Lake Placid, NY - The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project has announced
that it will organize a bobsled race involving 10 NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup
series drivers. The event is scheduled to take place Jan. 5-9, 2006 at
the Verizon Sports Complex in Lake Placid, NY.
NASCAR veteran Geoff Bodine created the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project in 1992 after
watching the 1992 Winter Olympic Games on television and noticing that USA Bobsled
athletes competed with European-made sleds. At that time, the USA team
had not won a medal since the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina, Italy.
Bodine set out on a quest of a "Made in America" sled project that would provide USA Bobsled athletes with sleds designed involving NASCAR technology. He contacted good friend Bob Cuneo of Chassis Dynamics to design the new sleds, hence the name Bo for Bodine and Dyn for Chassis Dynamics. At the 1994 games in Lillehammer the USA teams used the new Bo-Dyn sleds but still had no medal results. In 1998, the USA teams missed a medal by two hundredths of a second. The USA teams broke the drought at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games by winning both silver and bronze in the four-man competitions, along with gold in the women's competition. The
USA team is now a constant medal winner on the World Cup circuit and the Bo-Dyn
sleds are known as one of the best in the world, with their signature quietness
when they are compared to other sleds coming down the mountain.
Bodine now feels that it is time for his fellow NASCAR drivers to have a chance
to drive a sled like he has and he wants to use the race as a fundraiser for
the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project Inc. "With another track being built for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, I need to take the project to the next level, "said Bodine the 1986 Daytona 500 winner along with 18 other NASCAR wins. "Like NASCAR, the sport is about racing, rules and changes in technology, which mandates research and development and costs money. I need some other NASCAR people to assist me with the project. The best way is to get them into a bobsled environment and give them a feel for the sport. They will not be disappointed."
The drivers will not be going from the top of the track with the standard Bo-Dyn
sleds, but from the two-thirds start in training sleds that will still see speeds
of 50 miles per hour. The sleds will be painted in the colors and with
the sponsors of each driver.
Following the competition, the Geoffrey Bodine Bobsled Fantasy Camp will begin giving NASCAR fans a chance to drive these same sleds, adding to the weekend's festivities.
Bodine also feels that with the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy just a month after the event, the timing is perfect, as it will drive NASCAR interest in watching the United States compete in his Bo-Dyn sleds.
"It's also a great weekend for both NASCAR teams, drivers and fans to come together in a different type of racing", added Bodine. "Just after Christmas and the New Year, the NASCAR family is, in general, looking for some way to get back out and compete".
Bodine has spoken to many drivers and received very positive feed back. One of the drivers, Boris Said, is very excited and stated that he could not wait for the opportunity.
"My father (Bob Said) was an Olympic bobsled driver at the 1972 Games in Sapporo, Japan," remarked Said. "I used to ride sleds in Lake Placid and it is the fastest and most exciting racing
experience I have ever had without a motor."
New York Olympic Regional Development Authority President and CEO Ted Blazer added, "We are very excited to have this event. We feel that Lake Placid is to bobsledding what Daytona is to auto racing. The drivers and fans will be welcomed here with open arms."
