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1/21/2009
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NHRA VS. NASCAR BOBSLED RACE
TO AIR
ON SPEED CHANNEL JANUARY 25
Second Race of the 4th Annual
Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge
to Follow the Rolex 24 at Daytona |
The second race of the 4th Annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge airs
Sunday, January 25 from 4 PM – 6 PM EST on The SPEED Channel. This bobsled
race features drivers from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) taking on
the drivers from NASCAR in a charity event. The Bodine Bobsled Challenge
features NASCAR and NHRA drivers piloting specially-made bobsleds down Lake
Placid ’s famous track in fun races geared to raise money for the Bo-Dyn
Bobsled Project. The New York Army National Guard has provided soldiers as
brakemen for the bobsled drivers the past three years.
Race 1, which already aired this past Sunday, saw Todd Bodine snap
Boris Said’s streak of five consecutive wins in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge
to win his first gold in bobsledding competition. Bodine turned in a
combined time of one minute, 39.18 seconds to claim victory. Joey Logano
took silver with a 1:39.58. Larry Gunselman earned bronze with a 1:39.60.
In the NHRA versus NASCAR showdown, Team NHRA is comprised of Top
Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR Todd, Bob Vandergriff and Pro Stock driver Jeg
Coughlin, Jr. This will be the third event for Lucas and Todd, with Lucas
giving NASCAR driver Boris Said a run for his money in last year’s NASCAR
versus NHRA showdown before losing to Said in the final round. Lucas has
also won two silvers medals during this event. Todd is looking to improve
upon his Top 10 finishes. Vandergriff placed ninth in his first race last
year, and then lost to Lucas in the NHRA final round.
Coughlin is a four-time NHRA POWERade Pro Stock Champion, and is
currently the two-time defending champion (2000, 2002, 2007, and 2008).
Coughlin won the bronze medal as a bobsledding rookie in his first race last
year, fifth in this year, and is looking to dethrone fellow NHRA competitor
Morgan Lucas as the top bobsled driver on the dragster circuit.
The NASCAR field will be lead by five-time Bodine Bobsled Champion
Boris Said. Said has commented in the past that maybe “bobsledding is in my
genes” as his father Bob Said was an Olympic bobsled competitor.
Joining Said is NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie driving sensation Logano
as well as the Bodine Brothers. Geoff Bodine is a co-founder of the Bo-Dyn
Bobsled Project, Inc., and namesake for the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.
Last year Geoff played the gracious host and didn’t compete in the races,
instead giving advice and words of encouragement to the drivers. But this
year Geoff climbs back into the pilot sled and is aiming to win his own
event. Todd Bodine, the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Champion and brother of
the Bodine Challenge founder Geoff Bodine, has participated in every Bodine
Bobsled Challenge, earning his first victory in Race 1. He’s looking to
upset his older brother and take home his second gold of the event. “Sliced
Bread” Logano competed last year in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge, finishing
eighth, and finished an impressive second to Todd Bodine in Race 1.
“Driving bobsleds is one of the most fun and exciting things I’ve
ever done,” said Logano. “In that first race, I was so excited to go through
the straightaway clean that I sort of forgot about the rest of the course so
I hope to make up for that in Race 2.”
The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., was started in 1992 by NASCAR
driver Geoff Bodine, and has built American-made bobsleds for United States
athletes competing in the World Cup, World Championships and Olympic Winter
Games. Monies raised from the Bodine Bobsled Challenge go directly to this
project.
For more information on the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., or the
Bodine Bobsled Challenge, please log on to
www.bodynbobsled.com.
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Source: Stephanie
Ryan / Bodine Bobsled Race
Posted: January
21, 2009 |
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