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NASCAR BGN: Chassis setup is key for Bodine at Charlotte

3 October 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

"Charlotte is one of the most difficult tracks on the circuit for a crew to figure out. The track is so sensitive to the weather, sun and cloud cover that it can be somewhat of a chassis nightmare when it comes to race set-up. The team that is most capable of adjustig the car with the changing track conditions is the one that usually ends up in victory lane."-- Todd Bodine

Todd's Thoughts On Racing In Charlotte . . . "A lot of different things come into play while racing at Charlotte. For one there is the track's sensitivity to the weather. The track can change pretty quickly with just a single cloud covering it. Then, there is always the fuel mileage gamble. A lot of races have been won at Charlotte by stretching the fuel. We had a pretty good race at Charlotte during the spring event. We had a strong car all day and finished the day in fifth place. We need to duplicate that if not better it so we can gain some ground in the points battle and get back up to second place in the standings. We really want to finish the 2000 season on a strong note and give Phillips 66 their best season in NASCAR Busch Series competition."

The Equipment . . . "Willard" is the Phillips 66 Chevy that Bodine will compete with this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The All Pro Bumper-To-Bumper 300 will mark just the second appearance for "Willard." "Willard" made its debut at Michigan Speedway where Bodine cruised to victory for his first win of the 2000 Busch Series season.

Two Weeks Ago In Dover . . . Bodine cruised to his 13th top-five finish of the 2000 season with a fourth-place finish in the MBNA.com 200 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Bodine started from the seventh position and led a few laps during the first half of the event before finishing the day in fourth place.

"The Phillips 66 Chevy was good. It felt like old times at Dover during the race. The car was just a little too loose during the middle stages of the race and it got even more loose after our last pit stop. We're happy with a fourth-place finish. It really was the best we had run at Dover in a while. We moved to third place in the point standings and are only trailing Jason (Keller) by 63 points. All in all it was a pretty good weekend for the Phillips 66 team."

Text Provided By Penny Copen

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