Stock cars and drag cars on real ice? Not really, but stock car and drag car drivers competed in the Fifth Annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering in rural Lake Placid, N.Y. Apparently the need for speed within race car drivers extends to snow too.
The Bodine Bobsled Challenge was held on Mount Van Hovenburg, site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, and the 2009 World Bobsled Championships. It’s said, What Daytona is to auto racing, Lake Placid is to bobsledding.
In the NASCAR vs NHRA Challenge two- season bobsled veteran Joey Logano edged out rookie Melanie Troxel by .026 of a second.
“I'm happy with my time, and it makes it a ton of fun to finally get a win,” Logano said. “This is a blast.”
Official results of NASCAR vs NHRA Challenge::
Logano defeated Said
Logano defeated Bodine
Lucas defeated Renezeder
Troxel defeated Lucas
Logano defeated Troxel
“I'm still not that good, but I got lucky,” Logano said. “I just keep asking questions. Same as in my Cup car, I just ask questions. I didn't think I had a chance against her.”
Troxel took the gold medal in the first Olympic style race as well as the runner-up spot in the NASCAR/ NHRA Showdown.
Official results of timed Olympic-style race:
1:39.33 Melanie Troxel (gold)
1:39.40 Jeg Coughlin Jr. (silver)
1:39.69 Boris Said (bronze)
"I'm shocked," said Troxel, the first woman to ever compete in the event. "That final (gold medal) run didn't even feel that fast. It seemed like I hit the walls a lot, but I guess it was quick enough to win. There was definitely some beginner's luck on my side today.
"I sure came a long way in a few days. At first I was getting so much advice and it didn't even make sense to me but as the weekend went along I started understanding what they were telling me and what areas of the track they were talking about. I think driving my R2B2 Voodoo Corvette was probably some pretty good training because those Pro Mod cars are right on the edge also.”
JEGS.com is a team corporate sponsor of the event and provided background information on the unique motorsports program that benefits U.S. Olympic Bobsled efforts:
NASCAR legend Bodine conceived the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project more than a decade ago after watching U.S. athletes struggle to compete with old, used sleds from their European rivals. Bodine contracted racecar designer Bob Cuneo of Chassis Dynamics in Oxford, Conn., to create "Made-in-America" bobsleds for the United States men's and women's national teams. Since switching to Bo-Dyn sleds, U.S. athletes have risen to the top of the sport, winning multiple Olympic and World Cup medals in both two-man and four-man competition.
Five-time champion Jeg Coughlin Jr. explained the competition.
"I skidded through a few of the lower turns in both runs and that scrubbed off a bit of speed," Coughlin said. "But I'm really pleased with this result. Two years ago I came in third here and got the bronze. Now I've got a silver medal to go with it so we've improved and that's exciting. I guess I need to come back and get a gold to finish the set.
"What Geoff Bodine has done for bobsledding is phenomenal and this event is not only a lot of fun but it's something that just makes you feel great. I'm excited to go up to the Olympic Games in Vancouver next month with Team USA and watch them on the world's biggest stage. We all wish them the very best."
Troxel proved why she was capable of being the first female to win an NHRA Funny Car event and now in short order she proved she is a winner in a vastly different way of achieving top speed.
"The whole atmosphere of this event and the fact we're helping our Olympic athletes go for the gold with these 'Made in America' bobsleds from the Bo-Dyn Project makes it so special,” Troxel said. “It's been a real honor to be here."
The challenge was not only NASCAR vs NHRA but bobsled driver vs. the icy run.
"Racing bobsleds is one of the most unique experiences I've ever had," Coughlin said. "In drag racing we're cinched in our cars as tight as can be and we go straight down the track. It's something I've done thousands of times. In bobsledding, you're not strapped in at all and when they feed you into that ice chute you have no choice but to take it down the mountain. It's going to the bottom of the hill. How it arrives is up to you.
It’s said of the great ones in motorsports; They can drive anything. Perhaps this is an indication of greatness for Logano. He’s well on his way at this young point in his life. It shows too how winners like Troxel and Coughlin rise to the top.
TV coverage of the Fifth Annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge presented by Whelen Engineering will air on SPEED on Jan. 24 and Jan. 31.
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