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Race Car Driver
Growing up in a family of race car drivers, it’s only natural that Brett Bodine, the middle of three brothers, all drivers, would become a driver too.
It all started on a farm in upstate New York, where Bodine’s grandfather was such a fan of racing, he and his sons decided to build a dirt track on his farm in the late 1940’s. Bodine’s grandfather would visit Florida during the winters and watch the beach races in Daytona, which inspired him to build his own track. What started out as just a hobby grew into a family business.
The Bodine family would promote the track and the drivers that raced on the track. Eventually, the family moved away from the farming business and concentrated solely on the racing business. Bodine’s uncles began to race on their family track, and Bodine’s older brother Geoff began racing at the family track when he turned 18.
“My brother is ten years older than me so I got a lot of experience helping him when he was racing,” says Bodine. “It’s great having brothers who race. It’s amazing what a couple of farm boys from upstate New York have been able to accomplish.”
A typical day for Bodine actually lasts an entire week during the racing season. “Since I’m an owner and a driver I share both duties,” says Bodine.
Races are on Sundays, as soon as a race is over it’s time to head back to Bodine’s garage. Bodine and his team take a private plane back to his garage, while his transport must drive back each and every time. The transport is an 18-wheeler that hauls two cars, spare engines, and all the other support parts and tools necessary to maintain the cars during the race. This transport must drive back to Mooresville, NC, after every race. They must unload the cars and reload it with new cars, parts and tools so they can be ready for the next race.
Bodine says that he keeps between 10 and 12 cars in service at all times. “Each track is different, so every car is set up for a specific track.”
Monday starts out with a debriefing of the previous day’s race. Bodine and his team reevaluate the entire weekend and try to figure out what went right and what went wrong. Tuesday is spent planning for the next race, and setting up accommodations for the team.
Each time they travel Bodine transports around 15 to 18 people. Bodine says that there are another 10 to 12 people who stay behind and maintain the cars that stay in the garage. Wednesday and Thursday are mainly travel days.
Bodine says that he tries to get to the event early. This allows him time to make appearances that are set up by his sponsors. Depending on the venue, Bodine could be signing autographs, meeting with sponsors, attending charity dinners or playing in charity golf tournaments.
On Friday, the transporter arrives and the crew checks in with the event officials at 6 a.m. After check-in, there is a mandatory technical inspection where the NASCAR officials inspect the cars to make sure that they meet the rules and regulations for Winston Cup racing.
Mid-morning consists of practice and in there are qualifying races in the afternoon. Qualifying races consist of all the racers racing one lap around the track. This lap tells the drivers their starting positions for Sunday’s race. It also tells the drivers whether or not they even qualify to drive in the race.
“There are only a certain number of spots that people can race in. There are always more racers than available spots, so sometimes people show up and they won’t be able to race because they didn’t qualify for a spot,” says Bodine.
Saturday is spent practicing for Sunday’s race and setting up the cars. Bodine says that the set-up for the cars is totally different for a one-lap race than the set-up is for a full race. There is a one-hour practice in the morning and there is another one-hour practice session in the afternoon.
Bodine says that Friday and Saturday evenings are spent doing publicity. Race day starts with the morning maintenance checks. Bodine then arrives at the hospitality area to sign autographs, meet with his sponsor’s guests, and give the guests tours.
“There are tours that we take them on to show them the cars and they can watch the cars being worked on,” says Bodine. About two hours before the race there is a mandatory meeting with all the drivers. After the meeting there is a church service. When the service is over, all the drivers return to their trailers to change into their uniforms, then finally they are able to begin the race.
Bodine says that during the racing season it is a seven-day a week process. “When you race 36 times a year, there is no time to just do nothing,” says Bodine. Bodine says that he has been very fortunate to be able to make a living as a racecar driver. He says that racing is a hobby that he’s been able to make a living doing.
Bodine says that he has been able to work at a dream. Bodine says that not everyone who wants to become a professional racecar driver has the talent necessary to make a living at it. He says that some people have not been given the opportunity to showcase the talent that they may have.
Bodine says that in order to become a professional racecar driver you must have tremendous dedication; it is a really big commitment in order to become a professional driver and to make a living at it.
Bodine says that he believes that his sense of dedication and commitment was instilled through his family. Living in a family that made a living in the farming and racing business, Bodine was able to experience all the hard work and dedication it took in order to succeed.
Education is the Key
Bodine also attributes his success to his education. Bodine attended the Alfred State College SUNY College of Technology(http://www.alfredstate.edu). He majored in Mechanical Engineering Technology and Product Machine Design and graduated with an associate’s degree.
Bodine says that he began racing professionally in his final year of college. He says that his education gave him the ability to design and build racecars that would help to showcase his talent as a racecar driver. “When I first started out I would have to build my own cars,” says Bodine. He says that since he has sponsors and a team who takes care of his cars, he doesn’t need to build his own cars anymore.
Bodine says that if you are interested in becoming a professional racecar driver, or work with a team, you should continue to become more technical. He recommends that you get an engineering background.
Bodine says that racing teams are always looking for people who have experience with engines, metal fabrication and body shop work. He also recommends that you get experience working with local racing teams and continue learning about the sport.
Bodine says that if you can find a team and volunteer your time, you will gain the experience that you will need in order to work on a professional racecar team.
Bodine says that his racing team is always looking for hard-working, dedicated people with experience. It’s not all in the Winnings Bodine has been racing for 15 years, he says that he is now given a salary from Winston Cup racing. This is to help with promotions for Winston cup driving, and it helps to take care of the responsibilities of the racing team like testing.
Bodine says that drivers are paid to test new cars in the off-season. He says that the salary ranges depend on your experience and talents as a driver, your success rate and your sponsorship. Those salary ranges can be anywhere from $300,000 - $400,000 a year all the way up to $1 million - $2 million a year.
Bodine says that on top of the yearly salary you get an earnings percentage when you race. Depending on your contract, your earnings percentage can range from 25% up to 50% of the winnings.
The Future of NASCAR
Bodine says that he believes that the sport of racecar driving will continue to grow. Bodine began Winston cup racing in 1988 and he says that the sport has changed tremendously since then. He says that the cost of owning a car and running a team has escalated since he first began racing.
Bodine also says that since more and more drivers are coming from all over the country, the sport is continuing to grow. Article provided by 
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