Bodine Inks Daytona Deal With ThorSport Racing

The Onion will race at Daytona

Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine will run the season-opening NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway in a No. 13 Toyota Tundra fielded by ThorSport Racing.

Multiple sources say the deal is for one race only, and includes horsepower from Triad Racing Technologies. Sponsorship will come from Mattei Air Compressors.

Bodine ran the full Truck Series schedule a year ago for Red Horse Racing, finishing 14^th a championship points with a win at Dover International Speedway on June 1. The Chemung, N.Y., native has 22 victories in 212 career Truck Series starts and claimed the series championship in both 2006 and 2010. He has 778 career starts in NASCAR’s three national series, with 37 wins and 19 poles. He said he is excited to have an opportunity to drive a race-winning truck at Daytona, where he is a two-time Truck Series winner.

“It's definitely a good opportunity with an established team that has a season of running Toyotas behind them,” he said. “They've been there and done that, and they know how to get it done.”

Bodine will work with crew chief Jeriod Prince, who will do double duty at Daytona, overseeing both Bodine’s effort and ThorSport’s No. 44 Ansell/Menards ARCA Toyota Camry for nine-time series champion Frank Kimmel.

“Daytona's one of those tracks that's kind of a crap shoot,” said Bodine. “You have to put yourself in the right position and if you have a decent truck, you can do something with it. I believe we've got as good a shot as anybody down there.”

He said he looks forward to having two experienced teammates in Johnny Sauter and Matt Crafton, saying late-race drafting partners are often the key to victory.

“You can't count on it, but if the situation arises where we can help each other, I know I'll be there to help them if they need it,” he said. “Hopefully, they'll be there to help me win this race for Duke and ThorSport. I've been in that position before at Daytona and sometimes you've got to be willing to `take one for the team’ so we have a ThorSport truck in Victory Lane at the end of the night.”