Daytona: Geoffrey Bodine preview

Team EJP Racing has entered the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 preparing to make the team's 24th appearance in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition, and the team's first attempt at Daytona International Speedway. Geoffrey Bodine will be making his first attempt at the wheel of the No. 03 Team EJP Chevrolet Silverado. Overall, it will be Bodine's 17th career NCTS start.

Geoffrey on Daytona: "I have had some pretty good success at Daytona in the past, and we certainly think we can recapture some of that magic with Team EJP Racing. When you talk about magic, that really is having a good car or truck and a good team, and the right racing luck. No matter what happens, if you don't have racing luck on your side, you can't win the race. I am very confident the Team EJP Racing guys will give me a truck that can run to the front. We had a very productive test in January and learned a lot. We were also fast in the draft. That is all you ever hear with the Truck Series at Daytona, that you need to be good in the draft. The team spent the past few weeks massaging the body on the truck, and I think that will give us a little additional speed that we were looking for.

"With the air restrictions on the trucks at Daytona this year, it will be as close to restrictor plate racing as most of these drivers have been in their careers. The trucks are still big and boxy like the old Cup cars I got started in, and I had some good success in that type of car, and I have a lot of experience with a restrictor plate too. I think I can combine that experience, and if luck is on our side, pull the Team EJP Chevy Silverado into Victory Lane."

Geoffrey at Daytona: Geoffrey has 40 career NASCAR Nextel Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway from 1979 through 2002. He has one career NNCS win at DIS (1986 Daytona 500), seven top-five finishes, and 14 top-10 finishes. He has also earned one Bud Pole Award at Daytona. He has led 187 laps in NNCS competition at Daytona, and completed 6095 of 7197 laps (84.7%). His last appearance during NNCS SpeedWeeks resulted in a third-place finish in the 2002 Daytona 500. His average start in the NNCS at Daytona is 17.9, and his average finish is 19.2.

In addition, Geoffrey has started eight NASCAR Busch Series races at Daytona International Speedway, and has two wins (1985 and 1987 Goody's 300). In those eight starts, he has never finished out of the top-five and has completed 100% of the 960 competitive laps. He has an average start of 6.4 and a 2.6 average finish in the NBS at Daytona.

Geoffrey has one career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start at Daytona. In the inaugural NCTS race at Daytona in 2000, he started 19th and finished 24th. He completed 56 of the race's 100 laps and was sidelined by an accident.

In addition, Geoffrey has one International Race of Champions victory (1987), two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes at Daytona in three career starts. Bodine was the 1987 IROC Champion.

Geoffrey's Stats at Daytona:

Series Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10 Poles Laps Comp Led Winnings NNCS 40 1 7 14 1 7197 6095 187 $2,269,161 NBS 8 2 8 8 0 960 960 N/A N/A NCTS 1 0 0 0 0 100 56 0 $11,400 IROC 3 1 2 3 0 120 120 21 N/A

Geoffrey in the NCTS: In 16 career NCTS starts (1995-2003), Geoffrey has six top-five finishes, eight top-10 finishes, and one career Bud Pole Award. His best finish is second, three times. He has a 12.1 average start and a 14.8 average finish. He has led 176 laps in NCTS competition. He has been running at the finish of 10 races, and finished on the lead lap in nine of them.

As a team owner, Geoffrey has three career wins with driver Dave Rezendes, all coming in 1996 (Homestead, Nashville, and Sears Point).

This Week's Truck: In keeping with the team tradition, this week's truck is named after a prominent movie character: E.T., the Extra Terrestrial. It is the first time this truck has been raced by Team EJP.

"We have really worked on this truck since the Daytona test," said Team EJP Team Manager Adam Ross. "We had Geoffrey's son Matt Bodine come and help us in the shop for a couple of weeks and he spent some time massaging the body. We think the changes we have made should give us some additional speed for qualifying, and they should help in the draft too."

In the Pits: Team EJP Racing will utilize the services of PPI Motorsports' Tide crew for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250.
Gasman: Chris Williams
Catch Can: Steve Williams
Windshield: Doug Holbrook
Jackman: Eric Wilson
Front Tire Changer:Dwight "DJ" Copp
Front Tire Carrier:Sam Gibson
Rear Tire Changer:Jim Carbon
Rear Tire Carrier: Kevin "Kiwi" Duncan

About Team EJP Racing: Team EJP Racing is owned by Steve Prescott, and based in Gardiner, Maine. The team made its debut with a three-race schedule with Prescott behind the wheel in 2000. Since then, Steve has concentrated on building a winner as an owner. The team has run a limited schedule in 2001, 2002, and 2003 with drivers Tom Carey, Barry Bodine, and Eric Jones. For 2004, the team has combined forces with Geoffrey Bodine, 1986 Daytona 500 winner and one of NASCAR's Top-50 drivers. The team runs the 2004 Chevrolet Silverado body style and utilizes engines built by Tri-Star, the company that has powered the last two champions in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

About Team EJP: The Prescott Companies are the premier distributor of water, sewer, and drain pipeline materials in the Northeast and Midwest. Based in Gardiner, Maine, EJP has 25 locations in 9 states. With many pipe, sewer, and drain emergencies occurring outside of normal business hours, Team EJP has an on-call service department available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, product and service information is available on the company's website, www.ejprescott.com, or by calling 1-800-EJP-24HR.

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