BO-DYN BOBSLED PROJECT
In 2005, Geoff Bodine announced that he will organize a bobsled race involving 10 NASCAR drivers piloting specially-made sleds. The event was designed to bring awareness to the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project and to help fund research and development of the sleek new bobsleds used in Olympic competition. The inaugural Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge was held January 5-7, 2006. |
LAKE PLACID, NY - January 6, 2007
My how time flies. it seems like only yesterday we were at Lake Placid for the inaugural Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.
This year's event brought several changes. First of all, it was held in conjunction with the 2-man and 4-man US National Championships. This was a great opportunity to see the pros run the course from the top driving the same Bo-Dyn bobsleds used for World Cup and Olympic competition.
Instead of the ordinary round ski runners used last year, the Bo-Dyn bobsleds were now equipped with competition runners. These would provide faster speeds and better steering response which eventually lead to problems for several of the drivers. I did not attend practice on Friday but was told that several drivers rolled the sled over. This prompted officials to move the start down to gate-4, another 1/4 mile lower on the course.
Many of the sleds sported some very wild paint schemes this year, thanks to PPG Automotive, Justin Barnes Grafix, and the Vo-Tech students at the Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY.
However, the biggest change this year could not be controlled by Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge officials - the weather. The average high temperature for Lake Placid on January 6th is 26 degrees. Saturday's temperature set a new record, reaching an incredible 53 degrees. To make matters worse, the area received over an inch of rain, turning many roads and most walk paths into mud.
The race sleds were the same Bo-Dyn bobsleds used for the inaugural event last year. They are specially-made 2-man sleds that differ somewhat from those used by the US Bobsled Team. They do not have the flexible, 2-piece chassis or the retractable driver push-bar.
NASCAR drivers in attendance were Todd Bodine, Boris Said, Kevin Lapage, Dick Trickle, Randy LaJoie, Mike Stefanik, Brendan Gaughan and Philip Morris. Geoff also recruited NHRA drivers Morgan Lucas and J.R. Todd. A nice touch to this year's event was to use National Guard personnel as brakemen for the drivers.
There are three races that make up the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge; a qualifying race on Friday plus two Challenge races on Saturday. Each race would consist of two heats. The driver with the fastest combined time of both heats is the race winner. Instead of the customary running push by the driver and brakeman, the sleds are started with a slow push out of the gate by a track official.
I was not surprised to learn that Boris Said qualified first on Friday. Although Geoff qualified second, he elected not to compete in the Challenge races because the 10-man field was full. However, he did kick off each race by driving down the course in Stanton Barrett's PRO30.COM sponsored Bo-Dyn bobsled.
Race 1 started almost an hour later than originally scheduled. The leader after heat 1 was Boris Said (remember that name), with Mike Stefanik running second and Randy LaJoie third. If there was any question as to the increased speed of the sleds with competition runners, one only needs to look at the heat times. The media race we ran last year was from this vary same start gate and we ran times of 51 and 52 seconds. The NASCAR and NHRA drivers were completing the course 10 seconds faster than our media race.
During the second heat we saw our first crash as Philip Morris got upside down in turn 19. This is the same corner where Dick Trickle crashed twice last year, which has now been dubbed the "Trickle" turn. This race also saw some drivers looking to bend the rules a bit, such as adding rocks in their jacket pockets. Since this sport relies a lot on gravity, a heavier object sliding down the course will no doubt travel faster.
Even with about 16 pounds of rocks in his pockets, Randy LaJoie could still not defeat Boris Said, who captured both heat races to win race 1. Randy finished second and Mike Stefanik finished third.
By time race 2 got under way, it was nearly 3pm. The 50 degree temperatures and intermittent rain all afternoon really slowed the course down. It was decided to recruit the US National Bobsled team members to push the sleds off the start line to gain extra speed. Even with this much faster push, heat times were about 9 to 10 seconds slower than those of race 1.
At the end of the first heat, Boris Said was again on top of the leader board. Randy LaJoie was second with Brendan Gaughan a close third. The second heat seemed pretty routine until Kevin Lapage made his run. His start time was among the quickest and it appeared he might have the fastest time of the heat. However, Kevin got a bit too high entering turn 19 (the infamous "Trickle" turn) and rolled the sled over.
NHRA driver Morgan Lucas was on top of the leader board with just one driver left to run; road-course specialist Boris Said. Most felt that Boris would win and it was just a matter of "by how much". He disappointed no one as he drove to a commanding 0.63 second lead to win race 2 and sweep both races of the 2nd Annual Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge. Morgan finished second and Mike Stefanik finished third, his second podium appearance of the day.
David Palmieri - Boris Said |
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James Bills - Morgan Lucas |
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Matt Cyrer - Mike Stefanik |
Despite the poor weather, I think the fan turnout was larger than last year. I also noticed a great deal more advertising banners posted throughout the facility this year. Both may have been due to the US National Championships being run the same day.
A big "THANK YOU" to all the National Guard members on hand Saturday. They helped to move the bobsleds up and down the hill and took a beating as brakemen for the drivers. If you watched the television coverage on SPEED, all those blue rain ponchos were compliments of the National Guard.
I also wish to thank Geoff Bodine, Phil Kurze (Whelen Engineering), Sandy Caligiore (ORDA), Stephanie Ryan (ORDA) and the many course workers, timing officials and staff members associated with the Verizon Sports Complex in Lake Placid.
Oh by the way David (David Palmieri, brakeman for Boris Said), I still think you and Boris had a bit of a weight advantage. |
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