UPDATE The Germain Motor Co. is on the fast track in NASCAR, and not all of it deals with drivers Todd Bodine and Ted Musgrave ranking first and second in the Truck Series point standings. Steve Germain, who owns the Columbus teams with brothers Rick and Bob, yesterday [Friday] said plans are under way to attempt to qualify for as many as five or six Nextel Cup races this season. The family’s first race probably would be the Brickyard 400 on Aug. 6 at Indianapolis. There also are tentative plans to enter races at Michigan, Atlanta, California and Texas in an attempt to gauge whether a team with Bodine as driver would be ready to run as many as 15 or 16 races in 2007. "We’re interested in the Cup series, and it looks like we might do a limited schedule," Steve Germain said. "At this point, we’ll be at Indianapolis. We’d like to be in five or six races to help us understand the scope of Nextel Cup. We have a pretty good understanding of Cup, but we want firsthand experience so we can be confident before committing the resources for next year. We’re taking this one step at a time." The Germains own Toyota and Lexus dealerships in Columbus and Florida and got into NASCAR to promote their dealerships and help Toyota get a foothold in truck and stock car racing. Both truck teams are based in Concord, N.C., which is considered the heart of NASCAR country.
Columbus Dispatch
05/20/06 The hottest Toyota driver in NASCAR is Todd Bodine, who has won five of the past eight Truck races and who leads the tour standings, ahead of teammate Ted Musgrave. The two ran 1-2 the last time out, at St. Louis' Gateway track three weeks ago. So, with Toyota's Cup teams and executives apparently running out of time to line up all the six or seven Nextel Cup drivers they'll need next year, Bodine, 42 and a 14-year NASCAR veteran, would seem a logical option. But Bodine said he has had no calls, and said he's having so much fun running for the Germain brothers (who own a number of luxury-car dealerships with $1 billion a year in sales) that it would take "a boatload of money to leave." Bodine said he and the Germains have studied stepping up to Cup racing with Toyota. But they haven't found sponsorship for what he estimates would be a $20 million to $30 million step. Winston Salem Journal
