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Congratulations, Todd Bodine, for winning the 2006 NASCAR Craftsmen Truck John Deere 200. |
A spectacular four-wide pass gave Todd Bodine
the lead and the momentum to pick up his first victory of the season Friday
night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Bodine, who finished second behind Nextel Cup star and part-time truck
racer Mark Martin in the first two events this season, losing both in
overtime duels, was trailing Mark again with five laps to go in regulation
in the John Deere 200.But Mark caught the lapped trucks of Timothy Peters and Boston Reid on lap 126. The leader chose to pass on the low side of the 1.5-mile oval and Bodine made it four-wide, slicing between Peters and Reid. Bodine nearly lost control, sliding sideways and banging off Peters at the top of the banking, while Mark and Reid also bumped on the low side. All of them were able to keep going, though, with Bodine coming out ahead. Moments later, Peters, with a tire going down, crashed, bringing out the fourth caution flag of the race and forcing yet another green-white-checker overtime finish. The race, scheduled for 130 laps, restarted on lap 134 and Mark shot to the inside, moving alongside Bodine and then nosing inches ahead. But, this time, Bodine, who finished last season as the hottest driver in the truck series, winning the final three races, was up to the challenge. He led at the finish line, then shot ahead as Mark suddenly found himself having to fend off Johnny Benson in a battle for second. Mark won that duel but finished 0.022 seconds -- about two car-lengths -- behind the winner as several trucks crashed in the pack behind them. It was Bodine's eighth truck victory. "There was no way I could let Mark get outside of me on that restart," Bodine said. "My truck was so loose when somebody was out there. When he went inside, I said, 'Have at it.' That was what we needed. "That's the Craftsman Truck Series at its best. Germain Racing, baby, we're here." Mark, who plans to drive only three or four more truck races this season, said he wasn't surprised by the four-wide move. "We were doing some racing," he said. "The chips were on the table and we were both going for it. It got kind of tense there just for a minute. "This is the best racing I've done in years. I love this stuff." Jon Wood finished fourth, followed by Ted Musgrave, who finished third in each of the first two events this season. |
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