The Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge is set to take
place Jan. 2-4 in Lake Placid, N.Y., with a host of NASCAR
drivers lined up for the fourth annual event.
Recently-crowned NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion
Johnny Benson heads a list of six NASCAR drivers set to slide
into bobsleds this weekend. Todd Bodine, Joey Logano, Brian
Loftin, Philip Morris and Boris Said will round out the NASCAR
contingent.
The event will once again be sponsored by Whelen Engineering,
title sponsor for three of NASCAR’s weekly and touring series –
the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, the NASCAR Whelen
Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
“We take great pride in being a longtime sponsor of the Bo-Dyn
Bobsled Project, Inc.,” said Phil Kurze, Vice President of
Motorsports for Whelen Engineering and President of the Bo-Dyn
Bobsled Project. “When the title sponsorship of this event
became available, we were very excited about the opportunity to
support such a wonderful event.”
The Bodine Bobsled Challenge will see NASCAR drivers pilot
specially-made bobsleds down the track in Lake Placid’s Olympic
Sports Complex, site of the 1980 Winter Olympics. In Race 1, all
the drivers will compete against the clock as they take two runs
down the track. Race 2 will feature head-to-head racing between
NASCAR and NHRA drivers, with the winner from each division set
to square off in the final heat for bragging rights. The NHRA
will be represented in the challenge by POWERade Pro Stock
Champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Top Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR
Todd, and Bob Vandergriff.
Also set to compete in the event is road course racer Eric
Curran and Sprint Car driver Tom Tolbert.
Said, a part-time NASCAR driver and analyst for ESPN’s NASCAR
coverage, will enter the event as the favorite. A five-time
Bodine Bobsled Challenge winner, Said’s only loss in the first
three years of the event, either during the timed or
head-to-head portions, came in a match-up against Kevin Lepage
in 2005.
Benson, who captured his first NASCAR Camping World Truck
Series title in 2008, will compete in the Bodine Bobsled
Challenge for the second year in a row. The same can be said for
Logano, who will be a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie
of the Year contender in 2009. Todd Bodine, brother of event
founder and former NASCAR driver Geoff Bodine and 2006 NASCAR
Camping World Truck Series champion, has competed in the Bodine
Bobsled Challenge each year of its existence.
Champion drivers Loftin and Morris will represent NASCAR’s
touring and weekly ranks. Loftin captured his first NASCAR
Whelen Southern Modified Tour title in 2008 and will make his
debut at Lake Placid this weekend. Morris, who also participated
in the 2007 Bodine Bobsled Challenge, earned his second career
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series crown this past season.
“Getting to compete in the Bobsled Challenge was one of the
highlights of my 2006 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
championship,” Morris said. “To be able to go to Lake Placid and
run the same courses that the Olympic guys do and experience
what they experience is pretty outlandish for me.”
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Ted Christopher was
extended an invitation, but will not participate due to prior
commitments.
The Bodine Bobsled Challenge is geared to raise money for the
Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which was started in 1992 by Geoff
Bodine. The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has built American-made
bobsleds for United States athletes competing in the World Cup,
World Championships and Olympic Winter Games. Funds raised from
the Bodine Bobsled Challenge go directly to this project.
SPEED channel is set to televise four hours of the Whelen
Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at
2 pm. MRN Radio has signed on to provide live coverage of the
Bodine Bobsled Challenge all three days.
Source: Jason
Cunningham/NASCAR PR
Posted:
December 30, 2008