have some luck on our side, and remain consistent, we should be in the battle at the end.

I'd also like to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day weekend.

The Mountain Dew Southern 500 is set for this Sunday. You can expect a race full of action, as me and 42 other drivers try to avoid the "Darlington stripe." We'll take the green flag shortly after 12:30pm EST, and for those of you who can't be at the track, NBC and MRN will have live coverage beginning at 12:30pm EST.

I am hoping for a great race on Saturday night and hope that you will be keeping an eye on the National Guard Ford along with your favorite driver(s).

I'll talk to you next week and thanks for reading!
Todd Bodine

You can reach Todd Bodine at: tbodine@catchfence.com