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NASCAR bobsledders to arrive Thursday in Lake Placid for Saturday races
When the aircraft lands Thursday delivering a group of NASCAR drivers to Lake Placid New York, it’ll mark the official beginning of the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.
The NASCAR pilots will get their first taste of bobsledding – all in the name of funding research and development for the United States Men’s and Women’s Bobsled Teams. These drivers will train on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning at the Verizon Sports Complex in Lake Placid. Qualification will be held Friday afternoon setting up a pair of races Saturday at 10 am and 1 pm. Each event will consist of two heats.
Tickets are available at the gate or by logging on to www.bodinebobsled.com.
Curb / Asylum recording artists Cowboy Crush will sing the National Anthem prior to the challenge.
The initiative, begun in 1992 by Daytona winner Geoff Bodine, has put U.S. athletes in made-in-America bobsleds. This work, known as the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, finally paid off with a 2002 Olympic gold medal in women’s bobsledding and silver and bronze medals in men’s four-man competition at those same Games.
The NASCAR drivers attending will be Kevin Lepage, Dick Trickle, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Todd Bodine, Boris Said, Steve Park, Joel Kauffman and Stanton Barrett.
Brad Noffsinger and Tim Fedewa are the latest additions to the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge. Noffsinger is a former driver now working for Petty Enterprises, while Fedewa is a Cup and Busch Series driver, who comes from a long family history of racing.
Randy LaJoie was a late scratch from the race lineup.
In addition to the on-ice action, the fundraiser will include a $100 a plate dinner Friday night at Nicola’s on Main. Reservations can be made by calling 518-523-5853. This gala will have a silent auction and entertainment by Cowboy Crush.
To put their personal and distinctive trademark on the occasion, these five southern belles have re-worked their upcoming single entitled "Hillbilly Nation" (scheduled to be released to radio Spring 2006) to "NASCAR Nation."
"We love NASCAR! NASCAR and country music go hand in hand. NASCAR fans are country music fans! So, we all thought it appropriate that we revise the lyrics to fit the occasion," said Crush lead singer, Trenna Barnes.
At the track, race fans will see the drivers in specially-made sleds in the colors of their teams. For instance, Whelen Engineering, event sponsor, will have Boris Said in a white and red sled.
Other sponsors include I LOVE NEW YORK and usmilitary.com while Columbia Sportswear is the official clothing supplier.
“We are very happy to join the list of outstanding Bodine event sponsors,” said usmilitary.com President Larry Fowler. “It’s an excellent platform from which we can reach prospective recruits and tell them about all the different career and job opportunities at all of the military services.”
ESPN will televise a one-hour program on Jan. 29 at 5 pm (Eastern), while Speed Channel will provide two hours of coverage on Feb. 4 at 2 pm (Eastern).
Greg Engle, the Editor of the Cup Scene Daily is seeking employment within the motorsports journalism industry. If you are interested, please contact him at:
greg@cupscene.com
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