Having bought a building near Mooresville, North Carolina--the current home of the #11 team--three years earlier as an investment, the Bodines didn't have the $4 million. But Diane had a plan straight out of Ripley. Lowe's had another year on its contract with Johnson and agreed to sponsor Bodine in 1996 if he bought the team. The value of the sponsorship was $4.2 million. In the unique arrangement, Lowe's paid the sponsorship money to Johnson to satisfy Bodine's debt. That left Bodine to race the entire season without financial backing--a huge risk, if not an impossibility.
In order to raise capital, Bodine sold at an auction what he didn't need of Johnson's inventory, much of it accumulated when he fielded multicars. He sold the racing facilities and properties, some to Johnson's ex-wife, Flossie.
Bodine battles Dale Jarrett...
Bodine battles Dale Jarrett at Las Vegas Motor Speedway--where he finished 20th.
"The proceeds from two auctions were not what we expected," Bodine says, "but the return was decent. Realizing there would be an operating shortfall, we were able to get a line of credit at a bank against our building and equipment." Racing for the first time in his career with more focus on taking care of his equipment than wins or top fives, Bodine posted one top 10, finished 24th in points, and grossed $893,000. At the end of the season, he was $800,000 in debt. That was a victory of sorts, for the Bodines figured that $800,000 was a bargain for a well-established and equipped team from one of racing's most famous personalities. But it was no time to celebrate.
The Tough Get TougherThe next season, 1997, was worse, "...the lowest I've ever been in racing," Bodine says. Lowe's departed and Bodine acquired another sponsor, which reneged after honoring about one quarter of its financial commitment. "We raced out of our pocket again," Bodine says, "and our debt increased to more than $2 million. For more than a month, we put the payroll on credit cards. If not for the understanding lenders and vendors, we would not have survived. I owed Jack Roush a lot of money for engines, but he kept sending them. It was the worst struggle in my life, but Diane and I knew that an operating team had some value and a closed one is worthless. We knew we had to go to every race, and we barely managed. At midseason, there was no alternative but to take on a partner."
Todd is the youngest of the...
Todd is the youngest of the Bodine bunch and is currently driving in NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division.
Andy Evans, a wealthy Seattle financial manager who also deals in motorsports and wanted to get involved in Winston Cup, bought 50 percent of the team. Bodine, who had two top 10s on the track, ranked 29th in points, and grossed $936,694, was able to pay off a big chunk of the indebtedness and remain president of the company. In January 1998, Bodine acquired Paychex, a Rochester, New York-based payroll processor for small businesses, as the primary sponsor, and his situation brightened.
The connection came about in an unusual manner. While trying to determine whether he wanted to pursue racing as a livelihood, Bodine had earned an associate's degree in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Alfred. As a member of the board of directors, he has close ties with the school. The CEO of Paychex, Tom Golisano, is also a graduate of Alfred State, as the small school is known. Bodine and Bill Rezak, president of Alfred State, invited the Paychex chief to the fall 1997 Winston Cup race at Rockingham. He liked what he saw and agreed to a first-time sponsorship in Winston Cup.
Still, the struggle wasn't over. Shortly before the `98 season opened, Evans told Bodine that essentially, he wanted control of the team. Bodine told him to understand that the team was his and Diane's lifelong dream. A court battle of suits and countersuits ensued, running the entire season. Finally, after the Bodines had incurred $200,000 in legal fees, Evans capitulated, selling back to Bodine his 50 percent. Brett Bodine Racing was restored--the best of Christmas presents.