Bodine not slowing down while bobbing for gold

After winning the 1986 Daytona 500, racking up 18 Cup Series victories, as well as being named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers, you would think that Geoff Bodine had done it all.

But all it took was one wild run down an icy course in Lake Placid, and this NASCAR champion was hooked on the Olympic sport of bobsledding.

"Once you go down that hill, you're out of control," Bodine said.

After watching the American Bobsled team falter in the 1992 Olympics and learning that the U.S. team had to buy outdated, less-than-competitive bobsleds from their European competitors, Bodine knew he could build a better sled.

It was from this notion that the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project was born. In 1994, Bodine joined forces with auto racing designer Bob Cuneo to build made-in-America bobsleds for the U.S. men's and women's national teams.

For a past winner of the Great American Race, this made-in-America effort came natural for Bodine.

"We've changed the way bobsledding is approached by teams all over the world," Bodine said. "The things we do in NASCAR, we've applied to bobsledding to make our bobsleds better and faster."

Using NASCAR engineering and technology, the Bo-Dyn Project has brought ideas and approaches to the sport that have never been seen before. The ability to disassemble the sleds for quick repairs much like a racecar, as well as having mechanics that travel with the team to maintain the bobsleds, were both introduced by the project.

"Just like in NASCAR we can make little adjustments to the sleds, whereas in the past you couldn't," Bodine said.

The Bo-Dyn Project also has brought the NASCAR-style of obtaining and managing sponsorships to a sport in which sponsors were meager.

Companies like Lincoln Electric, Whelen, Service Master Clean, Racing Electronics, and Jostens just to name a few have stepped up and contributed to the project's success by providing both product as well as financial support.

"We are proud of what Geoff is doing with the Bo-Dyn Project," said Tim Birky, motorsports marketing specialist for Lincoln Electric. "It's a real honor for Lincoln Electric to be a part of the U.S. team's efforts coming up in Vancouver."

And as if that wasn't enough contribution to the sport of bobsledding, Bodine also has created the Bodine Bobsled Challenge -- an annual charity event held in Lake Placid, N.Y., where NASCAR and NHRA celebrities race bobsleds in an effort to raise money and awareness for the U.S. Bobsled team.

What Daytona is to auto racing, Lake Placid is to bobsledding. And whether it's wheeling a race car on a track or steering a modified bobsled down the three-quarter mile, 16-turn Mount Van Hoevenberg track, race-car drivers love to go -- and go fast.

"This is one thing that really gets a race-car driver excited, it's that out of control feeling you get out of a bobsled," Bodine said. "A normal bobsled athlete might make four runs in a day and these guys will make eight, nine, or ten runs, they'll go down as many times that we let them."

The fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering was held Jan. 8-20 and featured a host of NASCAR drivers such as Boris Said, Joey Logano, Todd Bodine, Philip Morris, Jeg Coughlin Jr., and Randy LaJoie, as well as NHRA stars Melanie Troxel and Morgan Lucas.

"I just want to thank them all," Bodine said. "When they see the athletes on the podium getting medals they can know that they were a part of it."

Since 2002, the Bo-Dyn effort has produced one Olympic gold medal, two silver medals, and a bronze. With the help of Bo-Dyn technology, the men's and women's U.S. bobsledding squads have claimed numerous World Cup medals this season -- five gold medals among them -- in the run-up to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics which will kick-off this weekend.

For Bodine, winning a 2010 Olympic gold medal would be just sweet as winning the Harley J. Earl Trophy in 1986.

"Professionally, Daytona is the best, but personally the Olympics are very special to be a part of," Bodine said.

For more information about the Annual Bodine Bobsled Challenge, as well making donations towards the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, visit www.bodynbobsled.com.