Todd Bodine isn't a race car driver that's going to volunteer a list of superstitions, but he enjoys keeping a private list of traditions in several cities across the NASCAR racing schedule. It may be a pizzeria, a hot dog stand, or even sleeping in as late as possible in certain cities, but Bodine, the defending NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, has a list of traditions, and for Kansas Speedway, he wants to add a new one. Given his success in the Truck Series at the 1.5-mile Kansas City-area oval, winning is a possibility for that new tradition in Kansas.

"Kansas is a track where I've been able to run really well, but I've just not had the stats to show for it, except in the Truck Series. I just haven't had good luck there, but I've been in a lot of good cars at Kansas.

Hopefully we'll find some good luck in the GERMAIN Toyota Camry this weekend," said Bodine.

Bodine explains the difference between racing in the Truck Series and in the Busch Series at Kansas.

"In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, you don't have to let off of the throttle much at Kansas Speedway. In the Busch Series, you let off the throttle quite a bit. It's really all comes down to four tires and steering, but the throttle plays a little bit bigger role in the Busch cars," explains Bodine.

Heading into Kansas, Bodine and the Germain Racing crew have very little pressure on their shoulders. Whether this will give them an upper hand is yet to be determined, but it definitely helps the group do what they want with their Busch program - which is have fun.

"We get to go to Kansas with no pressure. We can go there and just race," said Bodine, who will be looking for fun competition in the Yellow Transportation 300. "Of course we want the best performance so we can help our cause in lining up our sponsorship for next season, but with the coil binding in these cars, the front ends are so similar from race track to race track that we are pretty comfortable heading into the weekend. We feel we've got a handle on the set up and we're looking forward to just having some fun in Kansas."

Bodine has a total of 11 starts at Kansas Speedway. He's run four NEXTEL Cup Series races, three Busch Series races and four Truck Series races. His worst finish in the Truck Series was 15th, the only race of his four when he wasn't driving for Germain Racing.

Germain Racing plans to run in Busch Series races at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway this season. The team is gearing up for what could be a full season of Busch Series racing in 2008.

Todd Bodine on Kansas Speedway: "Kansas is a track where I've been able to run really well, but I've just not had stats to show for it, except in the Truck Series. I just haven't had good luck there, but I've been in a lot of good cars at Kansas. Hopefully we'll find some good luck in the Germain Toyota Camry this weekend."

Bodine on Racing a Truck at Kansas versus racing in a Busch car: "In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, you don't have to let off of the throttle much at Kansas Speedway. In the Cup and Busch Series, you let off of throttle quite a bit. It's really all just four tires and steering, but the throttle plays a little bit bigger role in the Busch cars."

Bodine on Any Kansas Traditions: "We have had some things we typically do in Kansas, but we were actually talking about that - that we need to come up with a new tradition for Kansas. Of course winning is a good tradition anywhere, but I like to have local traditions at most of the race tracks.
We'll try to find something to make into a tradition this trip to Kansas City."

Bodine on Busch Racing at Kansas: "We get to go to Kansas with no pressure. We can go there, and just race. Of course we want the best performance so we can help our cause in lining up our sponsorship for next season, but with the coil binding in these cars, the front ends are so similar from race track to race track that we are pretty comfortable heading into the weekend. We feel we've got a handle on the set up and we're looking forward to just having some fun in Kansas."

Mike Hillman Sr., General Manager of Germain Racing, speaks about team's Busch Series program for 2007: "Our plans for this year are to run about eight NASCAR Busch Series races, but a lot depends on where we are in the Truck Series championship. The Busch Series program is to make our whole racing program stronger, not weaker. So, how many races we run depends on our success and how everything's going with our Tundra teams."

SOURCE: Germain Racing Communications