From The Inside
by Todd Bodine-Staff Writer and Winston Cup Driver
10/31/2003

The NASCAR Winston Cup Series headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, a track that is one of the fastest on the circuit. My career best finish in Winston Cup came at this Hampton, Georgia based track back in 1994 and as a team we headed into the track with all hopes of beating that on Sunday.

In the first practice session the National Guard Ford was good. We were just a little on the tight side and we looked into camber, air pressure and shocks to help. We were fast and felt we had a good shot at qualifying.

Sometimes at Atlanta qualifying mid pack is ideal. The humidity has a chance to build up the later you go in time trials. In our case it really didn't do it, but we didn't mind our qualifying draw of lucky 13.

The speed charts clocked us going 191.814 miles per hour or 28.903 seconds in qualifying. The car was actually tight off both corners. I actually had to lift off a little bit coming out of turn four to keep from hitting the wall. It didn't hurt us that much because the car was fast enough. I think we could have had something for Elliott Sadler if we didn't have the pushing problem. That's racing, and that's the way it goes sometimes. The time should be good enough for a top 10, and it was for the second time in three weeks we were starting our No. 54 BELCAR Racing entry in the top ten.

The car was good in the two remaining practice sessions of the weekend; we were looking forward to good results on Sunday.

With inclement weather lurking, the race was started and we had moved up to fifth place in the opening laps. Despite the fast start, we were forced to drop back into 10th place on lap 20.

I radioed in to Crew Chief Gary Cogswell that the car was handling tight through the middle and off of the corners.

At the 51-mile mark, NASCAR threw the yellow flag after raindrops started dampening the track's surface. The frontrunners, including the No. 54 took the opportunity to pit under caution. In 17 seconds, the crew made an air pressure and wedge adjustment along with taking on four new Goodyears and fuel. Once the cars got realigned, the race was red-flagged due to rain showers. Unfortunately, the raced was called shortly after 6 p.m. and rescheduled for Monday morning at 11 a.m.

Shortly after restarting the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on Monday, the No. 15 car of Michael Waltrip broke loose entering the straightaway at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway. Waltrip's back end struck the No. 54 National Guard Ford sending it hard against the wall. The Guard car sustained serious damage and could not continue. I was transported to the infield care center where I was checked out and released. Car 54-finished 42nd.

It's such a shame because we had such a good car. The best way I can describe what took place is it's just one of those racing deals. Michael did not come up into me. I think what happened is he simply got aerodynamically loose. It's typical because of the way our cars are designed. They are so aerodynamically dependent so when they get slightly upset, they really react. Michael's car was so sensitive on that first lap that he actually got into me two times. The first time, I was able to recollect it. Then the second time, my car just hooked around and went straight for the wall. There wasn't a thing I could do.

When we took the green flag today, the car really stuck. I think what few adjustments we made on that first pit stop seemed to work. It's just so disheartening to see all the work we have done come to this.

I said it last week and I'll say it again, we have a great group of guys assembled and we'll continue to work towards next season. We are not going to let the last two weeks get us down.

We're moving on as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend.

In Phoenix we need to do everything we can to get the car to turn. It's the biggest thing I ask for when trying to get the car to handle the way I need it. Usually, my biggest complaint over the last couple of races has been tight in turns one and two. When it comes to turns three and four, we've been loose off. So, I have Gary (Cogswell) already thinking about ways we can combat those problems.

If we can practice well, qualify up front and have a little luck on Sunday, we should be able to score a much-deserved top ten finish.

The Winston Cup Series are ready to attack Phoenix International Raceway this weekend. The green flag for the Checker Auto Parts 500 drops shortly after 3:30 PM EST, with live coverage on NBC beginning at 3:00 PM EST, with MRN radio also joining at 3:00 PM EST.

I am hoping for a great race on Sunday 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

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