DAYTONA BETRAYS TODD BODINE ON FINAL LAP… TWICE

Player Management International Media Release

Daytona Beach, FL (February 15, 2010) – When Todd Bodine arrived at Daytona International Speedway for the February 12th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, he did so as the only driver in history to win back-to-back Truck Series races at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.  Prior to hitting the track in his #30 GEICO Toyota Tundra, he would first handle business for team owner Kirk Shelmerdine in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Gatorade Duel 150.  
 
Piloting the sponsorless #27 Toyota Camry, Bodine aimed to put himself in the 2010 Daytona 500 starting field.  In order to do so, he would need to finish in the top two of the ‘go or go home’ cars.  
 
Starting 27th in a field of 27 cars, Bodine had his work cut out for him if he hoped to be on Sunday’s starting grid.  Undaunted, Bodine quickly moved to the front of the field when the green flag was displayed in the opening Duel 150, which also included his Germain Racing teammate Max Papis.  The packed house at the World Center of Racing would not have to wait long to see Bodine make his way into the Top 10.  He was soon running solidly among the leaders and making his case for a starting position in the Great American Race.
 
In an unsponsored car, Bodine continued to school NASCAR’s best and brightest teams throughout the race.  While a solid performance was at hand, the final lap would change things. Joe Nemechek gave Papis a push coming to the checkered flag that would send his #13 GEICO Camry just past Bodine as the checkered flag was displayed, dashing any hopes of earning a position in the Daytona 500.  While he did not make the Daytona 500 field, Bodine put forth a masterful performance that turned the heads of everyone in the NASCAR garage.  
 
With the Gatorade Duel behind him, Bodine set his sights on winning his third consecutive Daytona Truck Series race.  While his toughest competition would face him on the racetrack, his first battle would come on Friday night when Mother Nature KO’d the NextEra Energy Resources 250.
 
While rain may have won the battle, it certainly did not win the war. Bodine and the #30 GEICO Tundra waged a full out assault on the Truck Series field when the race finally saw a green flag on Saturday night under the lights.  Starting 15th, Bodine did not wait long before putting the Gecko at the front of the field.
 
Bodine’s effort would prove to be duplicative of a year ago, as he once again dominated a field that could only hope to catch him.  After his teammate Max Papis, who would share the lead on three different occasions, was taken out of the race in his #9 GEICO Tundra on Lap 85, Bodine would shoulder the effort of taking GEICO to Victory Lane.  
 
Unfortunately, the final lap at Daytona was once again looking Bodine in the eye.  With a hard-charging Truck Series field behind him, Bodine would slice and dice and do all he could to hold the lead.  With the checkered flag in sight, Timothy Peters gave the #30 GEICO Tundra a tap that sent Bodine slightly up the racetrack, but just enough that Peters assumed the lead as the checkered flag was displayed.  Although the #30 GEICO Tundra got sideways, Bodine made a save that a lesser driver could not have, which salvaged a second place finish for the Germain Racing team.  The runner up honor was insignificant to Bodine, who was visibly upset that his third Daytona win escaped him.  Bodine is a driver who dares not mention the words ‘Top 10’ or ‘Top 5, so anything less than a win would not satisfy his soul.
 
“When we got the white flag, I knew Timothy Peters wasn’t going to stay in line in second place. I knew that he’d try something,” Bodine said.  “His only shot was to go to the outside. When he pulled to the outside, I went up to side-draft him to try to slow him down. His truck wasn’t far enough up on mine so it ended up getting into my quarter panel and turned the GEICO Tundra up the racetrack into the wall. He turned down under me and I knew it was pretty much over unless I had someone to draft with me. There was no one there so we finished second. It was a great race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series fans and a strong night for Germain Racing, but I really wanted to get another Daytona win.”
 
He continued, “We had two great GEICO Tundras and they ran well together. It was great to have the opportunity to run first and second with a teammate (Papis) again. The race weekend went really well – the only way it could’ve been better would’ve been if one of our GEICO Tundras had made it into victory lane.”
 
Bodine and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will enjoy three weeks off before traveling to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Atlanta 200 on March 6th.  
 
To learn more about Todd Bodine, please visit www.TeamOnion.net
 
To learn more about Germain Racing, please visit www.GermainRacing.com
 
To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com
 
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing