Bodine set for 200th Truck start

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Todd Bodine will make a milestone start in Saturday night's Truck Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

The event will be the 200th for Bodine, and it will make him the only driver with at least 200 starts in all three of NASCAR's national series.

"You get into this sport because you love it, want to go in circles, win races and have fun, and here we are 21 years later with all these starts, and a lot of wins, good times and great friends," said the 48-year-old Bodine. "It seems just like yesterday I was running my first race at Stafford Springs."

Bodine has made 241 starts in NASCAR's top Sprint Cup Series, and he's got 325 starts in the second-tier Nationwide Series. With a total of 766 starts, Bodine ranks 20th all-time in combined series starts.

But Bodine is chasing wins, and he'd like to add to that total at Chicago. The two-time Truck Series champion has 22 victories in that series, but only one this year.

He'd like to add another win Saturday night in his Red Horse Racing entry.

"While you try to win them all, it would be pretty special to win the 200th," Bodine said. "To have that kind of longevity in the sport and still be able to get it done, especially in a significant moment like that, definitely would make it a lot more special."

Bodine has a pair of runner-up finishes in three Truck Series starts at Chicagoland and has won the pole at the track in the Truck, Nationwide and Cup Series.

After Saturday night's race, Bodine has a long way to go to catch Rick Crawford's record 334 Truck Series starts. He believes he's got another 134 races in him.

"I'd like to have that," he said of Crawford's mark. "I feel like I've got another 10 years left, 334 is doable."

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