Race: Coke Zero 400
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: 17 of 36
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Track Length: 2.5 miles
Date: July 2, 2011
Geoffrey Bodine will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) racing this weekend as sponsor Luke & Associates makes the company’s racing debut. Bodine will pilot the Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) No. 35 Luke & Associates Chevrolet in the Coke Zero 400.
TBR AT DAYTONA – TBR made five starts at Daytona International Speedway and 10 superspeedway starts. The team’s best start of 17th came in its Daytona debut in 2009. Steve Park scored the team’s best finish of 13th in last year’s Coke Zero 400.
BODINE AT DAYTONA – Bodine made 40 career starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Since his NASCAR debut at Daytona in 1979, he made 76 career-superspeedway starts. In his 32-year NSCS career, the New York native collected one win, seven top-fives, 14 top-10s, one pole and led 187 laps at Daytona International Speedway. He won the Daytona 500 in 1986 while driving for Hendrick Motorsports and collected the pole award in the 1982 summer race. Most recently, Bodine started second and finished 10th in the summer 2002 event at the speedway.
LUKE & ASSOCIATES DEBUT – Luke & Associates will make the company’s debut on both the No. 36 and No. 35 Chevrolets this weekend. The company will adorn the hood of the No. 35 Luke & Associates Chevrolet in the Coke Zero 400. The company will also join Bodine and TBR at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway this season. Luke & Associates, Inc. is one of the largest providers of healthcare for the U.S. military and is rapidly expanding into national and local healthcare systems. Headquartered on the Space Coast of Florida, Luke formed in 2004 and has grown exponentially in the last six years. The company now has more than 1,300 medical and support personnel worldwide.
CHASSIS NO. 19 – Bodine will pilot the No. 19 chassis this weekend. TBR ran the No. 19 chassis with Steve Park at Talladega Superspeedway this season. Park started 33rd before and electrical issue ended his day early.
KEEPING UP WITH TBR – Keep up with TBR by following twitter.com/TBR_Racing and facebook.com/TBR.HBR. Fans can also get updates at twitter.com/lukeassoc and facebook.com/lukeassoc.
Geoff Bodine Quotes:
ON RETURNING TO NASCAR – “I’m excited about getting back in the car and racing at Daytona. I’m even more excited to work with a sponsor like Luke and introducing them to NASCAR. I look forward to exposing their company to people and helping them grow.”
ON RACING AT DAYTONA – “I have a good history at Daytona, from winning the 500 to the Bud Shootout, 125-lap race and even a late model/Nationwide race. I’m looking forward to going back and trying to win another race. I had a little accident in 2000 in the truck series, so I have been on both ends of the spectrum at Daytona, from Victory Lane to the hospital. Hopefully, this race will be more toward a Victory Lane finish.”
TEAMMATES – “Having a teammate like Dave Blaney is going to make it more enjoyable running the two-car draft situation at Daytona. I’m really looking forward to working with Dave throughout the race and working to bring the TBR cars good finishes.”
RACING WITH TBR – “I’m looking forward to working with TBR. I have a lot of respect for Tommy and what he’s accomplished in racing, with his history in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with his father to being a crew chief in the Cup series to now being an owner. I watched him grow up and really enjoyed watching his success. I’m thrilled to hopefully help build TBR bigger and stronger than it is today.”
Tommy Baldwin Quotes:
ON THIS WEEKEND – “It’s a big weekend for us. We have both cars with Golden Corral and Luke & Associates on board. A lot of people are coming to the race representing those companies, so it is definitely the biggest weekend for TBR so far.
ON RACING AT DAYTONA – “I always look forward to going to Daytona, especially with winning there before and the history of the racetrack. We always seem to race well there, so I’m looking forward to a good weekend.”
About Luke & Associates, Inc.:
Founded in 2004, Luke & Associates, Inc. has grown to become one of the largest providers of health care for the U.S. military. Headquartered on the Space Coast of Florida, Luke employs more than 1,300 medical and support personnel and provides services for the U.S. Government as well as commercial entities nationwide. Luke has expanded into engineering, information technology and consulting/advisory services for the military and commercial entities.
In 2010, Luke earned the No. three spot out of the INC 500 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Luke placed No. one in government services for the United States, the second-largest business sector and first in generating jobs.
For more information on Luke & Associates, Inc., visit www.lukeassoc.com.
About Tommy Baldwin Racing:
Tommy Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin. Baldwin utilized a slumping economy to open a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team with a stringent budget. The team competed in two full seasons with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet and improved in the standings each year.
Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2011 with NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney piloting the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet. Looking to improve on-track performance, TBR found success early in the 2011 season with partners Golden Corral, Big Red and Accell Construction. TBR’s driver development program, Heinke-Baldwin Racing, will also compete in various NASCAR series in 2011.
For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.
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Media Contact:
Heather Lumpp – heather@heinkebaldwinracing.com – o: 704.696.0036 – c: 847.302.5509
good luck dave to the front. run hard and fast good things will happen !!!!
What happen to Steve I thought he was driving this weekend?