NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Todd Bodine won the 2006 championship not just to satisfy a personal goal of bringing a major NASCAR championship title to the family name.

Bodine, 42, a third-generation racer from Chemung, N.Y., also captured the honors for the Germain's and Hillman's with whom he's found new friends, extended family and incredibly competitive racing.

"I know this team, when they started, they didn't expect much. I didn't know what to expect, either. I'd been through some really, really bad racing deals. I'd signed up with the wrong owners, or had been in deals where sponsors lost their money - I didn't know what to expect. I was, honestly, I was happy to have something to race," said Bodine, who had fallen off the radar of the top-ranked teams seeking driver's to sign up for the long haul. "When we came out of the box and started winning right away it was incredible."

Though it was a very strong statement that Germain Racing made winning two races in their first season (of eight races total), no one could predict how strong the team would become - especially when Bodine decided he'd go to another truck team to race at the beginning of the 2005 season.

Todd Bodine plants a big wet one on his hard earned championship trophy. (David M. Vaughn Photo)

"It was a mistake on my part. I couldn't believe I'd done it when I realized - too late - I should've stayed with Germain. We had incredible chemistry - all of us get along great and we know what we need to do to win races," said Bodine, who found himself without a race team to drive for following the tenth race in 2005. "Luckily, the Germain's found themselves needing a driver at the same time I needed a new race team. I'm very happy they took me back. I think we are all happy about it!"

The 2006 championship-winning team started off this season without a sponsor on the hood of the No. 30 Toyota Tundra. By Atlanta, race number three, the Lumber Liquidators deal was completed. And after Germain Racing came out of the box in 2006 with both trucks finishing in the top-five for the first three races, it was obvious the newest member to the Germain Racing fold, 2005 NACAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Ted Musgrave, brought even more positive chemistry to the mix.

"This year, it all came together for us. We landed a full-time sponsor and soon realized Teddy and I made a great partnership as far as sharing feedback about the race trucks - this year it just all came together. What an incredible, incredible season," said Bodine.

To clinch this year's championship, Bodine went into the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway knowing he needed to finish 28th or better. Bodine started 12th and finished 21st.

"The Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra was a little off during our practice sessions, but the guys, Mike Hillman and the Germain Racing guys, they made big improvements to the truck before qualifying. We had a top-five truck, but we kept developing vibrations," said Bodine. "We lost a wheel weight after one of the pit stops, and the last set of tires developed a vibration again. We knew what we needed to do, and we hated to know that we were points racing, but we had to be conservative. We're happy it paid off. These guys all deserve this championship."

For Mike Hillman, Jr., he becomes the youngest crew chief to win a NASCAR Truck Series championship, and he's as proud as can be to follow in his father's footsteps.

"I was young when my dad won his Busch championship with Tommy Ellis. I don't remember much about it, but I know it has always been something special to him. To have my dad be here with me through this championship has made it even more special…this team is all like family," said Hillman, Jr. "Todd and I have really figured out how to work together to get the Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundras to have consistently strong runs, and my guys - at the shop, on the road and in the pits, I've got to give a lot of credit to them. I couldn't do this without them - and I'm including the No. 9 guys in this, too. We work as a team. We win and lose as a team. A lot of our guys switch from the ASE logo to the Lumber Liquidators logo on race day, but no matter what the sponsor logo says, we are all part of Germain Racing - the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship team."

Team owners Bob, Steve and Rick Germain have all enjoyed being a part of their Truck Series team.

"This has been such a great experience for our family," said Bob Germain, Jr., the eldest of the three brothers from the Columbus, Ohio, area. "Everyone has gotten involved in this - our wives, our kids, our dad. We go to the race track and see each other and just about every race is a Germain-family reunion. This race team has been the best decision we've made in a long time and getting the championship just reinforces our feelings about it. We love NASCAR racing - the ups and the downs and we are incredibly proud to be honored as the Craftsman Truck Series championship team."

In 2007, Germain Racing plans to return to the Truck Series with both the No. 30 Lumbeer Liquidators and No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota Tundras. Additionally, they'll be on-board with NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" program.