Bodines' Travelogue

The hunt for Truck Series championship No. 2 for Todd Bodine is so close that he and his wife, Janet, can almost taste the sweetest of rewards in racing.

But, even with only two weekends left in the season and a 230-point lead on Aric Almirola, the Bodines refuse to take anything for granted. That's despite the fact the stats don't lie: Bodine has out-run Almirola seven of the past 10 races, and with the exception of Talladega, where a late-race wreck knocked Bodine out of the top five, they've usually only been a few positions apart whoever's out front.

If Bodine finishes ahead of Almirola Friday night at Phoenix, the championship is his -- the Bodines and Todd's Germain Racing team won't let down their guard.

Todd Bodine made sure to visit Michael James Gaughan on the way to Phoenix.

However, they're also refusing to pass up the chance to have a lot of fun with this home stretch.

So Week 13 of the Bodines' Travelogue might have been one of the most enjoyable of the entire season, starting with some of Janet's goofy shopping trips around Texas Motor Speedway with Lindy Hornaday; continuing with a side-trip to Las Vegas to visit new parents Brendan and Tatum Gaughan; and topped-off with a drive into Phoenix, which is pretty close to the race track in Avondale, Ariz.

Once again, Janet took up the narrative.

"As people could probably tell from the SPEED TV broadcast, it was pretty chilly down in the Dallas/Fort Worth area around Texas Motor Speedway," Janet said. "But that didn't keep Lindy and I from enjoying ourselves, as we usually do.

"It was on one of our shopping trips that Lindy bought Todd that 'sock monkey' hat he wore during pre-race on Friday at Texas. The fans seemed to really get a kick out of that and you know Todd -- he's game for just about anything.

"After Texas, we traveled to Las Vegas on our way to Phoenix, with the Hornadays and Timothy and Sara Peters. The purpose of that trip was two-fold. First, we just couldn't miss the chance to see Michael James Gaughan, Brendan and Tatum's son -- especially all the coaching and encouraging that Todd and I had done in the weeks leading up to the birth.

"And of course, you just know we wouldn't miss the chance to hit Vegas. Lindy, Sara and I had a ball as the "three dragonteers" trucking all over that town -- including some shopping. We saw Ron White, the comedian and took in Zumanity at Cirque de Soleil. It was good, but nowhere near as good as their O.

"One of the highlights was our dinner earlier this week at Michael's, the restaurant Brendan's father has at their South Point Hotel & Casino. The guys' pink bibs were fairly priceless, you can bet on that. And believe it or not, the guys all made a stop at the spa at the South Point -- it's about a dead-heat picturing Todd, Hornaday or Timothy in that environment.

"And of course, no trip to Vegas would be complete without an "Elvis" sighting.

Lindy Hornaday purchased Todd Bodine's head apparel for Texas.

"After our Vegas tour, Ron, Lindy, Todd and I drove to Phoenix. Ron, Lindy and I were petrified to drive over the new bridge -- but at the same time we were all fighting to be the one to drive over it. Go figure.

"I also recently had to do some last-minute, end-of-season trip planning. What's pretty neat -- and pretty special is my mom had given us some money to pay for the flights through the end of the championship. We were going to have to fly from Phoenix back to Charlotte, and then from Charlotte to Wilkes-Barre Scranton [Pa.] for Thanksgiving.

"So making all those flights and hotel reservations has been keeping me busy, when we're just riding down the road. I did some work with the airlines to get my brother, Lenny, and his girlfriend, Rose, from Wilkes-Barre Scranton down to Miami for the Homestead finale and the banquet; and for "Shortbus" and Sarah to come down to Homestead to take care of the coach.

"My mom is the same age as Todd's mom was, and my mom's blind in one eye due to old age. But Todd had asked my mom to be there for the championship -- to help us celebrate if we win it. But the way mom feels about it, because of her health, she doesn't want to be a hindrance at the time of the celebration -- no matter what Todd wanted to do.

"The money we had left over from mom's deal, after doing all the flights, we used for all the alcohol and the beer for the party at the coach after the race at Homestead. Now we're just counting the points and hoping it's championship No. 2 we're celebrating."

Related:
Week 1: Never a dull moment as family treks in search of title
Week 2: At Bristol with friends, family and a fan knocking at door
Week 3: On the road without the coach leaves a lot to be desired
Week 4: After win at Kentucky, time to stop and reflect -- and shop
Week 5: Pushing aside Cup dalliance to focus on stretch run
Week 6: Night spent at hospital with Hillman limits free time in New Hampshire
Week 7: Couple marvels at crew chief's tolerance, wine and dine the crew
Week 8: Downtime means still traveling, changing plans,preparing for the future
Week 9: Preparing for holidays, Hornadays and happy days
Week 10: Gambling and plenty of partying caps hiatus; on to Martinsville
Week 11: Todd faced with loss of mother; sends thanks to fans, friends
Week 12: Scary moments on the way to, and at Talladega