Todd Bodine's best Cup finish is a third place at Atlanta in 1994. Credit: Autostock

Bodine to drive limited Cup for Germain, Toyota

CONCORD, N.C. -- Germain Racing, which fields Toyotas for the top two teams in the Craftsman Truck Series standings, announced Friday that it will run a partial Nextel Cup schedule in 2007 with a Toyota Camry "Car of Tomorrow" driven by Todd Bodine.

Inside the Numbers Todd Bodine's Cup stats Year No. W T-5 T-10 1992 1 0 0 0 1993 10 0 0 0 1994 30 0 2 7 1995 28 0 1 3 1996 10 0 0 1 1997 5 0 0 0 1998 14 0 1 2 1999 7 0 0 0 2000 5 0 0 1 2001 35 0 2 2 2002 24 0 1 4 2003 35 0 0 1 2004 21 0 0 0 2005 1 0 0 0 Totals 226 0 7 21 TODD BODINE •   Complete Cup stats Free VideoA day's worth of news in 90 seconds

Germain Racing currently fields the Toyota Tundras driven by series points leader Bodine and defending series champion Ted Musgrave, who is second in the standings going into Friday's AAA Insurance 200.

The team's success in its Craftsman Truck Series program influenced Germain Racing's decision to expand its racing program into the Nextel Cup Series, where the team will lease its engines from TRD, U.S.A. (Toyota Racing Development).

"We're extremely excited to be joining the Nextel Cup Series and running in select races next year," owner Bob Germain said. "The fact that it's a completely new program will level the playing field a little and allow us to be more competitive. Plus with the limited schedule, we can continue to focus on truck racing as we expand our team to the next level."

In 2007, Bodine will drive the scheduled Nextel Cup races as well as competing in a full season in the Craftsman Truck Series.

"I look forward to running our Tundra again next year as well as help Germain Racing build a new NASCAR Nextel Cup program," Bodine said.

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Heading up the Germains' Nextel Cup program will be Germain Racing's general manager, Mike Hillman. Hillman will oversee both the Craftsman Truck Series program and the Nextel Cup program.

"I am very excited about getting back into NASCAR Nextel Cup racing," Hillman said. "This is a great opportunity for us here at Germain Racing to build our Cup program slowly. We want to bring the success of our truck program into our Cup program. It is going to be an even busier season for us next year, but I am looking forward to it."

Germain Racing has obtained some associate sponsorship for its Nextel Cup program but is still actively seeking a primary sponsor.