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BODINE EXCITED TO START WITH CLEAN SLATE

CHARLOTTE N.C. – After 17 years of NASCAR racing, veteran driver Todd Bodine is as excited as ever to head down to Daytona (Fla.) for the annual Speedweeks events. Perhaps he is looking for a fresh start after an up and down 2002 season that included an on and off and back on Winston Cup ride, several hard race crashes and a ruptured disk in his back which required off-season surgery. Fortunately, Bodine's 2003 season looks much brighter thanks in part to his teammates on the No.92 Herzog Jackson Motorsports Busch Series team.

"You would think that I was a rookie driver as excited as I am to get into the Herzog Jackson Chevy," explained Bodine. "These guys have worked all winter long getting our car ready for Daytona and now it's up to me. I'm going to give them the kind of finish they deserve. After the trouble with my back towards the end of the season and a rough final event at Miami, I'm ready to pay these guys back for all of their hard work."

Bodine underwent surgery following the 2002 season for a ruptured disk in his back. "As soon as the surgery was over, I wanted to get back to racing. Right now I am feeling 100% and with the car that we have, I feel like we could challenge any team for the victory."

Bodine's chances for a top finish will be helped by the team's solid history at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. In the past two Busch Series season openers, the team finished fifth and ninth, respectively. In their first joint outing, Bodine and the team proved they have the right set-up for the 2.5 mile track. The No.92 Chevy was running in sixth place, when with just four laps to go it was involved in an accident. The team finished the July event in 27th.

The team will debut a new car for the Koolerz 300. HJM-20, the latest Chevy in the team's stable, will hit the track with only 100 laps on it. The team tested the car in January and were happy, but not ecstatic with the results.

"We didn't exactly set the world on fire when we tested here in January, but Tony (Liberati, crew chief) and the guys took the car back to the shop and made some changes, so I think we should be good for the race. We were together during the July race here last year and this year we'll be able to look at those notes and figure out what we did right and what we could do better."

"It's going to be an exciting season and I'm looking forward to getting it started. We all look forward to the off-season, but when it finally comes all you do is count the days until you can go back racing."