From The Inside
by Todd Bodine-Staff Writer and Winston Cup Driver
09/26/2003

Hi Race Fans -

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series made our arrival to Dover International Speedway last weekend, however Hurricane Isabel beat us their and delayed all NASCAR activities on Friday. This left the BelCar Racing team starting the event on points, with two rounds of practice on Saturday.

In the first practice session, the National Guard Ford wanted to push and then whip loose upon exit. We made some changes with the sway bar, camber, wedge, and the springs trying to fix the problem and prepare for the second practice session.

In Happy Hour, the car was about the same. Near the close of the session, the car was beginning to react and we were a lot better on the last run. We worked with camber and wedge adjustments all throughout the session.

When we took the green flag on Sunday, the No. 54 Ford Taurus was tight in the middle, but throughout the course of the race we were getting better with the handling. The guys on pit road were good all weekend and on race day. They were able to pump out stops in the 15-second range, and I continue to thank them for all their hard work.

When I first heard that NASCAR was going to do away with racing back to the yellow flag, I had mixed feelings. The rumor was, once you were a lap down, the only way you could it back was under green flag conditions. That's next to impossible to do. I also understood the reason with doing away with it because safety was always an afterthought. It's just the art of competition. You do what you have to do and hope no one makes mistakes. But when NASCAR met with us and explained it on Saturday, I was really impressed. I really have to commend the sanctioning body. The ruling puts safety first and yet, it's very fair, maybe even generous to the competitors. You still have a shot at getting back in the race, if you have a good car.

At a place like Dover, if you are starting in the back, despite how good of a car you have, you still have a chance at getting a lap down because it's a small track. I found it out yesterday because we were running 20th after gaining 13 positions on the track. In just 72 circuits, we were a lap down. Having the opportunity to get it back under the new ruling is very fair. Just ask Ryan Newman. He was two laps down and ended up winning the race because he had a good car and a good strategy. Its just racing and everyone has the same opportunities. It's just who can play it out the best.

I was thinking to myself that the National Guard team is in the trivia books. We are the first team in the history of NASCAR to benefit from this new ruling.

From the way we started off the weekend, we were ecstatic with a top twenty finish.

Our car really took off after the final two pit stops of the day. For most of the race, we started out loose and then the car got tough to turn through the middle of the corners the longer the run. We kept working on it and working on it and finally we got the car to handle the way we needed. It came at exactly the right time.

We were actually a top 10, top 15 car on the short runs. It raced really well for 30 laps. After that, the car would fall off a bit by starting to push through the corners. I was happy to see the last caution because I felt once the race went back to green, we'd have a shot at gaining positions on the track

The series takes our final hit to the restrictor plate tracks this weekend. We've had some good runs this year at Daytona, and while we were swept into the "Big One" here in April at Talladega, we're hoping to be up front this weekend.

The best way to describe racing at Talladega is a high-speed chess game. A driver has to be calculating. During the race, I am constantly taking mental notes. I have to keep track of who I draft well with and what's been the best line to run … the high groove or low. Plus, you need to able to anticipate what's about to happen in front of you. When this race is over I am pretty wiped out.

With the new rules changes for this weekend, I respect the fact that NASCAR is constantly retooling the car specs to make for better racing. I think safety and competition were held in high regard to come to this latest decision. I think we can expect to see better side-by-side racing, which is what the fans want. From a driver's perspective, I am expecting a better throttle response and acceleration with this larger plate. The spoiler will help keep the speeds down and improve the balance of the car. All in all, I think on paper, it's a good move. We'll just have to see how things pan out once we get on the racetrack.

NASCAR has also approved the use of the Escape Hatch this weekend and I've chosen not to use it. I think it's a great idea, however I'm not having my guys install it in the car until it's mandatory. It's great from a safety standpoint but it puts you at a disadvantage competition wise. That's something I can't afford right now. With the safety hatch, your weight distribution on the roof is a big disadvantage. It's added weight and it's up high. Two things you try to avoid when putting a car together to run fast and be aerodynamically sound. I think if we had more time to prepare … build a new car with the escape hatch in mind, I'd feel a little different about it. But for now, I won't run with it until we have more time to do research and it's mandatory.

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series is ready to attack Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. The green flag for the EA Sports 500 drops shortly after 1:00 PM EST, with live coverage on NBC beginning at 12:30 PM EST, with MRN radio also joining at 12:30 PM 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