Full Throttle

The U.S. Bobsled National Championships will be held in conjunction with the 4th Annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge in Lake Placid, N.Y. this weekend.

The U.S. National Bobsled Championships will be held as a four-heat competition over two days of racing. Athletes named U.S. National Champion will qualify as the third and final U.S. sled in the 2009 World Championships, which will be held in Lake Placid from Feb. 20- March 1.

NASCAR and NHRA drivers will pilot modified bobsleds in the 4th Annual Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge down the course in two races as a fundraiser for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. The first race will consist of two heats, with the winner determined by the sled with the lowest combined time. NASCAR and NHRA drivers will go head-to-head in the second competition, with the winner of each division squaring off in the final heat.

Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine created the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., in 1992 to build American-made sleds for U.S. athletes. U.S. pilot Steven Holcomb will test new sled designs created by designer Bob Cuneo from Chassis Dynamics over the next several weeks leading up to the World Championships.

Drivers scheduled to compete in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge:

Five-time Bodine Bobsled Champion Boris Said, Johnny Benson, NHRA champion Jeg Coughlin, Jr., Sprint Cup Joey “Sliced Bread” Logano, 2008 NASCAR Whelen racing series champions Philip Morris, Brian Loftin and Ted Christopher, Todd Bodine, Daytona Rolex pole winner Eric Curran and 19-year-old sprint car driver Tom Tolbert.

Coughlin will be joined by NHRA Top Fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR Todd, and Bob Vandergriff. This will be the third event for Lucas and Todd, with Lucas giving Said a run for his money in last year’s NASCAR versus NHRA showdown before losing to Said in the final round.

The schedule is as follows, with all times listed in EST:

Saturday, Jan. 3

9:00-11:30 am: Bodine Bobsled Challenge Practice Session
1:00 pm: Women’s Bobsled Race Heat 1
1:15 pm: Bodine Bobsled Practice
1:45 pm: Women’s Bobsled Race Heat 2
2:00 pm: Bodine Bobsled Practice
2:30 pm: Men’s 2-man Bobsled Race Heat 1
3:00 pm: Bodine Bobsled Practice
3:30 pm: Men’s 2-man Bobsled Race Heat 2
4:00 pm: Bodine Bobsled Practice

Sunday, Jan. 4

8:00 am: Fan Zone (Drivers will be available for photos and autographs)
9:00 am: Women’s Bobsled Race Heat 3
9:45 am: Women’s Bobsled Race Heat 4
10:00 am: Bodine Bobsled Challenge Race Heat 1
10:45 am: Bodine Bobsled Challenge Race Heat 2
12:15 pm: Men’s 2-man Bobsled Race Heat 3
1:00 pm: Men’s 2-man Bobsled Race Heat 4
1:45 pm: Bodine Bobsled Challenge Race 2

SPEED channel will again televise four hours of the Whelen Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, on Jan. 18 at noon and Jan. 25 at 2 pm. MRN Radio has signed on to provide live coverage of the Bodine Bobsled Challenge all three days.

NOTE the image included at the top of this post. It’s today’s Trivial Trivia.

Racing hell-bent-for-leather astride a Yamaha GPX 338 (circa 1975) is a now retired NASCAR driver. This driver competed several times on snow machines in the mid-seventies. A close look at the machine will provide a clue and direct link to his time spent racing Late Models on Mid-Western short tracks.

Who is the driver?