Geoffrey Bodine to race at Dillon Motor Speedway

Geoffrey Bodine accumulated many memories throughout his racing career.

Bodine holds a Guiness record for his 55 Modified victories in 1978. He also won the first-ever race for Hendrick Motorsports, captured the 1986 Daytona 500 and was named one of NASCAR’s 50 greatest drivers.

But one event Bodine remembers most is the 2000 Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona.

Bodine was involved in a fiery crash after Rob Morgan and Kurt Busch made contact. Morgan swerved Bodine’s truck and it became airborne.

Bodine’s truck hit the catch fence and destroyed it. His vehicle flipped several times and was hit by several other cars in the process.

Thirteen drivers were involved in the wreck and nine spectators were injured.

Bodine broke his wrist, right cheekbone, a vertebra, right ankle and also suffered a concussion.

“That was without a doubt the best day of my life,” Bodine said. “I shouldn’t have survived. But God reached down and had his arm around me.”

Bodine missed about half of the Cup season that year, driving in 14 races, and hasn’t run full-time in any series since then. His last Cup race was in 2004 at Dover.

Still, Bodine has passion for the sport. He said he isn’t retired and sees the success 50-year-old Mark Martin is having this year and gets excited.

But at age 60, Bodine knows his phone isn’t likely to ring one of NASCAR’s top teams. He said he joked with his former car owner Rick Hendrick earlier this year at Martinsville about letting him drive in a Cup or Nationwide race sometime in the future.

“Rick is a man of his word so who knows,” Bodine said with a laugh. “I could still do it. I feel fit physically and mentally. And teams might want guys with experience. But do I think some team is contact me I doubt it.”

Bodine still participates in races at some small tracks around the country. He will be at Dillon Motor Speedway today driving in an ISCARs Series race.

“He’s a class act,” said DMS owner Ron Barfield, a former competitor against Bodine. “He is returning to the grass roots and helping promote Saturday racing and giving back to racing.

“I think fans will be in for a good show.”

Bodine, who raced at DMS last year, knows the competitors will be gunning for him.

“It was like I had a bullseye on my back. Guys were trying to spin me out,” Bodine said. “ But it should be fun. Dillon is a great track to race at.”

And when Bodine isn’t racing. He has plenty of other things to keep him busy these days. He promotes the Monavie drink, which has antioxidents and used to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Bodine also is involved with the U.S. Bobsled program. His company, Bo-Dyn Bobsleds, has been designing and building bobsleds for the U.S. team since 1994.

The team enjoyed success during the 2002 Winter Olympics, winning a silver and bronze medal in the men’s four-man and also a gold in the women’s competition.

In March, the four-man team captured the first U.S. World Championship in 50 years.

Bodine calls on the NASCAR community every January for the Bodine Bobsled Challenge. The event raises money for the program, which hopes to duplicate its success in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

“I’m thrilled to be able to help our athletes,” Bodine said. “We are really building some momentum and will be in a good position to have some success in Vancouver.”