Herzog Jackson gains six-race sponsorship

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR Busch Series leader Todd Bodine's relationship with his Winston Cup sponsor has led to a six-race program for Herzog Jackson Motorsports that will allow the Busch team to continue its season.

	Todd Bodine

Herzog Jackson's No. 92 Chevrolet will be at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., for Saturday's Charter Pipeline 250 with the support of ESGR -- the National Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.

Bodine's Winston Cup sponsor at BelCar Racing is the National Guard, and the 11th hour deal is the latest move that will allow HJM to continue its quest for the 2003 Busch Series championship.

The No. 92 Monte Carlo, co-owned by Bill, Randy and Stan Herzog along with baseball Hall of Fame player Reggie Jackson, ran without funding for the first nine races of the season, and most recently had begun to question its continued participation on a weekly basis.

Sponsorship negotiations continued but, one day after the team had decided it probably would not go to last weekend's race at Richmond International Raceway, an XM Satellite Radio interview led to a one-race partnership with thegpsstore.com and Garmin, a leading manufacturer of global positioning system equipment.

After being involved in an accident at Richmond and finishing 29th, Bodine still remains the leader in the Busch Series championship for the sixth straight race, or since Bodine won at Darlington Raceway in March.

TODD BODINE  •  Driver Page  •  Herzog Jackson still has Winston Cup in mind

With four top-five and six top-10 finishes, along with the Darlington victory Bodine has a 40-point lead over former Busch Series champion David Green.

Bodine plans to run the full schedule in an attempt to win his first Busch Series championship, but sponsorship remains an ongoing concern.

ESGR's partnership calls for the team to race at the next three events on the schedule in the committee's colors: Gateway, Nazareth Speedway and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

ESGR will also back later races at Daytona International Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.

Chartered in 1972 by Presidential proclamation, ESGR is a Department of Defense agency that acts as a liaison between persons serving in the National Guard or any reserve branch of the U.S. armed services and their full-time civilian employers.

ESGR is based in Arlington, Va., and uses a network of 4,200 volunteers nationwide and overseas to serve as the official employment rights information source for members of the National Guard and reserves and their civilian employers.

"We are extremely excited about our new partnership with such a great race team," said Bob Hollingsworth, executive director of ESGR. "The racing community has been so supportive of our military's efforts in the Middle East, and it feels right that we can give back to NASCAR by supporting Herzog Jackson Motorsports.

"Todd Bodine is a great race car driver and the HJM organization is second to none. ESGR is extremely proud to have our name on the No. 92."