NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racer Todd Bodine looks forward to taking another swing at Memphis Motorsports Park - a track that has teased him with success but still remains in his 'winless' column. He hopes collect another 'career best finish' at Memphis by putting the Lumber Liquidators Tundra in victory lane on Friday night - it would be a nice treat for the Lumber Liquidators associates working in the Memphis area.
"I'm ready to put the Elvis trophy in the lobby at Germain Racing," said Bodine, who scored his best NCTS finish at Memphis in 2007, eighth. "I' ve had some good races there, we've had some very good Tundras there and I'm looking forward to getting a win there for the Lumber Liquidators associates in Memphis and for our guys at Germain that work so hard on our short track program."
There are a few typical issues that can madden drivers and crew at Memphis. Bodine says he's got one of them knocked out.
"One thing that I've always been good at is not over-driving getting in the corners at Memphis. It's easy to do, and it will slow your laps down a ton, but that hasn't been a problem for me there," said Bodine.
"Traffic is a pain at Memphis. It's difficult to pass and lapped traffic can hold you up. It's not quite a one-groove track, but it's probably one and a half grooves."
Setting a smooth pace is essential at Memphis Motorsports Park.
"Memphis is hard because both ends of the track are different. You need to get a nice, easy rhythm and not wear the tires out early in a run," said Bodine.
Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. hopes Bodine will be able to reel in another finish like the team collected at Mansfield in May.
"Survival. You can't say Memphis without focusing on staying out of trouble," said Hillman Jr. "We've never had much luck at Memphis, we've had decent trucks but we've never really had the finish to show for it - kind of like most of our short track stats. We need to do like we did at Mansfield and bring the Lumber Liquidators Tundra to the checkered flag in a position where we normally run."