Brett Bodine

Brett Bodine (born January 11, 1959, in Chemung, New York), is a former NASCAR Winston Cup driver. He is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine and the older brother of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Todd Bodine.

Owner/Driver and its subsequent struggles

After the season, Johnson sold the team to Bodine. Bodine also bought former boss Kenny Bernstein's old team and merged them together to form Brett Bodine Racing. Bodine raced with Lowe's sponsorship for one more year, then signed Catalyst Communications for 1997, but that sponsor pulled its decals before the season was over. 1998 proved to be a bit better for Bodine, as he qualified for every race for the first time since 1995, and signing a more reliable sponsor in Paychex. The eventual struggles of being an owner/driver slowly crept up on Bodine, and he soon found himself struggling with the responsibilities of fielding a competitive team. In 1999, he signed up Ralphs Supermarkets to sponsor his car for 2000, and sold the team to businessman Richard Hilton. The later deal fell through, but he was still able to keep Ralphs as a sponsor. Bodine continued to struggle through 2000 though, as he failed to qualify five times that year, and wound up 35th in points. The car that had won six championships in the 70's and 80's was now having difficulties making the field on Sunday. He turned it around slightly in 2001, posting two top ten finishes (the first time he finished that high since 1997), and qualifying for all the races. Brett Bodine Racing also expanded to a two-car team for the first time in its history, fielding the #09 Ford for older brother Geoff, who himself was struggling to maintain his Winston Cup career, in two races.(This team was later sold to James Finch). When Ralphs decided not to re-sponsor the car in 2002, Bodine received sponsorship from minor sponsors such as Wells Fargo, before signing Hooters to a deal. As part of the deal, Bodine fielded a car from Hooters original driver Kirk Shelmerdine, for a couple of races. But after the team failed to make a race, Shelmerdine and his team splintered. In 2003, Bodine became involved in a nasty divorce from his wife and co-owner Diana. The dispute became so intense, that Bodine had to file a restraining order against his wife.http://www.ejfi.org/DV/dv-73.htm That year, Bodine planned to run a partial schedule, running six events until June, when Hooters pulled the plug on its sponsorship program. In the next race at Michigan, Bodine was seriously injured in a practice accident. The impact was violent, registering as high as 60 Gs. Brett suffered a broken collar bone and damaged teeth. He recovered from his injuries and tried again with a one race ride with the struggling Morgan-McClure Motorsports, but the car failed to make the field. With no major sponsorship for his team and most of his employees laid off, Brett attempted to run at Indy in a fan sponsored "Brick Car" where, for $500, fans would get their name on the car. The program was a success, but Brett failed to qualify for the race by .001 seconds. Rumors of a sponsor for 2004 and beyond surfaced, but nothing panned out and the team was sold. After all the recent events and struggles, he decided to retire. His team disappeared from the circuit, and now Bodine works for NASCAR's research and development program. He is working on cost cutting measures for the sport, the car of the future, and he drives the pace car on Sunday.

Related Topics:
Kenny Bernstein - Catalyst Communications - 1997 - 1998 - 1995 - Paychex - 1999 - Ralphs Supermarkets - 2000 - Richard Hilton - 70's - 80's - 2001 - Ford - Geoff - Winston Cup - James Finch - 2002 - Wells Fargo - Hooters - Kirk Shelmerdine - 2003 - Divorce - Restraining order - June - Michigan - Morgan-McClure Motorsports - 2004 - NASCAR - Research and development

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