Todd Bodine: Red Horse Racing Homestead-Miami Speedway Race Report

Closing out a challenging 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Todd Bodine and the No. 11 Tundra Endeavour Toyota team traveled to Homestead-Miami Speedway; one of Bodine’s favorite tracks on the circuit. With two prior wins at the 1.5-mile oval, Bodine used his experience and the speed of his Red Horse Racing Tundra to maneuver through several tight racing situations and claim an 11th place finish.

 

Sporting a special paint scheme to honor the Toyota Endeavour Project, featuring a Tundra Crewmax pickup that towed the space shuttle Endeavour to its final home at the California Science Center in October, Bodine went work from the 19th starting position in the Ford EcoBoost 200. He moved into the top-15 before the first round of pit stops under caution on lap 37 and reported to crew chief Rick Gay that the Tundra Endeavour machine was just a little loose on both ends. After taking the restart, he moved into the 13th position, but not before the field spread out under an extended green flag run. Though Bodine was easily running lap times consistent with the leaders, he was put at a disadvantage after the restarts allowed the leaders to break away from the pack.

 

Coming in under green after staying out a few extra laps to lead some laps and hope for a caution, Bodine received four tires and changes on lap 94 and returned to competition in 13th. Though he fell one lap down to the leaders after the stop, a caution on lap 106 while Bodine rode in the lucky dog position gave him his lap back and another chance at the competition. Taking four tires and adjustments before returning to green flag racing, Bodine rocketed forward in the Tundra Endeavour Tundra and placed himself just outside the top-10 prior to the multi-truck accident with two laps to go. By clearing the incident with no damage, Bodine was able to capture an 11th place finish.

 

“We had to fight for track position after starting mid-pack with our No. 11 Tundra Endeavour Tundra tonight, and that really put a damper on our chances at a better finish,” Bodine explained. “But this Red Horse Racing crew did a phenomenal job with fast pit stops and good changes to help us get up to the 11th spot, which really isn’t a bad night for us. I think if we could’ve gained the track position a little earlier in the night when we had those long green flag runs, we could’ve done a little more.”

 

Bodine closes out the 2012 season with one win, five top-five and seven top-10 finishes. The two-time champion’s unfortunate luck relegated him to the 14th place spot in the final championship point standings.

 

“This season has really been a challenge for me and this No. 11 Red Horse Racing team, but they’ve never given up on me and we’ve had fast Toyota Tundras every single week. It’s just a testament to how great this Red Horse Racing organization is and the kind of people that work there putting in the long hours and making these top caliber trucks. No matter what, I’m proud to be a part of this team and we’ll put this bad luck behind us and move on to next year.”

 

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