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Sun, March 16th 2008
I’m pretty speechless (and that doesn’t happen very often). Morgan didn’t qualify for the Gators. Hey, these are the freakin’ Gators, Dude. One of the oldest races in the sport. Huge, rowdy, unruly fans crammed into the grandstands. Smokin’ hot women—a lot of them from the University of Florida about 15 miles away. You DON’T want to be sitting on your ass on Sunday in Gainesville.
Morgan missed the Top Fuel field by one. Sixteen cars get in. He was 17th. No way to paint a pretty face on that. Two qualifying sessions screwed a lot of racers. He happened to be one of them. JR lost in the first round on Sunday. Zero for two, Man.
Things went waaayyyyyy better in Top Alcohol Dragster but I’m going to step away from the drag racing stuff for a sec. Work with me.
I was sitting in Morgan’s lounge in his transporter on Saturday having just wrapped up our One-On-One session as part of my Media Workshop, when in walked Geoffrey Bodine? Remember him? If you have any connection with NASCAR’s Cup Series from the mid-1970’s to the early 1990’s, you’ll remember that name.
Geoffrey (who was called simply Geoff until midway through his racing career) was one of the great racers in NASCAR history and won races on just about every pro level. He and his brothers, Todd and Brett, were marquee names in the sport for a long time and when I covered NASCAR with CBS between 1995 and 2001, I had many a conversation with them.
But when I saw Geoffrey stroll in, I couldn’t help but flashback to Daytona in 2000 when I was there with the CBS crew and preparing for the upcoming Busch Series race on Saturday. The Craftsman Trucks were on the track racing in their big Daytona feature and I was in the paddock talking to Michael Waltrip. Suddenly we heard the crowd gasp and screams erupt from the entire grandstand area. We turned around just in time to see Geoffrey’s truck cartwheeling toward Turn 1 in flames, with the air and racetrack scattered with a thunderstorm of parts while several other trucks bounced and ricocheted off his demolished machine.
There wasn’t a human being at the Daytona International Speedway on that February afternoon that believed Geoffrey had survived. The video of the crash is still posted on YouTube and you can copy and paste this link to see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7WMGgZiZT4
But Geoffrey did escape serious injury and later that season, I ran into him at another race where I told him I was so relieved he hadn’t cashed in his chips in that wicked accident.
Geoffrey remembered me when he walked into Morgan’s lounge and we immediately began talking old times. When I mentioned to him that recently I had gone on a healthier diet to try to lower my weight, blood pressure, and blood sugar, he really took me by surprise. He is a tremendous fitness advocate and promoter of a nutrition beverage, Mona Vie, and gave me a detailed explanation of how this product provides so many health benefits.
Just then, Morgan walked back in.
“That stuff is unbelievable!” spouted Morgan. “I started drinking it when JR and I were racing the bobsled that Geoffrey builds last year at Lake Placid. It gave me energy, it helps me to sleep better, focus better, everything. You only have to drink a few ounces every day and it rocks.”
I told Geoffrey to send me some. And by the way, he and I are the same age, 58, and he looks 10-15 years younger. I’ve been told I look a lot younger than my age but I think he has me beaten on that one.
Meanwhile, everyone was remembering Eric Medlen in Gainesville. How could you not. That was a crappy deal last year and we all wish we could have him back. He was a trip. The sport could use a few more like him but, I know, I’m dreaming.
In two weeks, Houston. C’mon Morgan. Don’t fall on your butt again, Big Guy. And keep drinkin’ your Mona Vie.