Taste of Watkins Glen win sweeter for Bodine, Park

For a couple of native New Yorkers, a victory at Watkins Glen International was not only an affirmation of their status at NASCAR's top level, but a chance to shine in front of the home folks.

The track in the heart of the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York was very familiar to Geoffrey Bodine and Steve Park, long before they visited Victory Lane.

• Send Mark your thoughts
• Mark's Community page

The first race at Watkins Glen, in 1948, was the very definition of a road course -- a 6.6-mile stretch of connected highway that wound in and around the village. By the mid-'50s, a track was built nearby to handle the increasing interest in road-course racing.

Bodine, who grew up in Chemung, used to come to the road course in the '60s and watch the action from the limb of an oak tree on the backstretch. Later, he learned to drive the track on a snowmobile.

And in the 1996 Bud at The Glen, he found himself very much in contention for the win. But he needed some pit strategy to do it.

"I talked to [crew chief] Paul Andrews and some other guys on our team and we decided to make this a two-stop race, no matter what," Bodine said.

When the rest of the field came in for service during a caution flag on Lap 54, Bodine stayed out and acquired the lead.

"I looked in the mirror and everyone else was in the pits. Everyone in this place probably said, 'We know he's crazy. And he is crazy,'" he said. "People have said I'm known to be different. I guess I proved it today. I thought it was a pretty gutsy move. I like to be different."

Then eight laps later under green, Bodine ducked into the pits for enough gas to make it to the end. Two laps later, Ricky Craven stalled on the track, which was advantageous in two ways. First, it allowed Bodine to regain lost time. Second, when the others pitted again, he found himself in second place, behind Ken Schrader.

Bodine pulled around Schrader on Lap 83 and pulled away from Terry Labonte to win by a half-second.

"I ought to win here," Bodine said. "Half the folks here today are related to me."

Dale Earnhardt, who was expected to turn over driving duties to a relief driver because of a broken collarbone and sternum he suffered at Talladega, instead wound up leading 54 laps and remained in a battle with Labonte until his brakes faded, leaving him sixth at the end.

''I really felt like staying in the car was the best call I could make,'' Earnhardt said. ''I should have been third or second or right there with Terry. I used the brakes pretty hard all day and maybe I was trying to be too careful. They sort of went away there at the end."

East Northport native Steve Park had also grown up attending races at Watkins Glen with his family. He watched Bodine win that race on television, and four years later, had the opportunity to see what it was like first-hand.

2000 Global Crossing

Results

Pos.	Driver	Make
1.	Steve Park	Chevrolet
2.	Mark Martin	Ford
3.	Jeff Burton	Ford
4.	Robby Gordon	Ford
5.	Bobby Labonte	Pontiac
6.	Tony Stewart	Pontiac
7.	Dale Jarrett	Ford
8.	Joe Nemechek	Chevrolet
9.	Wally Dallenbach	Ford
10.	Matt Kenseth	Ford

• Complete Results click here

Park, who started 18th in the 2000 Global Crossing at The Glen, took the lead for the first time on Lap 31 and held off hard-charging Mark Martin for his first Cup win.

''I know what it looks like from watching it on TV, that camera shot coming off that last corner while the guy's waving the checkered flag,'' Park said. ''I just can't wait to get home and watch the replay of that.

"It just hasn't sunk in yet. I know exactly what it looks like. I've seen Geoffrey Bodine do it before, Tim Richmond, Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd. From a driver's perspective it looks way different than what it looks like on TV.''

Park joined Elliott and Rudd as the only Cup drivers to that point to earn their first win on a road course.

After a series of pit stops which cycled the lead back to Park on Lap 64, he knew he needed to be smooth and conserve his equipment to win, especially with Martin using all of the track to try to catch up.

''They told me he was going pretty hard, and I tried not to burn the tires or the brakes,'' Park said. ''We had great pit stops. Those guys were awesome.''

Martin nearly got to the back of Park's bumper on several occasions but couldn't find enough speed to get by.

''We were catching up a little bit at a time, but we just didn't have enough,'' Martin said. ''The last seven or eight laps we were a bit quicker than Steve but he was in front and that's the best place to be.''

Jeff Gordon had won six consecutive races on road courses to that point, but he and Tony Stewart collided in the esses on the second lap and the resulting damage ruined any chances for victory, and resulted in some harsh post-race comments.

''You'd better practice what you preach,'' Stewart shouted at Gordon in the garage area. ''You're always telling me to take it easy on the first lap.''

Gordon was equally as adamant.

''I had you,'' he said to Stewart. ''And I'll slam you into the wall the first chance I get.''

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.