Bodine ready to face track that nearly killed him
By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 24, 2002
2:14 PM EST (1914 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. -- If Geoffrey Bodine wins the Daytona 500 next month, you won't find him at his souvenir trailer after the race.
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Geoffrey Bodine
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When the checkered flag fell on the 1986 Daytona 500, Bodine went to Victory Lane for the winner's celebration. He did interviews and posed for pictures.
A few hours later, he was over at his souvenir trailer helping his mom and dad sell racing items to the public. In today's racing world, that would never happen with the media demands and public appearances that come with winning the Great American Race.
"Yeah, later in the evening after I won the 500 I ended up helping my parents out in the trailer," Bodine said with a laugh. "They were set up in the Kmart parking lot across from the track. There were still some fans wandering around and they were pleasantly surprised to find me in there helping out.
"They were quite surprised to find me there. That couldn't happen today, that's for sure."
Finding Bodine back at Daytona is kind of surprising, as well.
During the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series race at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in 2000, Bodine was involved in a horrific, fiery crash that could have killed him.
By all appearances, it looked like the worst had happened with sheet metal all over the frontstretch and the only thing left intact was the roll cage.
Sitting inside the twisted metal of the cockpit was Bodine. He escaped with injuries severe enough to hospitalize him for a few weeks, but not stop him from returning to the Winston Cup Series.
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Bodine competed at the fall race at Bristol in 2001 in a car owned by his brother Brett.
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He returned to action later that year but was let go from his Winston Cup ride. Last year he drove the No. 66 Chevrolet for Welliver-Jesel Motorsports in the Busch Series. However, he was let go just before the season ended.
If nothing else, Bodine has showed he isn't going away any time soon.
This year, the 52-year old Bodine will be back at the track competing in the James Finch-owned No. 09 Ford in the Winston Cup Series. Bodine admits to having some trepidation about going back to the track that almost ended his life, but his focus is centered more on the positive things.
"I have mixed emotions going there," Bodine said. "I'm a past Daytona 500 winner and have won some other races there. Then, the truck accident and almost being killed there…I go there with a lot of good feelings.
"I survived the accident, so that's a good feeling. But, it's still a reminder that I'm a mortal person that can be hurt and killed.
"Of course, after seeing how we lost Dale Earnhardt last year reminds me just how fortunate I am to have survived my accident. I am a very fortunate person to be able go back to Daytona and race."
In addition to driving the No. 09 Ford in the Twin 125s to get into the Daytona 500, he will also partake in the Budweiser Shootout. Bodine won the then-called Busch Clash in 1992 making him eligible for the non-points race.
"I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity with James Finch and Phoenix Racing," Bodine said. "They have good equipment and we ended up being the fastest Ford out of the test.
"I'm not out to prove anything to anyone. I call it the three D's: dedication, determination and desire. I still have all three of them when it comes to racing. I'm not out to prove anything to anyone."
The only races Bodine and Phoenix Racing have scheduled are the ones held at the Florida tracks of Daytona and Homestead -- the home state of his sponsor, Miccosukee Indian Gaming. Bodine will also attempt both races at Talladega and is currently seeking sponsorship for those races.
During the aforementioned test session, some garage talk had Bodine and his team using some illegal measures to go so fast. Bodine denies those accusations.
"I'll tell you one thing, we weren't holding back," Bodine. "If anything, we found a little more to make us go even faster."
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