4th Annual Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge

[Walt]

Greetings from Lake Placid! I got up here around midday when the temperature was a balmy 5 degrees. Its several degrees below zero now but smiles on the faces in the lobby make it feel like summertime.

Orientation and practice begin tomorrow with a reception tomorrow evening at the Olympic Museum.

Full practice sessions interspersed with championship bobsleding will start at 9 AM on Saturday. The day will be capped off with a banquet dinner and a fund-raising auction at the Crowne Plaza.

There will be racing in the morning and afternoon on Sunday for the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge competitors. The forecast for the outdoor temperatures on Sunday appear to be considerably warmer than they have been today.

We hope to see as many people here as would like to come.

I'll post updates here in Lou's house when there are breaks in the action.

-Walter

[Precision Auto]

Walt: Thanks for the updates. Balmy 5 degrees - hope by the weekend you get into the double digits!

[Walt]

It's supposed to get up above twenty today!
We're all going to have a great time.
I'll try to get a post up after lunch.

[W. J.]

Take heart, Walt, it's just as cold here on Long Island. :lol:

[Walt]

It may be even colder on the Island right now. Right now the temperature is 21 degrees and the snow has been falling lightly all afternoon.

The Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project Garage was dedicated today. It's a brand new steel structure about a hundred yards from the barn that continues to house the bobsleds used for the Lake Placid Bobsled Experience. The building is about 90% complete and it was a madhouse gathering at the press conference / photo opportunity.

All of the drivers got their "Bobsled 101" training and walked the track all the way down from start number three. Most of the competitors got two runs in from start number four late today. Boris Said and Todd Bodine were among the fastest NASCAR pilots. From the NHRA, J.R. Todd showed that he has figured something out because he was very fast on both of his runs.

I'm leaving now for the reception down at the Olympic Museum. Unless something exceptional is announced there, I'll post the practice times from the morning session around lunchtime tomorrow.

The weather outside isn't as frightful as one might think it would be. One point of interest has been a Moose who has taken up residence in a field on the side of the road between Lake Placid and the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex.

There was a pretty good turnout for the initial practice sessions today and we're sure to have a lot more here tomorrow. For what seem like trying times with what has been going on with the economy, this town is swarming with people. We hope to see some of the Modified faithful here tomorrow and Sunday.

[Walt]

The morning practice session has concluded. All of the competitors took three runs from start #3.

Each was fastest in their first run with Boris Said leading the way at 51.45 seconds.

Boris Said - 51.45
Geoff Bodine - 51.62
Joey Logano - 51.69
J.R. Todd - 51.71
Morgan Lucas - 51.75
Philip Morris - 51.81
Eric Curran - 52.22
Jeg Coghlin - 52.38
Brian Loftin - 52.66
Dave Bagwell - 52.84
Bob Vangergriff - 52.85

Two heats of qualifying for tomorrow's events are scheduled to start at 2:30.

In between then and now the Women's 2-Man bobsledding National Championships will get underway with their first two heat races.

[Walt]

There has been a little change in the schedule.

The National Championships for Men's and Women's 2-Man Bobsled will be getting underway shortly.

Following those events, the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge competitors will make two more practice runs followed by a single qualifying pass.

I'll be back with the results of qualifying once they are completed.

[Walt]

Qualifying has just concluded and here are the results:

1. Todd Bodine - 52.20
2. Larry Gunselman - 52.21
3. Morgan Lucas - 52.40
4. Philip Morris - 52.74
4. Jeg Coghlin - 52.74
6. Eric Curran - 52.76
7. Joey Logano - 52.78
8. Brian Loftin - 52.82
9. Boris Said - 52.87
10. J.R. Todd - 53.14
11. Bob Vandergriff - 53.22
12. Danny Bagwell - 53.30

The first two heats of the National Championships for Men's and Women's 2-Man were completed today. Bree Schaaf and Emily Azevedo lead Phoebe Burns and Jamie Greuble by 1.37 seconds for the women. John Napier and Cory Butner lead Steven Holcomb and Curtis Tomasevicz by .10 seconds for the men. Both the men and women will run two more heats tomorrow to determine the championship.

We're off to the auction at the Crowne Plaza tonight and looking forward to seeing as many Modified folks at the finals tomorrow!

[JED]

Walt,
Where is TC??

[Walt]

There are three people who we expected to see this weekend who were not able to make it.

Ron Hornaday is with his family in the wake of his father's passing.

Johnny Benson is dealing with an ailing or injured back.

Ted Christopher was not able to attend due to business obligations.

I'm sure that all three would be having a better time here this weekend if they could have and everyone here misses all three of them. Sometimes there are family, health or business issues that get in the way. We hope they can be with us next year.

[Walt]

It's a brisk -4 degrees up here on Mt. Van Hoevenberg this morning. Temperatures should be up to around twenty on the plus-side by midday.

Ray Dunlap did a great job with the auction last night. The winner of the 50-50 raffle donated his $950 share back to the cause. We also got to see several new videos that were produced this weekend.

The final 2 heats of the Women's 2-man National Championship will be pushing off at 9:00 am. Opening ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10:15 up at start 3. Race 1 of the Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge is scheduled to start at 10:30.

There will be an autograph session at start number 1 at 11:30. That will be followed by the final 2 heats of the Men's 2-man National Championship at Noon and Race 2 of the Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge which will be NASCAR vs. NHRA in an elimination format.

I'll be back with the results of Race 1 around lunch time.

[RGeeProductions]

Thanks for taking the time to post what is happening up there for us Walt.

[Walt]

You're quite welcome Richie,

Bodine Race 1 Results:

Pos. Driver .... Guardsman...... Sled ... 1st Heat ... 2nd Heat ... Total
1. Todd Bodine ... Patrick Furman ... Whelen ... 49.83 ... 49.35 ... 139.18
2. Joey Logano ... Kenneth Stout ... Home Depot ... 50.02 ... 49.56 ... 139.58
3. Larry Gunselman ... Matthew Golovach ... National Guard ... 50.27 ... 49.33 ... 139.60
4. Morgan Lucas ... Richard Ellis ... Lucas Oils ... 50.27 ... 49.56 ... 139.83
5. Jeg Coughlin ... Frank Cushing ... JEGS ... 50.36 ... 49.97 ... 140.33
6. Boris Said ... Alex Newgarden ... Summit Building ... 50.72 ... 49.68 ... 140.40
7. Eric Curran ... Steve Guglielimi ... Whelen HD... 50.77 ... 49.81 ... 140.58
8. Brian Loftin ... Anthony Turner ... Lumber Liquidators ... 50.86 ... 50.20 ... 141.06

The National Championship 2-Man bobsled races have been completed.

Pilot John Napier and brakeman Cory Butner are the new National Champions and they were presented with the Lowell Thomas Memorial Trophy.

Pilot Bree Schaaf and brakeman Emily Azevedo are the new Womens National Champions and they were presented with the James "Bunny" Sheffield Trophy.

There have been delays, perhaps because of what it takes to produce the whole program. They are scheduled to start Race 2 in about 12 minutes but just like at your local short track there seems to be a lot of hurry-up and wait.

We'll be back with the results of the second race when it has been concluded.

[Walt]

What a great time we have had here today!

Race 2 has just concluded and Morgan Lucas defeated Race 1 winner Todd Bodine to win the NASCAR vs. NHRA showdown.

The NASCAR representatives were Geoff Bodine, Todd Bodine, Joey Logano and Boris Said.

Geoff was eliminated in the first round, Boris was bumped in the second round and Todd beat Joey Logano to get into the final.

The NHRA contingent was represented by Jeg Coughlin, Bob Vandergriff, J.R. Todd and Morgan Lucas.

Bob Vandergriff was bumped in the first round when he 81'd coming out of Shady II and took a long slide on his head. Jeg Coughlin was eliminated in the second round and Morgan beat J.R. Todd by three one-hundredths of a second to win the NHRA side of the bracket.

The big surprise for Lucas and Bodine was that they faced off in the final in genuine articulated Bo-Dyn competition bobsleds. USA coaches Brian Shimer and Bill Tavares flipped a coin to determine which driver they would serve as brakeman.

Morgan had a great run will Bill Tavares. Tavares was elated with Lucas' performance. Morgan was a little late coming off of "the
"Trickle" Turn 18. Their down-time was nearly two seconds faster than any pass he had made all day.

Todd Bodine was flirting with an outstanding run and was more than a quarter second faster than Lucas at the final split. Unfortunately for Todd and Shimer, Bodine was just a little later than Lucas coming off of Turn 18 and put the Bo-Dyn sled on its side. Shimer related that that was the first time he had been over (81) in a two-man sled that he wasn't driving.

It's been a blast up here. There are a lot of people to thank up here.
Special thanks to:

The Olympic Regional Development Agency (ORDA) - Tony Carlino, Stephanie Ryan and the entire staff at the Olympic Sports Complex
SPEED TV - Paul Bartholomew, Ray Dunlap and Randy LaJoie among many.
MRN Radio - David Hyatt, Dave Moody, Ryan Horn and Woody Cain
All of the great people here in Lake Placid especially; Don Haas, Sean Morgan and John "The Dean of American Bobsledding" Morgan
Bo-Dyn Chassis - Bob Cuneo, Frank Briglia, Don Barker
Whelen Engineering - Sonny Whelen, John Olson, Phil Kurze
Lucas Oil - Forrest and Charlotte Lucas
PPG - Dennis Beardsley
Columbia Sportswear
Lumber Liquidators
JEG'S
Summit Building Solutions
MAC Tools
Lincoln Electric
Racing Electrionics - Bruce Sliver and Brian Sharp
NASCAR - George Silberman and Jason Cunningham
Nicola's on Main St.
SportsInsurance.com - Mark DiPerno
Flink & Smith - Ed Flink
The Lake Placid Crowne Plaza Hotel
The National Guard and all of our fine Guardsman especially Major Dave Palmeri
Our USA Bobsled and Skeleton competitors and coaches.
All of the competitors and sponsors, the fans who braved the bitter cold all weekend, all of the volunteers who helped out and especially Geoff Bodine who really showed us all a good time.

[W. J.]

Sounds like a great time was had by all, even you, Walt. Now you need a week in Hawaii to cover something else, just to warm you up!!! :)

Does NASCAR have any kind of surfing competition for the drivers? :lol:

[Walt]

Most of the racing people think of surfing as something that is done on the Internet. Let's hope they find TCH after they get past Jayski.

Despite the very cold temperatures, none of us got too cold. A big thank you to the folks at Columbia Sportswear who provided us with awesome cold weather gear.

The Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge will be broadcast on SPEED in two separate episodes in the coming weeks. The exact dates and times will be posted once they are solidified.

I'm back on the Island and theres already sweat on the brow. I wish I were still on Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

[Howie]

Sounds like you had a great time Walt. I've decided that I've become a warm weather race fan in my old age!! Thanks for the updates.

[Walt]

It certainly was pretty cold this year! We had a ton off fun up on Mt. Van Hoevenberg. I hope to have a cool read about it shortly!

Howie, it looks like your ready for swimsuit weather!

[Walt]

We brought everyone the results of the 2-man competition last week. Here are the results of the 4-man competition.

Holcomb Crowned Four-man Bobsled U.S. National Champion

LAKE PLACID, N.Y.– Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) was named the U.S. Bobsled National Champion in four-man bobsled at the Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y. today. Holcomb claimed the title by 1.57 seconds, leading the field in all four heats.

“Our BoDyn sled looks good, looks fast, and it’s definitely moving,” said Holcomb. “Our runs over the last two days have felt great, and the sled is running really well.”

Holcomb and his push team of Justin Olsen (San Antonio, Texas), Steve Mesler (Calgary, Alberta) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) powered off the starting block with the two fastest push times of the competition, a 5.11 and 5.12, to give them the lead from top to bottom.

Holcomb piloted his BoDyn sled, named the “Night Train,” to the finish in 54.34 and 54.41 seconds today, extending his lead from yesterday’s first two heats. The newly crowned four-man U.S. National Champions slid a four-heat combined time of three minutes, 37.09 seconds for the gold.

“Last week was a disappointment, because everyone likes to win,” said Holcomb, who finished third in the two-man U.S. National Championship competition last weekend. “I’m back in my sled, and it feels good to get my mind back on track after a rough week.”

Holcomb already qualified for the 2009 World Championships, which will be held in Lake Placid from Feb. 19-March 1, through World Cup points.

John Napier (Lake Placid, N.Y.) claimed silver today, qualifying him to be the third U.S. sled entered into the four-man World Championship event. Napier, an engineer in the Army National Guard’s World Class Athlete Program, secured his position in the World Championship two-man event by claiming the U.S. National Championship title last weekend.

“I’m graced to be competing so well,” said Napier, who has been driving bobsleds since he was 8-years old. “This is awesome, and I feel like I’ve moved into the major league. Holcomb is among the top three pilots in the world, and it’s good to have an opportunity to chase him so that I can see where I am compared to the best.”

Napier teamed with Jesse Beckom III (Chicago, Ill.), Jamie Moriarty (Winnetka, Ill.) and Cory Butner (Yucaipa, Calif.) to finish with a four-run total of 3:38.66. Napier and his crew pushed start times of 5.21 and 5.22 today for runs of 54.52 and 54.90 seconds, respectively.

Mike Kohn (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), a Sergeant in the Virginia Army National Guard and a member of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program, finished third for the bronze medal with a combined time of 3:39.81. Kohn and his crew of Rocky Lanz (Gainesville, Ga.), Jacob Miller (Waterford, Va.) and Nick Cunningham (Monterey, Calif.) pushed start times of 5.30 and 5.29 for runs of 54.93 and 55.15.

Results:

1. Holcomb, Olsen, Mesler and Tomasevicz 3:37.09 (53.93, 54.51, 54.34, 54.41); 2. Napier, Beckom III, Moriarty and Butner 3:38.66 (54.40, 54.84, 54.52, 54.90); 3. Kohn, Lanz, Miller and Cunningham 3:39.81 (54.70, 55.03, 54.93, 55.15); 4. Grayson Fertig (New York City, N.Y.), Jim Carriel (Park City, Utah), Jeremy White (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Hoy Thurman (Warner Robin, Ga.)3:40.65 (54.79, 55.33, 55.07, 55.46); 5. Michael Bradley (Philadelphia, Pa.), Avian Jordan (Lake Placid, N.Y.), Ben Fogel (Sandy, Utah) and Derek Kresser (Salt Lake City, Utah) 3:42.72 (55.39, 55.54, 55.79, 56.00);

About the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation

The United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., is the national governing body for the sports of bobsled and skeleton in the United States. The USBSF would like to thank its sponsors, suppliers and contributors for their support: Allianz Life, Vilter Manufacturing, KBC Helmets, Luminox Watch Company, ULU Boots and Ferris Mfg. Corp. The USBSF would also like to thank the following sponsors and suppliers for their partner, the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project: Whelen Engineering, PPG, Columbia Sportswear, JEGS Automotive, Lucas Oil, Mac Tools, EXA, Lumber Liquidators, Lincoln Electronics and Racing Electronics. For more information, please visit the USBSF website at http://bobsled.teamusa.org.

Special thanks to: Stephanie Ryan ORDA and Amanda Bird USBSF

[Walt]

News from Germany from Phil Kurze. The USA Women earned a Gold on Friday!