Saturday night, July 21st, under the lights of Gateway International Raceway just outside St. Louis, Mo., Germain Racing made their NASCAR Busch Series debut. As usual, the team had very high expectations, and, despite some hiccups, the team made their point - the No. 03 Germain Toyota Camry led the field for 15 laps, and left no one in the Busch garage in question as to the winning intentions of Germain Racing.

"The performance was what we expected. We had a really fast car, the No. 03 Germain Toyota Camry was fast from the time it was unloaded," said Bodine. "It was nice to know that we can get into the Camry and run as good in the Busch Series as we do in our Lumber Liquidators Tundra in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. That was a plus."

Bodine qualified 24th for the NASCAR Busch Series 250, but didn't stay with that pack long. By lap ten, he'd jumped to 15th and by lap 20, he was where he'd spend the majority of the race, including the checkered flag lap, racing among the top-ten. It was fun racing, and fun times in St. Louis.

"We're racing the Camry for fun, but what's on our mind is the next Truck Series race. We learned some things that we hope will help us this weekend when we race the Lumber Liquidators Tundra at O'Reilly Raceway Park," said Bodine. "Really what we learn in our Tundra program is what helped us have such a good Camry this weekend."

With so many of NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup Series racers competing in the Busch Series, the competition level is considered to be very high. Germain Racing's Bodine explains that he and the team never considered the Cup drivers to be an obstacle they'd have to overcome.

"We never thought about (the Cup drivers). We just planned to go to St. Louis to do the best we could," said Bodine of the team's mindset heading into their NBS debut. "What we expect out of ourselves is a lot, and that is what we measure to - our standards, our expectations. With the way our team can work together, and build Tundras and this Camry, we expect to beat all (of the competition). We know we're capable of winning, so, once you know that, you expect that you can do that…Basically, when you know you can win, you never make plans to finish second."

Bodine took the lead at lap 123 of the 200-lap race, and held it until a run-in on-track, under caution, with the race's "lucky dog" who was passing Bodine on the outside to return to the lead lap. To the surprise of many, the No. 03 Germain Toyota Camry was still one of the fastest cars in the race despite the significant damage to the right front of the car.

"The Germain Toyota Camry wasn't as good after the contact as it was before, but for it to be as good as it was, I was surprised," said Bodine, who didn't understand the extent of the car's injuries until the race was over.

"I didn't know how bad it was until I got out."

Bodine fell back toward the end of the lead lap while the team made pit stops to repair the damage. He said confidence in the race car is what kept him focused on running solid lap times and pulling out a top-ten finish.

"In your mind, you know you have a fast car and you know you can get through the traffic, so you just go - you set up each pass and just keep digging,"
said Bodine.

The next race for Germain Racing is this Friday night at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Bodine will drive the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Tundra and teammate Ted Musgrave will wheel the No. 9 Team ASE/Germain Toyota Tundra in the Power Stroke Diesel 200 presented by Ford and International. Catch the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series action on SPEED.