The return of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series to Darlington Raceway has more than just a few folks very excited. Germain Racing has a driver that has nothing but respect for the race track that is "Too Tough to Tame." With one win at Darlington, Bodine has collected more top-10 finishes there than at any other NASCAR track.
"Darlington isn't like other tracks. Every corner is different. It's fast, it's aggressive…it's Darlington. I love it," said Bodine, who has been atop the Truck Series points since May and has 16 top-10s at the historic South Carolina track. "Darlington is a driver's track. It takes a lot of patience and at the same time you've really got to get after it. I've always enjoyed Darlington from the first race I ever ran there and finished fifth in a (Nationwide Series) race car."
Bodine also finished in the top-five in his last NNS race at Darlington—he started 15th and finished fourth, earning Germain Racing's first NNS top-five.
"A lot has changed since the Truck Series raced at Darlington last. The track has been repaved, which means you should see a race with fewer pit stops. Tires won't wear out like they used to but it's still not a regular race—it's Darlington," said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr., who has chosen chassis TRD-122 to race at the "Lady in Black."
Bodine has raced Darlington in each of NASCAR's three national divisions. He has led laps in the two highest divisions, and in his one Truck Series race there, he spent most of the 150-lap event running in the top five before finishing 20th. The points leader says every moment at Darlington is thrilling.
"There's never a corner, a straightaway, not a single moment when you are under green at Darlington that you can forget about that race track. You race it every lap and you are racing the 35 trucks around you. It's as thrilling for the drivers as it is for the Truck Series race fans watching from the grandstands and seeing the action on SPEED," said Bodine.
- Bodine has owned the lead in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship points since Charlotte and his margin is 174 points over second-place
- Chassis TRD-122 will race at Darlington. The truck raced at Martinsville, Dover and Iowa this season
- Bodine has 15 NNS top-10 finishes at Darlington, one in NSCS and has led laps in each of these elite NASCAR series
- Bodine won at Darlington in NNS in 2003
- Bodine earned three consecutive top-five finishes at Darlington in his first three NNS races there, his first five Darlington NNS race results being: fifth, third, fifth, 10th and fifth
- Germain Racing is only the second team in Truck Series history to earn multiple wins in seven consecutive seasons
- Bodine has earned 19 wins and six pole awards of Germain Racing's Truck Series total of 20 wins and eight pole awards
- In five full-time seasons in the Truck Series, Bodine has scored championship finishes of fourth or better, including one championship title in 2006
