Information AboutBrett Bodine |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BRETT BODINE | |
| 1959 births | |
| living people | |
| nascar drivers | |
| nascar owners | |
| people from elmira, new york | |
| american racecar drivers | |
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 . BEGINNINGS Growing up watching his brother Geoff race in the modifieds, Brett decided to embark on a racing career on his own, beginning in hobby stock races and moving up to the modifieds. Brett is a modified legend in New England having won the Stafford Motor Speedway track championship and the prestigious Race of Champions. He has also been inducted into the modified hall of fame. He also attended Alfred State College and received an Associate's Degree in Mechanical Engineering . In 1985 , he made his Busch Series debut, running thirteen out of the 31 races that season, winning three times. He won two more times the next season running the full schedule. MOVING UP Bodine made his NASCAR Winston Cup debut in 1986 at the World 600 , finishing an impressive 17th in a Rick Hendrick owned Chevrolet as a teammate to his brother Geoff. He ran 14 out of the 29 races in 1987 with Bull's Eye sponsorship for Hoss Ellington . He ran the full schedule the following two years for Bud Moore Engineering , posting eleven top-10 finishes over this period of time. 1990 was his breakout season in Winston Cup . Driving for champion drag racer Kenny Bernstein , Bodine won his first race at North Wilkesboro Speedway , which came under some controversy. During a long 17-lap caution flag, scoring was mixed up, and some felt that Darrell Waltrip was robbed of the win because of the error. The win stood however, and before the season was over, Bodine had won his first Pole Position at the fall event at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was 12th in the championship standings. Bodine wasn't able to equal his 1990 effort, and parted ways with Bernstein after the 1994 season. For 1995 , he signed with his brother Geoff's old boss Junior Johnson , piloting a car with sponsorship from Lowe's . He posted two top ten finishes and finished twentieth in points. OWNER/DRIVER AND ITS SUBSEQUENT STRUGGLES After the season, Johnson sold the team to Bodine. Bodine also bought former boss 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. TEAMS AND SPONSORS The teams and sponsors for which Brett Bodine has driven in the Winston/Nextel Cup Series. Teams
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