Todd Bodine knew repeating as Camping World Truck Series champion wasn’t going to be easy.
So far, he’s right.
Bodine, who dominated the series last year on his way to his second championship, comes into Saturday’s Too Tough to Tame 200 12th in points. Last year, the New York native had an average finish of 6.4, never was out of the top three in points last year and was the points leader the final 17 weeks of the season.
“It is hard to have that same kind of consistency and luck we had last season,” Bodine said. “And obviously we haven’t had the same kind of luck at the start of this season, but we have run really well.
“We got caught up in wrecks and we can’t do anything about that. We just got to keep digging. It’s going to be a struggle but we can get back up there and with a little bit of luck, we could get back to the lead. We haven’t given up for sure.”
Bodine also knows repeating will be tough because of the competition level this season in the trucks. In addition to veterans like him, Ron Hornaday, Brendan Gaughan and Matt Crafton, there are up-and-coming drivers like Austin Dillon, Cole Whitt and Jeffrey Earnhardt.
“It is probably toughest competition in the history of the truck series,” Bodine said. “We got 20 good teams every week. Lot of great drivers and teams. It speaks volume for the truck series and everyone wants to be a part of it.”
Bodine has run well at Darlington through the years. In 39 career starts in NASCAR’s top three series, he has 17 top-10 finishes, including two wins. In winning last August’s truck race, he led a race-high 47 laps.
“I have always been fortunate to run well there, no matter what I have been in,” Bodine said. “To go back there as a defending champion really means a lot. It is a track we know we can run real well and leaving the track, we know we got a shot to win the race.”
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