Not A Happy Camper

Bodine gets tagged, Nadeau's out, It Wasn't Her fault revisited, and the Old Dominion 500 from Martinsville, Virginia.

NASCAR Tags Todd Bodine...........

Most NASCAR fans don't seem to be too surprised to find that the sanctioning body decided to put Todd Bodine on probation for the rest of the season for reckless driving. It's really a moot deal at this point in time, with less than a handful of races remaining. It's apparent that the pass in the grass he made at Charlotte on Ward Burton was the culminating factor in NASCAR's decision.

I have a feeling that NASCAR just didn't jump up and do this on its own either. Richard Childress was livid due to the fact that all three of his entries were taken out of the race by Bodine's move on Burton that caused the ten-car pileup. Petty enterprises also lost a couple of their entries for the day in the same altercation. Childress made it known that Bodine had totaled out eight of his cars so far this season because of his reckless driving, and it's about time that they did something about it. It seems apparent that there were teams lobbying NASCAR to do something about Bodine.

If you're a Todd Bodine fan, I'm sure that you're less than pleased with the situation. Although, the majority of fans tend to feel that he had it coming. NASCAR.com had a poll on its site asking what the poll participant thought of NASCAR's punishment of Todd Bodine. On Friday evening with over 110k people voting, 67% thought he had it coming and that the wreck was his fault as opposed to the 33% that thought that the punishment was excessive and that it was just a racing deal.

John Darby, director of NASCAR, stated that Bodine's performance in the Busch Series as well as his performance in Winston Cup during the 2002 season was used as the basis for his decision to place the driver on probation. The probation will also cover Bodine's participation in the Busch Series.

Todd Bodine thinks the punishment is far too excessive for the crime. He stated that there isn't a driver out there that hasn't made a mistake, and they haven't been put on probation for it. He blames the punishment he received on certain drivers running their mouths about him during TV interviews. He feels that drivers and team owners have lodged unjust complaints about him with the sanctioning body. At any rate, whether the punishment fits the crime or not, Bodine is in a position where he has to watch his P's and Q's very carefully, like Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

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