 | | Todd Bodine won four of the final six races driving the Germain Motor Company's No. 30 Toyota. Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP |
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
November 23, 2005
01:28 PM EST (18:28 GMT)
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The stretch run of Todd Bodine's season driving the Germain Motor Company Toyota Tundra in the Craftsman Truck Series left everyone in the NASCAR community with only one question. What would the veteran Bodine and the Hillmans -- father Mike, the team manager and son Mike Hillman Jr., Bodine's crew chief -- have accomplished if they'd been together the entire 25-race campaign?  |  | | Todd Bodine closed the season with three consecutive wins. Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP |
| |
| Inside the Numbers |
Todd Bodine
since driving the No. 30 Toyota |
| Race |
Start |
Finish |
Led |
| Milwaukee |
2 |
34 |
0 |
| Kansas |
10 |
1 |
81 |
| Kentucky |
11 |
2 |
0 |
| Memphis |
8 |
23 |
0 |
| IRP |
15 |
15 |
0 |
| Nashville |
15 |
3 |
3 |
| Bristol |
32 |
2 |
0 |
| Richmond |
11 |
2 |
45 |
| Loudon |
8 |
22 |
0 |
| Las Vegas |
3 |
1 |
114 |
| Martinsville |
17 |
10 |
0 |
| Atlanta |
19 |
2 |
11 |
| Texas |
8 |
1 |
23 |
| Phoenix |
6 |
1 |
57 |
| Homestead |
9 |
1 |
74 |
|
|
 |
As it was, Bodine won three consecutive races to close the season, including the season finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, to lock himself into the third spot in the standings. Bodine finished with five wins, 12 top-five and 15 top-10 finishes and was only 18 points behind third-time runner-up Dennis Setzer, who lost the championship to Ted Musgrave by 55 points. Bodine, who was one of two drivers that contested a tripleheader at Homestead, sat down before the Ford 300 Busch Series race to discuss his magic with the Hillman family, why his Germain Toyota is so effective, his special girl and his outlook for 2006. Q: After a spectacular close to the season, I have to ask: Where does that Germain Tundra rate compared to all the vehicles you've competed in throughout your career? Bodine: By far (laughing), it's the best. I've never been a part of a situation or a team that is this consistent every week. Toyota's support of this series and its support of this team is second to no manufacturer -- what anybody's ever done in any division. TRD (Toyota Racing Development) and Toyota have got a commitment and they're going to win races. They give us the equipment and the tools to win these races, so we go out and do it. So it's by far the best situation I've ever been in. Q: How much do the Hillmans -- Mike and Mike Jr. -- factor into that equation? Bodine: Well, they're it. Mike Sr. and myself have raced together before, and had the opportunity in the Cup Series, with an under-funded team, to win three races that we ran together. We've always had that magic. The communication is there, the respect is there and now, it's kind of funny to sit back and watch Mike Jr. and myself kind of have the same thing. I don't know if it's something in the Hillman genes, but we just click, and we get along. It's a situation made in heaven and it's one of those deals that you look for your whole career and nine times out of 10 you'll never find it. I'm just very fortunate that I found it. You put all that together and you have three truck owners like the Germain brothers -- whose commitment to this team is incredible -- and they've never said that we can't do something or we can't buy something. If we need it, we get it. We don't waste time or money, but they let Mike do what this team needs to be successful. Q: What do you feel is the most outstanding aspect of your Toyota race truck? Bodine: Well, I mean, it's the whole package. You have to have good horsepower, and TRD has done an incredible job with that, because this motor has only been in existence for two-and-a-half years. It is virtually bulletproof and you don't ever see a failure. It's got incredible horsepower and they have done their job. The fab shop and all the engineers have gotten bodies on these trucks that really work well. So it's a combination and it starts at the top and it ends with the guy sweeping the floor. Q: We hear so much about the Toyota engine, so in your opinion, what is the most impressive aspect of that piece? Bodine: You know, it's the torque. With the gear rule NASCAR has in place, you don't want to have a lot of horsepower. I know that sounds a little funny, but you need the torque. Torque is what gets you up off the corner and it's what makes the truck pull -- it's what makes the motor pull -- is torque. We talked at the end of last year, what way they needed to go. I told them about my experiences and they decided to go with the torque, and it's really showing up in the performance on the racetrack. Q: You've worked with virtually all of the manufacturers throughout your career, so what is the most impressive thing that Toyota does as a manufacturer, supporting the Craftsman Truck Series? Bodine: Toyota's business model for the support of their teams is totally different than any other manufacturer. In the Truck Series they supply the motors, they supply the trucks but the most impressive thing is the information, the resources, the data and testing they give us. |  | | Todd Bodine is a veteran of all three racing circuits. Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP |
| |
| Inside the Numbers |
Todd Bodine at Homestead
for Championship Week |
| Series |
Start |
Finish |
Status |
| Truck |
9 |
1 |
running |
| Busch |
39 |
40 |
engine |
| Cup |
24 |
20 |
running |
|
|
Everything the engineers do is shared with the teams, and that's the most impressive part, is all the information that they give us to make us better, to make our jobs easier and to make it so we can go out and win races. They spare no expense and leave no stone unturned on making their teams better. Q: With your experience, across the board in the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch and the Cup Series, what is the most daunting aspect facing any manufacturer that would have aspirations to go Nextel Cup racing? Bodine: The competition level is so steep that you have to get the right teams to run your car. You can have good cars with bad people, and you're going to go nowhere. You have to have good people -- that's what this sport is all about. That is one thing that Toyota has struggled with, at the beginning of last year and the beginning of this year -- and that's getting the teams in the right order: That is, having the right crew chief with the right driver and the right owner. It took them, basically two years and now they have eight or nine teams that are contending to win, every week. Q: Let's switch horses, a little bit. What's your daughter, Ashlyn's, favorite Toyota vehicle? Bodine: She loves my Highlander (laughing). She sits in the back, in her seat and she can sit up and see everything, and she just thinks it's neat. Q: What's your favorite thing to go and do with her? Bodine: Oh (laughing), I don't know. We have a lot of good times together. Going bowling and roller-skating are two of her favorite pastimes. She's quite a little girl. Q: You've been doing this an awful long time. What do you find to be the most challenging thing, personally, about racing in 2005? Bodine: That's a difficult question because there are so many aspects of racing that are challenging these days, whether it be assembling a team that is capable of winning, or trying to keep that team together or trying to understand your trucks. |  | | Todd Bodine is excited about 2006 after leading the Truck Series in wins in 2005. Credit: Nate Mecha/HSP |
| |
| Craftsman Truck Series |
| Final 2005 Standings |
| Pos. |
Driver |
Pts. |
Behind |
| 1. |
T. Musgrave |
3,535 |
-- |
| 2. |
D. Setzer |
3,480 |
-55 |
| 3. |
T. Bodine |
3,462 |
-73 |
| 4. |
R. Hornaday |
3,369 |
-166 |
| 5. |
M. Skinner |
3,273 |
-262 |
| |
|
|
| NCTS Leaders' Stats |
| Driver |
W |
T-5 |
T-10 |
| T. Musgrave |
1 |
11 |
15 |
| D. Setzer |
4 |
10 |
13 |
| T. Bodine |
5 |
12 |
15 |
| R. Hornaday |
1 |
7 |
13 |
| M. Skinner |
2 |
9 |
13 |
|
|
|
There are so many things involved in the sport that are challenging. It's probably underrated as far as being a very mental sport. You have to constantly think and have an open mind on every aspect of it. Q: With what happened to Kurt Busch a couple weekends ago in Phoenix as an example, how difficult is it to balance what you do in the garage area and in the race vehicle, with your personal life, outside the racetrack? Bodine: Well (laughing), it's a challenge, and Kurt just got put in a bad spot, you know? Those things happen -- but you have to be aware of what your surroundings are, and try to do the right things. Q: Since we're starting to come into another holiday season, what are you most thankful for, on this Thanksgiving eve? Bodine: For this year, I'm thankful for a lot of things. Obviously, I'm thankful for the way the year has turned out, and getting back with Germain Racing. I'm thankful for a good, healthy daughter and probably one of the most important things is I get to make a living, doing what I would do for free; and I'm enjoying myself every week. Q: What's at the top of your Christmas wish list for 2005? Bodine: (laughing) Oh -- I really don't have a wish list. I'm pretty content right where I'm at. Q: The question's been asked, what would have happened if you had been with the Germains all season? That's a lot of speculation, and you don't like to look back -- but looking ahead to 2006, what do you see you guys doing? Bodine: We're going to be right there for the championship. If we can keep this team together and we don't have any personnel turnover and if everybody wants to stay, that's good for our pit stops. We've got a lot of trucks together and we'll be able to massage on them all winter and if we can come out of the box at Daytona as strong as we ended the year, we're going to be giving them a run for the championship. | 
