Mike Hillman, a native of East Lockport, N.Y., was credited in 2000 by owner/driver Brett Bodine for bringing his sparsely financed Ford team a greater level of respectability and competitiveness. Hillman, who has been with Bodine for one of his longer tenures in recent memory, is a master at using creativity where sheer financial horsepower doesn't exist and Bodine's team has been the latest beneficiary.