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NASCAR BGN: Todd Bodine ready to race on a track that is 'difficult to read'

23 February 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

"Rockingham is a track that can be difficult to read. I have one win there and the Phillips 66 car was really good when we raced there last fall. We had a car capable of winning the race, we just had a bad break when the yellow came out while we were making a pit stop. It's a driver's track and the race will be about tire conservation. Whoever can do that the best will win the race."

-- Todd Bodine, driver of the No. 66 Phillips 66 Chevrolet

Last year at Rockingham . . .

Todd Bodine and the Phillips 66 team posted a ninth-place finish during the 1999 Alltel 200 at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, N.C. The team followed up the ninth-place finish with a fifth-place effort during the fall event in October. Bodine's Phillips 66 Chevrolet was one of the strongest at Rockingham in 1999 and the team hopes previous success at the 1.017-mile oval will translate into a win this weekend.

This year at Rockingham . . .

Bodine will make his 15th start at North Carolina Speedway during the upcoming Alltel 200. In his previous 14 starts, Bodine has five top-five and nine top-10 finishes, including a win at the track in 1995. With a little luck, Bodine believes the Phillips 66 team may be celebrating in victory lane.

* "Hillbilly" is the machine Bodine will compete with at Rockingham. "Hillbilly" performed well for the team during the 1999 Busch Series season, featuring a third-place finish at Dover, a pair of fifth-place finishes at both Bristol events, a ninth at Charlotte and 10th at Darlington.

* Bodine performs well at the 1.017-mile oval in Rockingham and he is hoping to make the upcoming weekend extra special with a win. Bodine celebrates his 36th birthday the day after the Busch Series race but wouldn't mind celebrating a day early with a win on Saturday.

Remaining schedule:

2/26 Rockingham, N.C.
3/04 Las Vegas, Nev.
3/11 Hampton, Ga.
3/18 Darlington, S.C.
3/25 Bristol, Tenn.
4/1 Fort Worth, Texas
4/8 Nashville, Tenn.
4/15 Talladega, Ala.
4/29 Fontana, Calif.
5/5 Richmond, Va.
5/13 Loudon, N.H.
5/27 Concord, N.C.
6/3 Dover, Del.
6/10 South Boston, Va.
6/17 Myrtle Beach, S.C.
6/25 Watkins Glen, N.Y.
7/2 Milwaukee, Wis.
7/16 Nazareth, Pa.
7/22 Fountain, Colo.
7/29 Madison, Ill.
8/4 Indianapolis, Ind.
8/19 Brooklyn, Mich.
8/25 Bristol, Tenn.
9/2 Darlington, S.C.
9/8 Richmond, Va.
9/23 Dover, Del.
10/7 Concord, N.C.
10/21 Rockingham, N.C.
10/29 Memphis, Tenn.
11/4 Phoenix, Ariz.
11/11 Homestead, Fla.

Text provided by Penny Copen

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