Todd Bodine was the top-finishing Tundra driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race at Kansas Speedway with a third-place result. Bodine led the field twice for nine laps.
Bodine’s third-place finish equaled his best result of the year — a third-place result at Darlington Raceway.
Tundra driver Kyle Busch also recorded a top-five finish with a fifth-place result.
Brendan Gaughan (seventh) and Travis Kvapil (10th) also finished in the top-10 in their Tundras.
Toyota drivers Miguel Paludo (13th), Timothy Peters (14th) and David Starr (16th) registered top-20 finishes.
Toyota drivers in the top-25 were Justin Lofton (19th), Max Papis (22nd), Craig Goess (23rd) and Johanna Long (24th).
TODD BODINE, No. 30 NTB/Valvoline Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 3rd How good was your truck today? “It’s a brand new Tundra. These guys worked to build a great truck. It ran great. But, as in all new pieces you got to work out the bugs. We got to work out the heat. That thing fried my rear end and under my arm. If you’re going to be dumb you have to be tough. We had a great truck and we hung in there. Great pit stops. At the end, the ‘Dirty 30’ Germain team is just awesome every single week. We had a good run. To come out of this slump – we wanted to win no doubt – but we had the third best truck – Clint (Bowyer) and Johnny (Sauter). We were running Johnny (Sauter) down at the end. We had another 10 or 15 laps, we probably could have got him. We had a great day and a great truck.”
How important were pit stops? “Great job. Dirty 30 on pit road again – awesome, awesome pit stops. Those guys kept us up there.”
Did this run help get your season back on track? “We’re going to take the same truck (to Texas). To be able to run here and run that good and come out of here in one piece and just rub on it and look at the set-up a little bit and see what we got to do. I think it’s a different tire at Texas we’re going back with. It’s going to change. The good thing about this truck is it’s brand new and it really responds. This Toyota Tundra was awesome.”
Were you happy with your race truck today? “It’s a brand new Toyota Tundra that these guys built. They built a great truck. It ran great, but as in all new pieces you’ve got to work out the bugs and we’ve got to work out the heat. That thing, it fried my rear end and under my arm. But, hey, if you’re going to be dumb you’ve got to be tough. We had a great truck and we hung in there. Great pit stops again. The Germain team was just awesome and they are every single week. We had a good run. To come out of this slump – we wanted to win. There’s no doubt. But, we had the third best truck . Clint (Bowyer) and Johnny (Sauter) – we were running Johnny down at the end and I think if we had another 10 or 15 laps we probably could’ve got him. We had a great day and a great truck.”
Did you think you had a race-winning truck today? “I never quite could get it to where I needed it. We were the third best truck. Obviously, that 2 truck (Clint Bowyer) was unbelievable fast. That thing was so solid up off the corner and rolled the middle great. That’s what you’ve got to have. I think me and Johnny (Sauter) were about equal. We had a great day. The way to come out of a slump. It’s been pretty bad. To have NTB and Valvoline on it, a sponsor, which we need. That was a great day for us.”
Are you comfortable racing at Kansas Speedway? “This place has got so much character now. When it was first built, we came here and could run wide open. It was smooth and lots of grip and now, even in the trucks, we were out there sliding around. You’re driving the heck out of them every lap and that’s why you see great racing here. It has a lot of character. It’s a neat place.”
TODD BODINE, No. 30 NTB/Valvoline Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing (continued) What happened on the last two laps of the race? “I had the high line really working down here in (turn) one and two and I was really backing the corner up in three and four. I was back to the throttle before the center of the corner. I think Johnny (Sauter) got a little tight. Once I got up on Johnny I got a little tight behind him. I think with another 10 laps we would’ve had some fun. I gave it a shot getting into three. Second and third — you’re the first and second loser anyway so I didn’t want to take him out or anything. Just finish where we were going to be. I gave it a shot.”
How did you deal with the elements in today’s race? “I pity them. I’ll tell you that. This was a new truck for us and a lot of times when you have a new truck you might have a header resting up against the frame somewhere and it’s transferring all of the heat through. I literally burned my butt so we’ve got to work on it a little bit. It’s hot, no doubt about it. The humidity is what is bad and that’s what gets you. It was pretty humid out.”
Do you think they should repave Kansas Speedway? “Don’t pave it. Why are they talking about paving it? It’s not actually coming up, is it? I didn’t see any place that it came up. Yeah, it’s got a couple of bumps and it’s wore out but that’s what makes it fun. It separates good trucks from bad ones and good cars from bad ones and good drivers. It makes it fun. Anybody can go fast on fresh pavement.”
KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Dollar General Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports Finishing Position: 6th What was the problem with your truck today? “We had a horrible truck all day. Just was fighting real, real tight. Couldn’t get it to where it needed to be. We came in and tried to make wholesale changes and work on the track bar — do something because all we were going to do was finish fourth or fifth. That’s all we had anyway.”
BRENDAN GAUGHAN, No. 62 South Point Hotel & Casino Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 7th Were there any issues with your truck during the race today? “We cracked an exhaust, I guess. The exhaust broke and they put a heat gun on my seat when I got out (after the race) and it said 220 degrees. So, they gave me some ice bags during the race. But, they broke open. You never want water in a seat. I don’t know if you remember watching Bugs Bunny when you were a kid — Elmer Fudd used to always put him in a big pot and try to cook him. That’s what happens when you add water to a metal seat.”
How was your truck handling today? “Our Tundra was fast. I killed my boys on pit road today — absolutely destroyed on pit road. Totally my fault. We had a better Tundra — probably a top-five. Think we were a little better than Kyle (Busch). I just destroyed us on pit road. Lost focus and overshot the pits once — pitiful job on my part. Great comeback by the boys. That’s the way the Germains run – – Todd (Bodine) and I top-10 and all four team Tundras in one piece after the race. That’s what we need to do.”
TRAVIS KVAPIL, No. 5 International Truck/Monaco RVs Toyota Tundra Camry, Randy Moss Motorsports Finishing Position: 10th How was your race today? “Average day. We had a little bit higher expectations. I thought my truck was a little bit better than that in practice and what we showed today. We just fought it. Just didn’t really have the speed we needed in the middle of the corner. It was hard to pass. It’s all a big track position game here. Everybody just about runs wide open which makes it pretty tough to pass. All in all we worked on it all day yesterday and got it much better and a solid 10th-place finish.”
Was the heat a problem? “I’m kind of used to it. It’s hot, but you don’t really think about it at all until after the race or when you slow down during a caution. You don’t really feel it when you are out there racing.”
MIGUEL PALUDO, No. 7 STEMCO-Duroline Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing Finishing Position: 13th
TIMOTHY PETERS, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing Finishing Position: 14th
DAVID STARR, No. 81 Zachry Toyota Tundra, SS Green Light Racing Finishing Position: 16th
JUSTIN LOFTON, No. 77 Lofton Cattle/Devil Brigade Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 19th
MAX PAPIS, No. 9 GEICO Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Finishing Position: 22nd
CRAIG GOESS JR., No. 46 Great Wolf Lodge/Greenville Toyota Toyota Tundra, Eddie Sharp Racing Finishing Position: 23rd
JOHANNA LONG, No. 20 Panhandle Grading & Paving Toyota Tundra, Panhandle Motorsports Finishing Position: 24th
SCOTT RIGGS, No. 07 Toyota Tundra, SS Green Light Racing Finishing Position: 36th
