Geoff Bodine Racing (also known as GEB Racing) was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

and

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

team. It was owned and operated by former NASCAR driver Geoffrey Bodine following his purchase of the estate of

Alan Kulwicki Alan Dennis Kulwicki (December 14, 1954 – April 1, 1993), nicknamed "Special K" and "the Polish Prince", was an American auto racing driver and team owner. He started racing at local Short track motor racing, short tracks in Wisconsin bef ...

. He remained owner of the team until the 1998 season, when he sold the operation to Jim Mattei and John Porter. Through the chain of succession, the team's final owner was

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA, Inter ...

Winston Cup

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

, Bodine, who was driving for Bud Moore Engineering at the time, decided to become an owner-driver. Earlier in the season, then-defending Winston Cup Champion

, who owned and drove for AK Racing, was killed in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

as the Cup Series made its spring trip to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. Bodine was able to raise enough money to purchase the assets of Kulwicki’s former team from its caretaker, Felix Sabates, who had been providing financial backing so the team could continue running. However, he immediately ran into a problem as Kulwicki’s sponsor,

Hooters Hooters is the registered trademark used by two American restaurant chains: Hooters, Inc., based in Clearwater, Florida, and Hooters of America, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by the private investment firm Nord Bay Capital (with Tr ...

, pulled out of the team immediately after Bodine took ownership. Undaunted, Bodine signed The Family Channel to be the sponsor for the remainder of the season. After The Family Channel moved over to Roush Racing for the next year, Bodine got Exide Batteries to sponsor his effort in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

. Bodine won three times that year but finished 17th in points. He also won the 1994 Winston Select. He almost won the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400 before he got into a controversial incident with younger brother Brett Bodine where Brett wrecked Geoff out of the lead; Geoff responded by publicly announcing to the press that he and Brett were feuding in their personal lives. Two weeks later, Geoff's wife moved out of the house and filed for divorce, resulting in a downward spiral for Bodine. Later that year, Geoff won at North Wilkesboro which was the last time the race winner lapped the entire field. Bodine improved one spot better in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, although he struggled in several races and went winless. Bodine would later publicly admit that his ongoing divorce was impacting his ability to drive competitively and made several changes to the racing operations. In

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, after Exide moved to Roush, Bodine ran with

QVC QVC (short for "Quality Value Convenience") is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised Shopping channel, home shopping, owned by QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail Group). Founded in 19 ...

sponsorship and scored his final win at Watkins Glen International Raceway. He struggled in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, failing to qualify in a couple of races, and having his brother Todd fill in for him at the

Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the firs ...

. Despite this, he won two poles in the last two months of the season, including one that broke the track record at

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...

. In

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he sold part of his ownership to Mattei and Porter, and picked up sponsorship from

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

. When Bodine got an offer to drive for

Joe Bessey Joseph W. Bessey (born June 25, 1961) is a former NASCAR owner/driver. He won one career Busch Series race before heading back to the Busch Grand National North Series in 2001, where he continues to field teams. In his driving career in that seri ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, he sold the rest of his team and was replaced by

Michael Waltrip Michael Curtis Waltrip (born April 30, 1963) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner, amateur ballroom dancing competitor and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASC ...

, as the team switched to

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

. Finishing 5th in the

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

, Waltrip finished the year 29th in points. Getting sponsorship from NationsRent in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Waltrip's only top-ten finish that year was a 3rd at Martinsville. He left at the end of the year for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

took over, while the team switched back to Ford. During the 2000 season, the team was sold to Ultra Motorsports.

Craftsman Truck Series

Bodine Racing began racing in the new Truck Series in

, when Bodine drove ten races in the No. 7, with Exide sponsorship. He shared the ride with Dave Rezendes, who raced eleven times that season; together, they combined for fourteen top-ten finishes. Bodine's son Barry drove the No. 07 Tanya Tucker Salsa truck at Martinsville, but he crashed out. Rezendes raced the No. 7 full-time in 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with QVC sponsoring, and he responded with three victories and a sixth-place finish in points. Bodine and Barry drove the 07 in six races, but only had one pole and top-ten. Due to a lack of sponsorship, Rezendes was let go after two races in

. Tammy Jo Kirk took his place with Loveable sponsorship, becoming the first full-time female driver on the circuit. She had a best finish of 11th, but was let go late in the season, and Barry Bodine finished out the season. The team closed in 1998 due to a lack of sponsorship.

References

External links

Geoff Bodine owner statsJim Mattei owner stats
{{Bodine family 1993 establishments in North Carolina Companies based in North Carolina Defunct NASCAR teams Defunct companies based in North Carolina 2000 disestablishments in North Carolina Bodine family