From The Inside
by Todd Bodine-Staff Writer and Winston Cup Driver
10/17/2003

Hi Race Fans –

The BelCar Racing team headed to Lowe’s Motor Speedway last weekend hoping to continue our luck from the previous weekend at Kansas Speedway. Last weekend’s event from Lowe’s was run under the lights, something new for the track for the fall event, and I was excited heading into the weekend.

When the first practice rolled around, we were very pleased with the National Guard Ford. We were in the top 15 in practice and even though we were fighting a little bit of a tight condition in the middle and off, we thought we had a good car for the weekend.

We backed everything up in qualifying and posted the eighth quickest lap. It’s another top ten qualifying run and these guys deserve it because they’ve worked hard. I’m happy for them because it’s about time they got something for what they’ve done. This is a brand new car and body, so we’re pleased with the results thus far.

We got a second practice in before the rains came and we were fourth on the charts. We only needed that first practice to shake down the car for race trim. We weren’t too concerned to lose final practice due to rain. A tight condition persisted but not too bad or unmanageable.

The first 200 laps of the UAW-GM Quality 500 saw car 54 running in the top 10. Pit stops on laps 61, 87, 153 and 161 saw only minor adjustments made to the car. The main complaint I gave the crew was it was tight through the center and off the corners, especially on the longer runs. Track bar, wedge and air pressure were among the changes made to fix the Guard machine.

We made little changes to the car. Each time we left pit road, it seemed like the car was getting better and better. The guys in the pits had an awesome night too. They were averaging stops in the mid-14 second range. This team really seems to be clicking right now and I’m excited to see what the rest of our season can produce.”

I was running in eleventh position and recording lap times equal to Stewart on lap 200. He was dicing things up with Elliott Sadler when the 38 car appeared to take the air off car 54.

Our cars are so aerodynamically sensitive. When a car gets close behind you, it does not take much for your car to get upset. It happens so quick that sometimes you can recollect it and sometimes you have to hang on and hope for the best. Its just racing and it’s a shame that Elliott’s day ended after this and realistically, ours did too. We didn’t have anything for them after our car was damaged. It’s tough to just ride around to the finish after the car we originally had. It was really good.

I absolutely hate what happened. We had such a good weekend going. We had an excellent qualifying effort and our practice sessions were really good. It was a good consistent performance for us. We definitely had one of the best cars out there since we unloaded at Charlotte. If we weren’t running lap times as fast as Tony Stewart, we certainly had a top three, or at least a top five car. I can’t believe our run had to end like this

The incident forced car 54 to come in for several pit stops to fix a damaged front end. Despite the team’s hard work, the car’s handling drastically went away and we had to settle for 29th place.

Hopefully we can keep our momentum. I’m going to shrug off what happened in Charlotte and concentrate on Martinsville. We know how to run good there too and there’s no reason why we can’t deliver a top five-finish.

The NASCAR Winston Cup series will make our final short track appearance this weekend from Martinsville Speedway.

Everything is needed to run well at this place. The car has to handle well through the corners. Being that it’s only a half-mile, brakes will become an issue if you are lacking in the handling department. You can’t afford to use up the brakes, because 500 laps is a long way to go when the car isn’t handling the way you want it. We can’t be short on horsepower either. You need it to pull you through the straightaways.

We’ll have a new look this weekend on the No. 54 Ford Taurus and we’re excited.

Our advertiser, The National Guard is once again joining forces with Subway Restaurants. Subway was on our quarter panels for Watkins Glen, but this weekend, you can’t miss them. Subway will have the primary spots on the car, maximizing its presence during the Martinsville Subway 500 weekend. Instead of our usual car 54 flag theme, we’ll be sporting yellow, green and blue colors. We’ll still have the continued support of the 350,000 Guard members, but we’ll also bring along with us, fans of America’s healthiest fast food chain.

Also, this weekend I’ll make my third 300 career start in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

I reached a similar mark in Kansas with my Busch stats and to be honest, I don’t keep track of this type of accomplishment. Thinking about it though, I’ve actually got mixed emotions. Certainly, I would have hoped to have a Winston Cup win under my belt by now. At the same time, I realize I am very fortunate to be racing in NASCAR’S top series. The way I am looking at this now, is career start 300 could very well lead to my first Cup victory. I will certainly be shooting for it this weekend. We’re bringing the car we raced at the second Richmond event. It practiced, qualified and raced well, so I feel really confident about our chances going into this race.

The Winston Cup Series are ready to attack Martinsville Speedway this weekend. The green flag for the Subway 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 7:00 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