Brett Bodine behind, but hanging on
When Brett Bodine says he's behind, he really means it. Bodine, one of the few owner-drivers remaining in the Winston Cup garage, isn't talking about a technology curve or about not being ready to test at Las Vegas. While those things are also true, he's talking about being behind in a more serious fashion.
Bodine has only one car to test at Daytona. Another one is being built, but he doesn't know if it'll be ready in time for testing at Talladega. Being short on cash and employees is nothing new. Bodine's run on a shoestring budget for so long he can't remember when things weren't tight.
But things look more grim than ever this year. Coming off a season when he failed to qualify for four races, Bodine knew he'd be struggling early.
"Last year was the real down point," he says. "That was the most races we had ever missed. The thing is, we're still in business. I guess there's a lot to be said for that."
Bodine's kept sponsor Hooters, but a proposed plan to partner with owner Bob Brooks hasn't happened.
"We haven't done anything as of yet on the change in ownership or partnership position or any of those things," Bodine said. "We're working on it. Mr. Brooks and Hooters was very involved in purchasing Pace Airlines and then spinning off Hooters Air, so that's taken up a lot of their time. We've been kind of put on the back burner as far as ownership change, but that's OK."
Not that the deal has died. Bodine says they're still working on a way to make the team more secure.
"He doesn't necessarily want to be a hands-on team owner because he's got a big business to run and just took on a big project with an airline," Bodine said. "It's more of a financial move to help strengthen the team."
And keep it on track. Looking around his shop, Bodine sees 25 families depending on him to keep them employed.
"I have a responsibility to those people to make sure that the business survives," he said. "I have a responsibility to my family to make sure the business survives. This is my form of income and livelihood. Certainly, you want to go out there and perform and be competitive and try to win races, but you also have to be realistic."
