MOTORSPORTS TEAM REPORTS
 © 2006 Dwight Drum      Photos by Dwight Drum

After finishing second to seemingly perennial Bodine Bobsled champion, Boris Said last year, Lucas is excited about re-sharpening his runners and honing his skills for the second time of his young racing career attacking the tricky, 18-turn course.

"It's such a thrill to know I'll be back at the Bodine Bobsled Challenge," said Lucas, readying himself for the uniquely steering package consisting of handles and precise timing. "It was so much fun driving the bobsled, but what really made it special was getting to know all the NASCAR guys."

After watching the 1992 Winter Olympics, Bodine became interested in helping the U.S. Olympic Bobsled Team create and design their own sleds instead of relying on the old or outdated bobsleds purchased from other countries. Bo-Dyn Bobsleds ("Bo" for Bodine, "Dyn" for Chassis Dynamics) was created later that year by Bodine and his friend and chassis builder, Bob Cuneo of Chassis Dynamics, located in Oxford, Conn. Bodine founded the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc. to help create a winning bobsled for the U.S. teams. The U. S. National Team first used Bo-Dyn sleds in 1994. Ten years after Bo-Dyn's inception, the U.S. team won three medals in Bo-Dyn Bobsleds during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, including a gold medal in women's bobsled. The women's team also captured a silver medal in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy. This past season saw the U.S. bobsled team win two World Cup season-ending gold medals and two silver medals, as well as 17 World Cup medals (seven gold, nine silver, and one bronze) and two World Championship medals.

Adding to the list of impressive supporters, Lucas Oil Products has joined the organization as a major sponsor with Morgan piloting his family emblazoned bobsled.

"We welcome Lucas Oil Products to our family of sponsors," said 1986 Daytona 500 champion, Bodine. "Money that we raise from the Bodine Bobsled Challenge will go to building more bobsleds for our USA athletes as we head into the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver A bobsled for the U.S. team costs, on average, $50,000 while the special sleds used for the Bodine Bobsled Challenge average $10,000 apiece.

"We have 15 sleds USA Team sleds in our fleet. We're real proud of that, and proud of what our athletes did last year. Last World Cup season was the best season in American bobsledding history, so we're really proud of what our athletes have accomplished."

Now Lucas will be getting the closest experience to the real thing by rocketing himself down the twisting course reaching speeds of nearly 70 mph negotiating the twisting turns on a track considered done of the toughest in the world and what auto enthusiasts would call a road course full of ICE.

In the 2007 edition, Boris Said, a road course specialist whose father was a 2x Olympic Bobsled Driver, clearly dominated the qualifying rounds, but out of nowhere, drag racer, Morgan Lucas revived his concentration and on his last run drove his sled around his fellow competitors to take the second-place position on the podium in the finals. Mike Stefanik of the NASCAR Whelen Modified tour finished third.

"I listened to everyone on how they were driving and took down all the key points putting them down in my memory remembering how to drive a bobsled. I was lucky enough not to graze any walls and came out with the second quickest time. I couldn't believe it!"

Also joining Lucas and Said as the early entrants for the soon to be racing classic are NASCAR National Champions from the Whelen Modified Tour, Donny Lia and NASCAR So. Whelen Modified driver, L.W. Miller along with Steve Carlson- NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion.

SPEED Channel will show the qualifying results of the Bodine Bobsled Challenge on Sunday, January 20 with the finals airing the following week, January 27 from 2-4pm after the completion of the 24-Hours of Daytona broadcast.

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No. 41 crew picks up Checkers®/Rally’s® Double Drive-Thru Challenge victory at the Brickyard

Reed Sorenson’s No. 41 crew earned its first Checkers®/Rally’s® Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season during Sunday’s Allstate 400® at the Brickyard.

Starting from the pole and on its way to a fifth-place finish, the Target® team spent 219.402 seconds on pit road at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, becoming the 11th team to take home pit crew challenge honors this season.

“The guys on the Target team did a great job all weekend in Indy, first getting the car ready for the race and then on pit road,” said Sorenson. “We had solid pit stops all day and the over-the-wall guys stepped up to the plate when it counted late in the race.”

“Our last stop was under green and after the cycle we gained two spots on the track,” added Sorenson. “The quick pit stop definitely put me in position to finish inside of the top five. I couldn’t be more proud of the effort everyone puts forth each weekend.”

Sorenson’s crew will be presented with an $11,000 check by Checkers/Rally’s for winning the weekly competition. An additional $111,150 prize will be presented to the pit crew team with the most wins at the completion of the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule.

The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team consists of: Chuck White (jackman), Marty Forcier (front-tire carrier), Bobby Burrell (front-tire changer), Adam Moser (rear-tire carrier), Jason Sheet (rear-tire changer), Randy Hildreth (gasman), Eric “Pee Wee” Hoyle (catch can), and Doug Spees (eighth-man). The team is led by crew chief Jimmy Elledge and the pit crew coach is Phil Horton.

Mark Martin’s/Aric Almirola’s No. 01 crew leads the season-long Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge standings with four wins.

To win, teams are required to finish on the lead lap while spending the least amount of time on pit road. Checkers/Rally’s is in its third season as title sponsor for the Pit Crew Challenge.

Busch Series Result – O’Reilly Raceway Park
The No. 33 over-the-wall crew of Cale Gale grabbed the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win in Saturday’s Busch Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park by spending 96.950 seconds on pit road.

Truck Series Result – O’Reilly Raceway Park
Todd Bodine’s No. 30 team earned the Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win in Friday night’s Craftsman Truck Series event at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. The team spent 52.351 seconds on pit road.

* Indianapolis (7/29)   Reed Sorenson Team
* Chicago (7/15/07)   Kevin Harvick Team
* Daytona (2/18)   Mark Martin Team
* California (2/25)   Mark Martin Team
* Las Vegas (3/11)   Mark Martin Team
* Atlanta (3/18)   Jimmie Johnson Team
* Bristol (3/25)   Denny Hamlin Team
* Martinsville (4/1)   Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team
* Texas (4/15)   Mark Martin Team
* Phoenix (4/22)   Denny Hamlin Team
* Talladega (4/29)   Kurt Busch Team
* Richmond (5/6)   Jeff Gordon Team
* Darlington (5/13)   Jeff Gordon Team
* Charlotte (5/27)   Denny Hamlin Team
* Dover (6/4)   Ryan Newman Team
* Pocono (6/10)   Jeff Gordon Team
* Michigan (6/17)   Kyle Busch Team
* Infineon (6/24)   Kevin Harvick Team
* New Hampshire (7/1)   Jimmie Johnson Team
* Daytona (7/7)  Casey Mears Team

Busch Series Result – Chicagoland Speedway

Paul Menard’s over-the-wall crew won its second Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season in Saturday’s Busch Series event at Chicagoland Speedway. The team spent 121.619 seconds on pit road.

Truck Series Result – Kentucky Speedway

The No. 1 team of David Green earned its first Checkers/Rally’s Double Drive-Thru Challenge win of the season in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series event at Kentucky Speedway. The team spent 89.709 seconds on pit road.