Todd Bodine To Run for Eel River at Phoenix

(Nov. 2, 1999) -- Todd Bodine will be back in the saddle again of the State Fair Brand Corn Dogs Pontiac when qualifying begins Friday for the Dura Lube 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Bodine has four starts with car owner Jack Birmingham's Eel River Racing team. In his debut in the Aug. 28 Goody's 500, Bodine earned the team's best finish of the season with a 15th-place run.

"I like the program they're building at Eel River Racing and I'm glad to get back in the seat of the State Fair Brand Corn Dogs Pontiac," Bodine said. "I've been able to develop a solid line of communication with Barry Dodson and his crew in a very short time. That will help us at Phoenix."

Dodson, the veteran crew chief who won a NASCAR Winston Cup title with Rusty Wallace in 1989, is confident with Bodine at the wheel.

"Todd's done a very good job for us," Dodson said. "He's proven he belongs at this level. He's impressed me with the talent he has. He's definitely a Winston Cup-caliber driver and we're lucky to have him at the wheel for the race at Phoenix. We want to make the field in first round qualifying so we can concentrate on our race setup. Then we want to go out and be competitive all day long. We've already proven we can do that with Todd."

The Eel River Racing team will look to prove it again in the State Fair Brand Corn Dogs Pontiac at Phoenix.