Boris Said Wins Both Bobsled Races
The 2nd Annual Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Challenge, presented by Whelen Engineering, continues to be a great success for both the racing and bobsled communities at the Olympic Sports Complex.
“I feel pretty good about today. It’s not just about winning, it’s about raising money and the athletes,” said Boris Said after winning both of today’s races.
Repeating his Race one win from last year and adding one more this year, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Said, with brakeman David Palmeri, swept the competition. Said won Race one with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 22.92 seconds and captured Race two with a two-run time of 1:40.65.
Coming in second and third, respectively, in Race 1 was fellow Nextel Cup driver Randy Lajoie with a time of 1:23.17 and nine-time NASCAR Whelen modified tour champion Mike Stefanik coming in next at 1:23. 77. Race two second and third place winners were Morgan Lucas with a two-run combined time of 1:41.28 and Stefanik finishing with a time of 1:41.73.
“This is the biggest honor of my life being on stage with these guys,” said Lucas. “I’d like to come back and attend drivers school in Park City.”
Members of the New York Army National Guard acted as brakemen for all drivers.
The event benefits the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., created to design and manufacture bobsleds for the United States men’s and women’s bobsled teams. The project also raises money for continuing bobsled research and development. This year’s benefit auction, held Friday night at Nicola’s Restaurant in Lake Placid, raised $17,000 for research and development for the national teams.
Although all the drivers were in fierce competition, they all agreed that getting to meet each other and the men from the U.S. bobsled team were what they enjoyed most over the weekend.
“The best part for me was interacting with the athletes, coaches and getting tips from the guys,” Stefanik said.
Said agreed, saying, “Seeing the athletes from the start, seeing their skill, athleticism and coordination was my favorite part.”
One of the reasons that make the Bodine Challenge so unique is that fans and spectators are able to see the drivers have fun with the competition and get away with antics not usually found on the “serious” side of this sport. For instance, J.R. Todd put rocks in his jacket pocket to add speed to his run only to be outdone by Randy Lajoie who had a whopping 16 pounds of rocks in his jacket enabling him to finish second in Race 1.
The Bodine Bobsled Challenge also ran concurrently with the men’s two-man and four-man Whelen U.S. Bobsled National Championships. Winning the two-man championship was 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Mike Kohn and brakeman Curtis Tomasevicz with a two-run combined time of 1:55.39. Taking first in the four-man championship with a two-run total of 1:58.01 was Grayson Fertig with Brian Spickler, Will Person and Theron Johnson. Fertig, a former national championship hockey player at Middlebury College, surprised the field and solidified a spot on the World Championship team set to compete later this month in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
When asked if they would come back next year to compete in the 3rd Annual Bodine Challenge all of the participants enthusiastically replied “Yes!”
What Daytona is to auto racing, Lake Placid is to bobsledding.(orda.org)
The 2nd Annual Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Challenge, presented by Whelen Engineering, continues to be a great success for both the racing and bobsled communities at the Olympic Sports Complex.
“I feel pretty good about today. It’s not just about winning, it’s about raising money and the athletes,” said Boris Said after winning both of today’s races.
Repeating his Race one win from last year and adding one more this year, NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Said, with brakeman David Palmeri, swept the competition. Said won Race one with a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 22.92 seconds and captured Race two with a two-run time of 1:40.65.
Coming in second and third, respectively, in Race 1 was fellow Nextel Cup driver Randy Lajoie with a time of 1:23.17 and nine-time NASCAR Whelen modified tour champion Mike Stefanik coming in next at 1:23. 77. Race two second and third place winners were Morgan Lucas with a two-run combined time of 1:41.28 and Stefanik finishing with a time of 1:41.73.
“This is the biggest honor of my life being on stage with these guys,” said Lucas. “I’d like to come back and attend drivers school in Park City.”
Members of the New York Army National Guard acted as brakemen for all drivers.
The event benefits the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., created to design and manufacture bobsleds for the United States men’s and women’s bobsled teams. The project also raises money for continuing bobsled research and development. This year’s benefit auction, held Friday night at Nicola’s Restaurant in Lake Placid, raised $17,000 for research and development for the national teams.
Although all the drivers were in fierce competition, they all agreed that getting to meet each other and the men from the U.S. bobsled team were what they enjoyed most over the weekend.
“The best part for me was interacting with the athletes, coaches and getting tips from the guys,” Stefanik said.
Said agreed, saying, “Seeing the athletes from the start, seeing their skill, athleticism and coordination was my favorite part.”
One of the reasons that make the Bodine Challenge so unique is that fans and spectators are able to see the drivers have fun with the competition and get away with antics not usually found on the “serious” side of this sport. For instance, J.R. Todd put rocks in his jacket pocket to add speed to his run only to be outdone by Randy Lajoie who had a whopping 16 pounds of rocks in his jacket enabling him to finish second in Race 1.
The Bodine Bobsled Challenge also ran concurrently with the men’s two-man and four-man Whelen U.S. Bobsled National Championships. Winning the two-man championship was 2002 Olympic bronze medalist Mike Kohn and brakeman Curtis Tomasevicz with a two-run combined time of 1:55.39. Taking first in the four-man championship with a two-run total of 1:58.01 was Grayson Fertig with Brian Spickler, Will Person and Theron Johnson. Fertig, a former national championship hockey player at Middlebury College, surprised the field and solidified a spot on the World Championship team set to compete later this month in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
When asked if they would come back next year to compete in the 3rd Annual Bodine Challenge all of the participants enthusiastically replied “Yes!”
What Daytona is to auto racing, Lake Placid is to bobsledding.(orda.org)
