Geoff Bodine Racing

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Geoff Bodine Racing
Owner(s)Geoff Bodine, Jim Mattei, John Porter
BaseMooresville, North Carolina
SeriesWinston Cup, Craftsman Truck Series
Race driversGeoff Bodine, Tammy Jo Kirk, Dave Rezendes, Barry Bodine
ManufacturerFord
Opened1993
Closed2000
Career
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories7

Geoff Bodine Racing (also known as GEB Racing) was a NASCAR Winston Cup and Craftsman Truck Series team. It was owned and operated by former NASCAR driver Geoffrey Bodine following his purchase of the estate of Alan Kulwicki.[1] He remained owner of the team until the 1998 season, when he sold the operation to Jim Mattei and John Porter. Through the chain of succession, the team's final owner was Robby Gordon.[2]

Winston Cup

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In 1993, Bodine, who was driving for Bud Moore Engineering at the time, decided to become an owner-driver. Earlier in the season, then-defending Winston Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki, who owned and drove for AK Racing, was killed in a plane crash as the Cup Series made its spring trip to Bristol.

Bodine was able to raise enough money to purchase the assets of Kulwicki’s former team from its caretaker, Felix Sabates, who had been providing financial backing so the team could continue running. However, he immediately ran into a problem as Kulwicki’s sponsor, Hooters, pulled out of the team immediately after Bodine took ownership. Undaunted, Bodine signed The Family Channel to be the sponsor for the remainder of the season. After The Family Channel moved over to Roush Racing for the next year, Bodine got Exide Batteries to sponsor his effort in 1994. Bodine won three times that year but finished 17th in points. He also won the 1994 Winston Select. He almost won the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400 before he got into a controversial incident with younger brother Brett Bodine where Brett wrecked Geoff out of the lead; Geoff responded by publicly announcing to the press that he and Brett were feuding in their personal lives. Two weeks later, Geoff's wife moved out of the house and filed for divorce, resulting in a downward spiral for Bodine. Later that year, Geoff won at North Wilkesboro which was the last time the race winner lapped the entire field. Bodine improved one spot better in 1995, although he struggled in several races and went winless. Bodine would later publicly admit that his ongoing divorce was impacting his ability to drive competitively and made several changes to the racing operations.

In 1996, after Exide moved to Roush, Bodine ran with QVC sponsorship and scored his final win at Watkins Glen International Raceway. He struggled in 1997, failing to qualify in a couple of races, and having his brother Todd fill in for him at the Coca-Cola 600. Despite this, he won two poles in the last two months of the season, including one that broke the track record at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

In 1998, he sold part of his ownership to Mattei and Porter, and picked up sponsorship from Philips. When Bodine got an offer to drive for Joe Bessey in 1999, he sold the rest of his team and was replaced by Michael Waltrip, as the team switched to Chevrolet. Finishing 5th in the Daytona 500, Waltrip finished the year 29th in points. Getting sponsorship from NationsRent in 2000, Waltrip's only top-ten finish that year was a 3rd at Martinsville. He left at the end of the year for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and Mike Wallace took over, while the team switched back to Ford.[3] During the 2000 season, the team was sold to Ultra Motorsports.

Car No. 7 results

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Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Owners Pts
1993 Geoff Bodine 7 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV
30 		MAR
14 		NWS
31 		CLT
13 		CAR
10 		PHO
43 		ATL
39
1994 DAY
11 		CAR
15 		RCH
32 		ATL
38 		DAR
40 		BRI
4 		NWS
7 		MAR
34 		TAL
41 		SON
2 		CLT
3 		DOV
41 		POC
19 		MCH
28 		DAY
6 		NHA
31 		POC
1* 		TAL
33 		IND
39 		GLN
29 		MCH
1* 		BRI
23* 		DAR
27 		RCH
18 		DOV
5* 		MAR
18 		NWS
1* 		CLT
32* 		CAR
40 		PHO
8 		ATL
34
1995 DAY
20 		CAR
21 		RCH
11 		ATL
30 		DAR
13 		BRI
23 		NWS
14 		MAR
35 		TAL
7 		SON
22 		CLT
26 		DOV
27 		POC
14 		MCH
21 		DAY
14 		NHA
35 		POC
6 		TAL
24 		IND
15 		GLN
9 		MCH
27 		BRI
12 		DAR
35 		RCH
19 		DOV
24 		MAR
5 		NWS
11 		CLT
16 		CAR
15 		PHO
16 		ATL
11
1996 DAY
34 		CAR
39 		RCH
33 		ATL
23 		DAR
22 		BRI
19 		NWS
19 		MAR
27 		TAL
26 		SON
40 		CLT
10 		DOV
30 		POC
3 		MCH
21 		DAY
34 		NHA
15 		POC
11 		TAL
6 		IND
20 		GLN
1 		MCH
12 		BRI
39 		DAR
21 		RCH
17 		DOV
11 		MAR
7 		NWS
30 		CLT
20 		CAR
15 		PHO
6 		ATL
26
1997 DAY
34 		CAR
8 		RCH
2 		ATL
20 		DAR
9 		TEX
14 		BRI
33 		MAR
29 		SON
44 		TAL
43 		DOV
42 		POC
8 		MCH
40 		CAL
35 		DAY
DNQ 		NHA
10 		POC
17 		IND
DNQ 		GLN
2 		MCH
11 		BRI
9 		DAR
12 		RCH
4 		NHA
16 		DOV
14 		MAR
28 		CLT
43 		TAL
8 		CAR
19 		PHO
10 		ATL
33
Todd Bodine CLT
42
1998 Geoff Bodine DAY
31 		CAR
5 		LVS
13 		ATL
22 		DAR
41 		BRI
39 		TEX
32 		MAR
35 		TAL
DNQ 		CAL
7 		CLT
23 		DOV
23 		RCH
28 		MCH
23 		POC
40 		SON
35 		NHA
37 		POC
14 		IND
37 		GLN
32 		MCH
21 		BRI
30 		NHA
23 		DAR
9 		RCH
13 		DOV
14 		MAR
39 		CLT
9 		TAL
25 		DAY
41 		PHO
34 		CAR
11 		ATL
10
1999 Michael Waltrip Chevy DAY
5 		CAR
20 		LVS
22 		ATL
10 		DAR
21 		TEX
14 		BRI
12 		MAR
39 		TAL
18 		CAL
23 		RCH
22 		CLT
37 		DOV
42 		MCH
15 		POC
37 		SON
10 		DAY
39 		NHA
19 		POC
12 		IND
27 		GLN
21 		MCH
13 		BRI
37 		DAR
41 		RCH
38 		NHA
38 		DOV
19 		MAR
33 		CLT
14 		TAL
39 		CAR
27 		PHO
33 		HOM
36 		ATL
36
2000 DAY
39 		CAR
23 		LVS
33 		ATL
25 		DAR
32 		BRI
11 		TEX
29 		MAR
3 		TAL
31 		CAL
30 		RCH
19 		CLT
18 		DOV
39 		MCH POC SON DAY NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV MAR CLT TAL CAR PHO HOM ATL

Craftsman Truck Series

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Bodine Racing began racing in the new Truck Series in 1995, when Bodine drove ten races in the No. 7, with Exide sponsorship. He shared the ride with Dave Rezendes, who raced eleven times that season; together, they combined for fourteen top-ten finishes. Bodine's son Barry drove the No. 07 Tanya Tucker Salsa truck at Martinsville, but he crashed out. Rezendes raced the No. 7 full-time in 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with QVC sponsoring, and he responded with three victories and a sixth-place finish in points. Bodine and Barry drove the 07 in six races, but only had one pole and top-ten.

Due to a lack of sponsorship, Rezendes was let go after two races in 1997. Tammy Jo Kirk took his place with Loveable sponsorship, becoming the first full-time female driver on the circuit.[4] She had a best finish of 11th, but was let go late in the season, and Barry Bodine finished out the season. The team closed in 1998 due to a lack of sponsorship.

Truck No. 7 results

[edit]
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Owners Pts
1995 Geoff Bodine 7 Ford PHO
5 		SGS
2 		POR
6 		BRI
2 		IRP
25 		RCH
2* 		MAR
15 		NWS
3* 		MMR
26 		PHO
3
Dave Rezendes TUS
10 		MMR
19 		EVG
7 		I70
2 		LVL
15 		MLW
8 		CNS
5 		HPT
26 		FLM
9 		SON
9
1996 HOM
1 		PHO
22 		POR
32 		EVG
11 		TUS
8 		CNS
5 		HPT
9 		BRI
2 		NZH
12 		MLW
8 		LVL
4 		I70
9 		IRP
16 		FLM
4 		GLN
23 		NSV
1 		RCH
11 		NHA
23 		MAR
12 		NWS
32 		SON
1* 		MMR
10 		PHO
22 		LVS
5
1997 WDW
14 		TUS
10
Tammy Jo Kirk HOM
23 		PHO
12 		POR
14 		EVG
16 		I70
25 		NHA
13 		TEX
13 		BRI
19 		NZH
16 		MLW
16 		LVL
14 		CNS
17 		HPT
11 		IRP
34 		FLM
19
Barry Bodine NSV
20 		GLN RCH
25 		MAR
17 		SON MMR CAL
12 		PHO
16 		LVS
34
1998 WDW
35 		HOM PHO POR EVG I70 GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL PPR IRP NHA FLM NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS

Truck No. 07 results

[edit]
Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Owners Pts
1995 Barry Bodine 07 Ford PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR
30 		NWS SON MMR
Dave Rezendes PHO
14
1996 Geoff Bodine HOM
33 		PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH
8 		MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN
17 		NSV RCH NHA LVS
39
Barry Bodine MAR
20 		NWS
23 		SON MMR PHO
1997 Tammy Jo Kirk WDW
24 		TUS
DNQ 		NSV
14 		GLN RCH MAR SON MMR CAL PHO LVS
Barry Bodine HOM
27 		PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM

References

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  1. ^ Zeller, Bob (May 10, 1993). "Announcement Expected to Be Made Today\ Bodine Reportedly Buys Kulwicki's Racing Team". News & Record. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  2. ^ Pearce, Al (September 12, 2000). "Owner Bessey Fires Geoffrey Bodine; He'll Finish the Season As the Driver". Daily Press. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Rockne, Dick (May 10, 1997). "Tammy Jo Kirk Won't Dim Her Lights -- First Woman In Truck Series Breaks Ground". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
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