Where is ... G. Bodine? (cont'd)

Bodine got his revenge.

"The war was on after that," Bodine said. "Needless to say, when we got on the racetrack, it was pretty wild. I ended up winning the race."

After leaving Hendrick Motorsports, Bodine would drive for Junior Johnson and Bud Moore, two of the most successful owners in NASCAR history. When Alan Kulwicki died in an April 1993 plane crash, Bodine eventually purchased the team from the 1992 Cup champion's estate. Bodine kept the operation afloat until selling to businessman Jim Mattei before the 1998 campaign.

Moving to a team owned by fellow Northerner Joe Bessey in 1999, Bodine entered the inaugural Craftsman Truck Series event at Daytona International Speedway in 2000. It would come to be a defining moment in his career. It's likely that Bodine will be remembered in years to come as much for what happened in the wreck as he will for being a former Daytona 500 champion.

Just past the midway point, the trucks of Kurt Busch, Rob Morgan and Lyndon Amick got together just in front of Bodine as they hurtled down the frontstretch. Immediately, the front of Bodine's machine lifted into the air, sending it then into the fence. It caught on fire, was hit by yet another truck and all the while continued its sickening series of barrel rolls.

Announcers Marty Reid, Benny Parsons and Ray Evernham were left virtually speechless, Reid managing only an "Oh my ..." and then another, before finally saying, "Keep your fingers crossed." His voice shook with emotion.

Bodine suffered a multitude of injuries, including a concussion, a broken right wrist, right cheekbone, a vertebrae in his back and his right ankle. He wouldn't race for Bessey again until late in the season. Today, Bodine says that he was able to talk to his father, Eli, during the wreck.

Eli Bodine had been dead for more than two years.

"It's the greatest wreck I've ever had," Bodine said flatly, without even a hint of irony. "Whenever you survive something, it's pretty good. The bad wrecks are when you don't survive. It changed my career, changed my life, kinda redirected things. ... It confirmed my faith. [God] definitely reached down there that day and protected me.

"Actually, if I had to, if I knew I could experience what I experienced that day, I'd do it again. That sounds kinda crazy, but that's how special it was for me. ... During that accident, I had an experience with my father. He came to me and spoke to me. I told him I was coming to see him, and he told me it wasn't time ... I had more to do. That's pretty darn special."

Two years later, Bodine finished third in the Daytona 500, running a one-off deal for car owner James Finch. It was one of the best stories never to get a lot of press, a comeback story the likes of which has rarely been seen in the sport. Although his last Cup race took place nearly three years ago, Bodine insists that he's not retired.

Not at age 58. Not ever.

"I'm not retired," Bodine concluded. "I want you to put that in there ... I'm not retired. I'm just in between jobs, so if anyone needs an experienced driver, I'm still available."