Chevrolet Announces Title Sponsorship of the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge

10 NASCAR drivers confirmed for Lake Placid event

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – In an announcement made Friday, Chevrolet has become the title sponsor of the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge in Lake Placid, N.Y. The event will take place January 5-7, 2006 and is set to take place at the Verizon Sports Complex.

It will now be known as the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.

This competition is a race involving 10 NASCAR drivers piloting specially-made sleds and is staged as a fundraiser for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project. The initiative provides Made in America bobsleds for the United States Men’s and Women’s Bobsled Teams.

"We are proud to be involved as the title sponsor of the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge,” said Ed Peper, Chevrolet General Manager. “With Chevrolet being a sponsor of NASCAR and the U.S. Olympic Team, there is great synergy for us in this uniquely All-American team effort."

"We really appreciate Chevrolet supporting us on this Made in America project,” said Bodine, winner of the 1986 Daytona 500 along with another 19 NASCAR victories in his career. "We need to raise money to take these sleds to the next level. And remember, the 2010 Games are in Vancouver and construction of another track has already started."

Bodine has confirmation from a number of drivers who will compete on the Lake Placid course. Ken Schrader, Todd Bodine, Kenny Wallace, Dick Trickle, Steve Park, Randy LaJoie, Kevin Lepage, Boris Said, Joel Kauffman and Stanton Barrett will all be in Lake Placid.

"I'm still trying to get Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., but their schedules are pretty tight, especially with Tony winning the Cup Series. They told me they want to come to support the Project, and if they can, they will be there. These guys are going to love the speed and thrill. Trust me these are G-forces they have never felt before."

Geoff Bodine was watching the 1992 Winter Olympic Games and noticed that American athletes were driving European-made sleds with poor results. The U.S. had not won an Olympic medal in bobsledding since the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina, Italy. Bodine started on a quest to design a Made in America bobsled, and by the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the U.S. bobsled teams finally got back on the podium with a gold medal in women’s bobsledding and silver and bronze medals in the four-man event.

All three sleds were Bo-Dyn designs with NASCAR technology.

This year the USA is off to a rousing start with multiple medals in the first two World Cup events of the season from four different drivers. These results have also been engineered with Bo-Dyn designed sleds.

In addition to Chevrolet, the event signed Columbia last month as its Official Apparel Supplier.

What Daytona is to auto racing, Lake Placid is to bobsledding.