27-03-2025
Todd Bodine Says It's Time for Change in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Two-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Todd Bodine says that even though the truck series is healthy, the business model for it needs to change within the next five years.
'We need to refine what we're doing and try to figure out how to save money,' Bodine says. 'There's a lot of local short-track teams that would love to be involved more heavily in the truck series, but a guy that has a local plumbing business can afford to race short tracks and he can maybe run a couple of truck races, but that's all he can do.'
The 61-year-old Chemung, New York, native who now is an analyst on Fox Sports truck telecasts, notes people always want more money in the race purses. However, 'as in any sport, it does have to grow and refine as we go.'
Bodine notes the series is different now than when it began, because initially it was comprised of drivers who were at the end of their careers such as himself, Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague.
'We'd already had success,' Bodine says. 'We'd been in the Cup Series, Xfinity or Busch Series. We were there (truck series) because we wanted to race and have fun. We wanted to do it as long as we could, and the truck series afforded us that opportunity.'
Today, it's different because most of the series drivers are at the beginning of their careers.
'They're trying to make a name for themselves,' Bodine says. 'Look at the guys that have come out of the truck series in the last five, six, even 10 years. We've got champions in the Cup Series and guys winning races in the Cup Series and Xfinity Series. It's just crazy to see these good drivers coming out of the truck series. We've got 10 or 12 drivers that are just outstanding, that probably will move to Xfinity or get their opportunity in the Cup Series.'
Bodine cited Cup Series rookie Carson Hocevar as one who 'bulldozed his way through the truck series and got right into the Cup Series.'
'These kids come through the truck series to try to learn race craft, the right and wrong things to do with their trucks in traffic, out of traffic, drafting, all these things that they didn't grow up learning on short tracks,' Bodine says.
'It's a different era, different world, different mentality. It's just as good as it was back then. It's just a little different.'
