Brett Bodine Racing was a NASCAR racing team from 1996 until 2003. It was owned by former NASCAR driver Brett Bodine and his then-wife Diane, and fielded the No. 11 car for Bodine, who purchased the team from Junior Johnson & Associates (for whom he had driven for in 1995) during the 1995–96 offseason. In purchasing the team Brett joined his brother Geoff as an owner-driver, Geoff having purchased the assets of AK Racing after Alan Kulwicki (also an owner-driver) was killed in a plane crash on April 1, 1993.

Brett Bodine Racing
Owner(s)Brett Bodine
BaseNorth Carolina
SeriesWinston Cup Busch Series
Race driversBrett Bodine
Geoffrey Bodine
Kirk Shelmerdine
SponsorsHooters
Lowe's
Ralphs
ManufacturerFord
Opened1996
Closed2003
Career
Drivers' Championships0
Race victories0

The team closed following the 2003 season after failing to find a full-time sponsor.

NASCAR Cup Series

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Car No. 11 History

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Brett Bodine drove the 11 car for Junior Johnson in 1995 with Lowe's sponsorship and drove the car again with Lowe's sponsorship in 1996 as an owner/driver. Brett's team struggled with consistency that season but they did manage to finish 24th in the points standings, with one top ten.[1] After the season, Lowe's left to sponsor the No. 31 at Richard Childress Racing and Bodine's sponsorship woes began.[2][1]

1997 saw Brett sign a long term sponsorship deal that would put Close Call Phone Cards on the car. The season started off well with Bodine achieving two top ten finishes in the first 9 races. However, just half-way into the season Close-Call stopped paying its sponsorship bills and Brett was forced to strip the decals off of his car. The car ran unsponsored for the remainder of the season and Bodine was forced to sell part of the team to Andy Evans, although he later re-acquired full interest. Bodine later accused Evans of trying to steal his team.[1]

 
Bodine's No. 11 at Pocono Raceway in 1997

1998 and 1999 found Bodine with reliable sponsorship from Paychex on his new Ford Taurus. He found modest success in 1998 finishing 25th overall in points, despite failing to finish in the top ten all season. He did, however, manage to finish in the top 20 on eleven occasions while also earning $1 million for the first time.[1]

After 1998, Bodine struggled in 1999. He was only able to reach 35th-place in the final standing, again with no top tens and only four top 20s. The No. 11 team also failed to qualify for 2 events and Paychex chose not to return at the end of the season.

Without a sponsor having been found, Brett sold half-interest in his team once again, this time to Richard Hilton. As part of the deal Ralphs would come on as the primary sponsor. Although the sale of the team fell through Brett was able to retain the Ralphs sponsorship.[3] However, the team reached only 35th place in the final points standings with no top tens and just 5 top twenties. They failed to qualify for five of the races.

Despite this, Ralphs came back to the team in 2001 as the primary sponsor and Brett signed RedCell Batteries as an associate, and the team received engines from Robert Yates Racing. But another blow to the organization RedCell stopped paying its dues midseason, and the team once again was forced to go without strong backing. They were able to work through these troubles and had a very successful season. They qualified for every race, finished in the top ten twice, the top twenty nine times, and moved up five spots to 30th in the points standings.

Despite the team's success in 2001 a primary sponsor was not forthcoming for 2002. Brett entered the season with just the associates Timberland Pro and Wells Fargo Financial. Dura Lube came on to help out early in the season until Brett picked up Hooters sponsorship for the 4th race of the season. At the start of the 2002 season the team were way behind in all aspects due to securing sponsorship so late in the season. Brett managed no top tens, only 4 top 20s, and 36th in the final standings while missing four races.

Hooters came back in 2003, but with far less money. The team scaled back to only a limited schedule. Geoffrey Bodine drove the car in the Bud Shootout at Daytona and Brett ran 5 early season races before Hooters pulled the plug, leaving the team with no sponsor.[4] To compound problems, that same weekend in practice Brett was involved in a horrifying crash that sidelined him for several weeks.[5] His brother Geoffrey drove the No. 11 Ford for his injured brother in its final race, finishing 39th. With no major sponsorship for his team and most of his employees laid off, Brett attempted to run at Indy in a fan-sponsored "Brick Car" where, for $500, fans would get their name on the car. The program was a success, but Brett failed to qualify for the race by 0.001 seconds. No sponsor was found and the team was sold.

Car No. 11 results

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
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 35 36 Owners Pts
1996 Brett Bodine 11 Ford DAY
32
CAR
28
RCH
25
ATL
24
DAR
27
BRI
20
NWS
23
MAR
18
TAL
23
SON
20
CLT
24
DOV
24
POC
40
MCH
22
DAY
9
NHA
16
POC
27
TAL
22
IND
22
GLN
14
MCH
28
BRI
14
DAR
28
RCH
25
DOV
27
MAR
DNQ
NWS
23
CLT
28
CAR
16
PHO
26
ATL
21
1997 DAY
18
CAR
17
RCH
23
ATL
18
DAR
35
TEX
19
BRI
10
MAR
27
SON
6
TAL
33
CLT
26
DOV
33
POC
25
MCH
19
CAL
26
DAY
23
NHA
42
POC
29
IND
18
GLN
39
MCH
31
BRI
31
DAR
15
RCH
21
NHA
33
DOV
26
MAR
17
CLT
30
TAL
22
CAR
DNQ
PHO
33
ATL
41
29th 2747
1998 DAY
24
CAR
16
LVS
26
ATL
26
DAR
22
BRI
11
TEX
16
MAR
13
TAL
11
CAL
28
CLT
22
DOV
16
RCH
20
MCH
33
POC
18
SON
32
NHA
28
POC
38
IND
33
GLN
34
MCH
32
BRI
26
NHA
30
DAR
42
RCH
19
DOV
22
MAR
34
CLT
19
TAL
13
DAY
25
PHO
43
CAR
31
ATL
31
25th 2907
1999 DAY
22
CAR
33
LVS
20
ATL
33
DAR
30
TEX
18
BRI
22
MAR
14
TAL
43
CAL
28
RCH
38
CLT
22
DOV
37
MCH
30
POC
26
SON
31
DAY
34
NHA
31
POC
26
IND
DNQ
GLN
40
MCH
DNQ
BRI
12
DAR
26
RCH
31
NHA
29
DOV
29
MAR
42
CLT
27
TAL
31
CAR
43
PHO
42
HOM
40
ATL
30
37th 2398
2000 DAY
DNQ
CAR
35
LVS
DNQ
ATL
16
DAR
27
BRI
22
TEX
23
MAR
36
TAL
DNQ
CAL
41
RCH
38
CLT
30
DOV
28
MCH
36
POC
32
SON
30
DAY
DNQ
NHA
20
POC
30
IND
39
GLN
DNQ
MCH
42
BRI
28
DAR
27
RCH
35
NHA
42
DOV
20
MAR
41
CLT
32
TAL
26
CAR
26
PHO
20
HOM
14
ATL
28
36th 2267
2001 DAY
15
CAR
27
LVS
38
ATL
26
DAR
36
BRI
27
TEX
28
MAR
36
TAL
26
CAL
27
RCH
39
CLT
17
DOV
25
MCH
33
POC
37
SON
13
DAY
9
CHI
19
NHA
13
POC
33
IND
37
GLN
13
MCH
40
BRI
26
DAR
27
RCH
43
DOV
28
KAN
25
CLT
28
MAR
40
TAL
12
PHO
26
CAR
35
HOM
32
ATL
36
NHA
8
35th 2948
2002 DAY
16
CAR
30
LVS
35
ATL
38
DAR
38
BRI
36
TEX
38
MAR
26
TAL
13
CAL
23
RCH
19
CLT
27
DOV
34
POC
24
MCH
34
SON
24
DAY
38
CHI
30
NHA
27
POC
33
IND
42
GLN
32
MCH
38
BRI
32
DAR
39
RCH
20
NHA
36
DOV
DNQ
KAN
DNQ
TAL
29
CLT
26
MAR
38
ATL
34
CAR
36
PHO
DNQ
HOM
DNQ
40th 2388
2003 DAY
DNQ
CAR LVS ATL
41
DAR BRI
24
TEX
31
TAL
DNQ
MAR CAL RCH
31
CLT
DNQ
DOV
42
POC MCH
INQ
IND
DNQ
GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO CAR HOM 46th 469
Geoff Bodine MCH
39
SON DAY CHI NHA POC
- Qualified but replaced by Geoff Bodine

Car No. 09 History

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2001 saw Brett Bodine Racing expand to a two car team for two races. Driven by the No. 11's car success Brett was able to field a second car, driven by brother Geoffrey, at both Bristol and Homestead with sponsorship from Smirnoff Ice and Miccosukee Casino, respectively. Bodine finished 27th at Bristol and 37th at Homestead. The team was to continue to run a limited schedule in 2002 but was never able to find a primary sponsor. The No. 09 Brett Bodine Racing Fords never returned to the track, with the team number being reassigned to Phoenix Racing.

Car No. 09 results

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NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
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 35 36 Owners Pts
2001 Geoff Bodine 09 Ford DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV MCH POC SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN MCH BRI
27
DAR RCH DOV KAN CLT MAR TAL PHO CAR HOM
37
ATL NHA 61st 52

Car No. 27 History

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In 2002 Hooters had a small sponsorship deal with independent driver Kirk Shelmerdine.[6] When Hooters signed on to sponsor the Brett Bodine Racing team, part of the deal involved Brett was to run Kirk in a couple of races in the No. 27 sponsored by Naturally Fresh Foods. However, this quickly came to end when Kirk was unable to make a race, and the drivers went their own ways.

Busch Series

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Car No. 11 History

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This car made its debut at Richmond in 2001 with Josh Richeson, a relative of Brett's, behind the wheel. The car's numbers were 6 and 06. In 2002 the car's number was changed to 11 and Brett was able to field Josh in seven races. The car was unsponsored in two events, sponsored by Smuckers in one event and by one of Brett's cup sponsors, Timberland Pro, in the other 4 events. 28th was the best ever finish by this car, achieved in its final start at Richmond in 2002. The team did not have the financial means to run a Busch Series operation in 2003.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Myers, Bob (September 1, 1999). "NASCAR Racer Brett Bodine - Brett Bodine: A Will To Succeed". Motortrend. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Mike Skinner, Lowe's Both Renew with RCR". us.motorsport.com. 1999-05-08. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  3. ^ "Brett Bodine Maintains Ownership of Team". us.motorsport.com. 1999-12-21. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  4. ^ "Brett Bodine loses sponsor after Michigan". us.motorsport.com. 2003-06-13. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  5. ^ "Race Driver Brett Bodine Injured in Crash". Huron Daily Tribune. 2003-06-14. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  6. ^ "Break Out The Hats And Hooters: Brett Bodine Lands Sponsor". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2002-03-22. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
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