Todd Bodine drove the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra to a sixth-place finish on Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway in the O'Reilly 200. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has a reputation of exciting racing action, and the 206 laps last night were no exception. Bodine qualified 14th and finished sixth while fellow Toyota driver Kyle Busch took the win.
"Wow. The Valvoline Toyota Tundra was loose in, tight in the middle and tight off, loose off, loose in the middle, I mean I could never make it do the same thing twice. We kept fighting it and adjusting and fighting and adjusting and I ended up sixth! That's what you have to do to win championships," said Bodine, who remains atop the Truck Series championship standings, a position he's occupied since May.
For Bodine and the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra crew of Germain Racing, the sixth-place finish on a "bad night" produced the type of results they need to maintain their position as the powerhouse team in the Camping World Truck Series.
"I've said it all along. If you have a bad night, just finish in the top 10 and get the best finish you can. It's not what we wanted for Valvoline or Toyota, but we only lost a few points to Aric (Almirola) and we will go get them at Chicago next. I love Chicago," said Bodine, who has collected three wins in his Germain Racing Toyota Tundra this season.
"The Valvoline Tundra team has been on an outstanding streak. We just won two races in a row, and we have been very competitive throughout the summer. We missed our setup a little with the Valvoline Tundra at Bristol, but, we never gave up. We dug in and made changes to make the truck work for a sixth-place finish. It was a good result for the points standings and we're all ready for the next race on the schedule - Chicago," said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.
The depth of Germain Racing was also showcased at Bristol.
"Bristol showed the caliber of our race team. Germain Racing brought three Toyota Tundras with three uniquely talented, champion drivers and three great sponsors. In regulation time, we would've finished with the Valvoline Tundra, GEICO Tundra and Stemco Duroline Tundra all in the top 10. That shows sponsors and the competition that no matter who the driver is, they are getting great racing equipment here at Germain Racing. We couldn't have that depth without support from Toyota, Triad and the extra effort put in by everyone at Germain Racing," said Hillman, who was as excited about the results scored by Max Papis in the GEICO Tundra and Miguel Paludo in the Stemco Duroline Tundra as he was about the Valvoline Tundra's 13th top-10 finish in 16 races this season.
Bodine leads the Camping World Truck Series standings by 211 points heading into race No. 17 on the 2010 schedule, Chicagoland Speedway.
