Bodine will drive No. 35 Luke Associates, Inc. Chevrolet Beginning at Daytona
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (June 7, 2011) – Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) will field a second car for five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races this season. Geoffrey Bodine will pilot the No. 35 Luke Associates, Inc. Chevrolet for all five events, starting with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) July 2nd. He will return to the Luke Associates, Inc.-sponsored Chevrolet at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Luke Associates, Inc. (Luke) 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. Luke is responsible for recruiting, qualifying, hiring and retaining healthcare workers for positions that include physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, registered nurses and ancillary personnel in addition to all dental positions. The company’s primary focus is the company values, which include integrity, innovation, communication, community and a focus on the employees.
”It is very exciting to work with people and organizations who share in the same values and ethics as Luke,” said Jim Barfield, President and CEO of Luke. “We are looking forward to a great partnership with Geoff, Tommy and his team, and NASCAR. After meeting with Geoff and TBR, we knew that this sponsorship was meant to be; sometimes you just know when things are right”.
Geoffrey Bodine made his NSCS debut in 1979. Over his 26-year NASCAR career, the Chemung, N.Y., native collected 18 wins, 100 top-fives and led over 8,600 laps. At age 62, Bodine ranks 16th all-time with 37 career poles.
“I met Rich Hall, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer, at Luke & Associates, at a car show in Daytona Beach recently,” said Bodine. “My business partner, Rob Amos, and I were there promoting Geoff Bodine’s Waxing Frenzy and selling raffle tickets for The Alzheimer’s Foundation of Brevard County. Rob mentioned my desire to return to Sprint Cup competition, and that’s where it all began. I’m excited with this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”
TBR, formed in 2009, began the team’s first full season of competition in 2011. Running all the races in 2011, TBR moved into the top-35 in NSCS Owner Points early in the year guaranteeing the team a spot in the race for the first time in the team’s history.
“It’s great that we got a new, fast-growing company involved in NASCAR,” said TBR owner Tommy Baldwin. “Luke has the same vision and ethics as we do at TBR, and we are really excited to help them grow their business as we grow ours.”
The No. 35 Luke & Associates, Inc. Chevrolet will make its debut with Bodine behind the wheel of the Luke Chevrolet at DIS for the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday, July 2nd. More details about the No. 35 TBR Chevrolet to follow.
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
Congrat’s to Geoff and TBR.I was glad to hear Bodine is working with the Brevard Alzheimers Ass.These folks do a great job in Brevard County.Good Luck to all!peace,out.
This is the news us Bodine fans have been waiting for! Thanks to Luke & Associates, and TBR for giving Geoff this opportunity!
I’m very excited. It’s been along time comming. Glad to work with the Great folks at Luke. Now lets go Geoff!!!!!
Ive known Tommy for 20 years…Hes a real hard worker and a true champion.
Best to TBR !
Very excited about these three coming together ~ it is a great opportunity for Geoff, TBR & Luke ~ a winning combination!
TBR is one of the great stories in NASCAR over the past couple years. It’s proof that the COT strategy is working in giving the lower budget teams a chance to compete! Dave Blaney is a class act and has proven he can shoe a cup car as evidenced in the spring race in Dega’! Geoff Bodine is a legend in the Northeast racing circles and in NASCAR and still has the will, talent and desire to run with the best, even at 62 years old. So keep an eye on the TBR 35 and 36 in Daytona in a few weeks and watch the underdogs shock the he’ll out of NASCAR NATION!! Ya heard it here FIRST!! Good luck to TBR – Dave Blaney and Geiff Bodine – racing for the Gold just comes naturally to these guys!!
Cool.. Islip Speedway connection!
Tommy Baldwin Racing is what makes NASCAR enjoyable. Boring, corporate multicar teams are not good for the sport. The deep pocket teams pour money into their organizations driving off the remaining competition turning the sport into vanilla.
Thank you, thank you for keep on keeping on. Best wishes Dave Blaney and TBR!
Congrats to Geoff, Tommy and Luke on this deal. Geoff is a legend and will be great to see him in a few races. Wishing him the best of luck and congrats to Tommy for all the success. He is doing it the right way and has been rewarded with a great partnership with Golden Corral. Hope more great sponsors and companies can continue to join the sport and keep guys like Tommy going. The Bodine Brigade is rolling again. Todd in the trucks, Geoff in cup and Brett in the Pace Car. Hope a hat and tee shirt with the 35 Luke Associates will be made. Sure would purchase those!!!!!
As an old Spencer fan, pulling for TBR is a natural. I love the underdog, I loved the Sirius/Ultra Motorsports days w/ Tommy calling the shots on the pit box, and I love dirt track racing…..so enter Dave Blaney. I just wanted to come here and congratulate Dave and Tommy on their diligent efforts and seeing it pay off in full time sponsorship earlier this season. These guys have toughed it out and are becoming more and more competitive each week, even running up front some. For a team of this staure in todays corporate sell-out world of NA$CAR…..that’s no small feat! Tommy has always been a nose to the grind kinda guy, and it’s good to see the fruits of his labor pay off. I wish TBR nothing but the best, you guys deserve it…..hang in there, it won’t be long, look what happened for Furniture Row….you guys are the next one car team to get to Victory Lane, I can feel it.
As for the Bodine news…..well, I AM a Spencer fan! LOL! In all seriousness congrats to he and Tommy as well and wish them the best. Gotta pull for the old schoolers.
GO TBR!
Way to go Geoffro! Luke assoc could not get a better company spokesperson.
While watching the qualifying earlier today with his grandpa, my 3 year old was VERY excited to see that he had “his own” NASCAR race car. My little guy’s name is Luke and saw his name on your number 35 car. Good luck in the race tonight!
Thanks LUKE for believing in Geoff, 1st class all the way from Mod. squad and super mods. in Oswego NY to Nascar. Hes one of the best. A fan for 42 yrs and still counting. Go USA Bobsleds.