Todd Bodine carried over his success from Saturday’s
qualifying round to the finals as he earned his first Whelen
Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge championship Sunday at the
Olympic Sports Complex.
The top qualifier on Saturday, Todd Bodine was first out of
the chute in Sunday’s first round of Race 1, which featured
NASCAR and NHRA racers competing against the clock for a trip to
the podium. His maiden run of 49.83 seconds stood as the fastest
in the round as the top eight of 12 drivers advanced. In the
second round, with the race order inverted, nearly each driver
that went bested the one before him. Joey Logano, who went
next-to-last, posted a 49.56 to set the bar for Bodine. The
younger brother of the event’s namesake did not disappoint as he
crossed the finish line at 49.35. Bodine’s two-round combined
time of 1:39.18 earned the Race 1 title.
“I’ve had a good sled,” Bodine said. “During qualifying and
the first round I had really clean runs. The second round wasn’t
quite as fast as Larry’s [Gunselman], and what I needed to do
was just stay with them, and we got it done.”
Logano, in his second year of competition in the Bodine
Bobsled Challenge, finished with a combined time of 1:39.58.
Logano, who will contend for the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the
Year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, earned his first
invitation last year as the 2007 NASCAR Camping World Series
East championship. Gunselman came in third at 1:39.60.
Gunselman’s second run of 49.33 seconds was the fastest run of
either round in the morning session.
Morgan Lucas was the highest finishing NHRA competitor in
Race 1 at 1:39.83.
Boris Said, the defending Race 1 champion and five-time
winner in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge settled for a sixth-place
finish.
The event also included NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour
champion Brian Loftin, who finished eighth in his first
bobsledding experience. Philip Morris earned a return trip to
Lake Placid with his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
national championship in three years, finished 10th.
Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 featured two rounds of eliminations
and two head-to-head competitions. NASCAR was represented by
Todd Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Logano and Said while the NHRA
contingent included Lucas, Jeg Coughlin J.R. Todd and Bob
Vandergriff. Geoff Bodine and Vandergriff were eliminated in the
first round while defending race winner Said and Coughlin failed
to advance past the second round.
In the semifinals of Race 2, which pitted the two fastest
NASCAR and NHRA drivers against each other for a spot in the
championship, Todd Bodine once again edged out Logano with a
time of 49.25 for an advantage of .71 seconds. Meanwhile, Lucas
defeated Todd by .03 seconds to earn a spot in the finals
against Bodine.
For the final round, Bodine and Lucas were setup in
competition Bo-Dyn sleds used by the USA National Bobsled team.
USA Men’s Coach Brian Shimer served as brakeman for Bodine while
Women’s Team Coach Bill Tavares rode with Lucas.
Lucas, who was defeated by Said in the 2008 Bodine Bobsled
Challenge Race 2 finals, registered a 47.78-second run in the
articulated sled, nearly two seconds faster than his semifinal
run. In Bodine’s run, the NASCAR veteran had gained on Lucas’
time through nearly every stage, but rolled the sled coming out
of Turn 18. Bodine and Shimer were fine, but Lucas took home the
title.
“I felt bad about wrecking the sled, but I had this old-time
racer tell me once, ‘boy, if you can’t win, be spectacular,’ and
we were spectacular,” Todd Bodine said.
In the three-day event a total of 12 drivers piloted
specially-made bobsleds down the track in Lake Placid, site of
the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The Bodine Bobsled Challenge
is geared to raise money for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which
was started in 1992 by former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver
Geoff Bodine, who partnered with Chassis Dynamics. 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
the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. The annual dinner auction held in
conjunction with the event took place at the Lake Placid Crowne
Plaza Hotel & Resort Saturday night with proceeds also
benefiting the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. Whelen Engineering Vice
President for Motorsports and Bodine Bobsled Project President
Phil Kurze was satisfied with the results.
“The auction was on par with last year’s successful event,”
Kurze said. “In 2010, with it being an Olympic year, we look for
the Fifth Annual Bodine Bobsled Challenge and auction to be an
even bigger and better event.”
SPEED will televise four hours of the Whelen Geoff Bodine
Bobsled Challenge on Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at 2 pm.
Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge
Race 1 – Timed Competition
Olympic Sports Complex
Lake Placid, N.Y.
Driver, Rd. 1 (Secs.), Rd. 2, Combined
1. Todd Bodine, 49.83, 49.35, 1:39.18
2. Joey Logano, 50.02, 71.29, 1:39.58
3. Larry Gunselman, 50.27, 49.33, 1:39.60
4. Morgan Lucas, 50.27, 49.56, 1:39.83
5. Jeg Coughlin, 50.36, 49.97, 1:40.33
6. Boris Said, 50.72, 49.68, 1:40.40
7. Eric Curran, 50.77, 49.81, 1:40.58
8. Brian Loftin, 50.86, 50.20, 1:41.06
9. Danny Bagwell, 50.93
10. Philip Morris, 51.10
11. Bob Vandergriff, 51.28
12. J.R. Todd, 51.44
Race 2 – Elimination Competition
Olympic Sports Complex
Lake Placid, N.Y.
First Round – NASCAR
1. Todd Bodine, 49.53 seconds
2. Joey Logano, 49.60
3. Boris Said, 49.62
4. Geoff Bodine, 50.06
First Round – NHRA
1. J.R. Todd, 49.24
2. Morgan Lucas, 49.38
3. Jeg Coughlin, 49.59
4. Bob Vandergriff, DNF
Second Round – NASCAR
1. Todd Bodine, 49.28
2. Logano, 49.70
3. Said, 49.88
Second Round – NHRA
1. Todd, 49.42
2. Lucas, 49.62
3. Coughlin, 49.93
Semifinals – NASCAR
Todd Bodine (49.25) def. Logano (49.96)
Semifinals – NHRA
Lucas (49.56) def. Todd (49.59)
Finals – NASCAR vs. NHRA
Lucas (47.78) def. Todd Bodine (48.22)
Source: Jason
Cunningham/NASCAR PR
Posted:
January 4, 2009
