For the Record: Geoff Bodine

Annett: Definitely an Animal Lover

BY JARED TURNER

If there was ever a NASCAR driver who cared about helping animals, it’s NASCAR Xfinity Series veteran Michael Annett. He’s got four dogs, all of which live inside the house. Annett and girlfriend Whitney also own a 20-year-old Palomino horse.

At this point, most folks could justifiably liken Annett’s estate to a modernday version of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”

“I’m definitely an animal lover,” Annett said. “It sounds corny, but they’re man’s best friends. My girlfriend would kill me, but I’d have five more if I could. That’s just how I feel. I love animals.”

Since going to a breeder to purchase his first dog – a 16-year-old Miniature Goldendoodle named Paisley after the country music singer whose first name is Brad – Annett has taken in three rescue dogs.

“To be able to put them in a better situation just makes me feel good at heart,” he said.

While Annett admits that living with four dogs can present its challenges, he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“You can have girlfriends and wives, and you’re going to have your fights,” Annett said. “But with your dogs, they might be pissed at you, but they can’t tell you they are. It’s pretty cool to have someone like that that’s just always by your side and really never lets you down.”

Q&A

WITH GEOFF BODINE

FORMER DRIVER REFLECTS ON A LIFELONG JOURNEY

BY BEN WHITE

Geoff Bodine’s roster of 18 NASCAR Cup Series victories includes the 1986 Daytona 500, but a visit to Victory Lane two years earlier at Martinsville Speedway is perhaps his most significant triumph as it kept Rick Hendrick from shutting down his fledgling Cup Series operation.

A native of Chemung, New York, Bodine made a name for himself racing modifieds in the Northeast before moving south, where he enjoyed a successful 25-year career in NASCAR’s premier series.

Our chat with the former driver offers insight into his accomplishments and his deep passion for the sport of stock car racing.

TELL US HOW YOU BECAME INTERESTED IN STOCK CAR RACING.

When I was about a year old, some local racers up in New York State went to my grandfather and father and asked them to build a quarter-mile race track. My grandfather had a big farm. He and my father had a cornfield and there was a side hill to it where people could sit.

So they dug up the cornfield and made a race track out of it. I’ve been around racing all my life. When I was 5 years old, my father built me a little racer and I raced on a little track for kids, and that’s when I started.

I had uncles who raced so I followed them. I had a great education about racing and about raising chickens. I cleaned the cars and swept the floors, built engines, welded and built and raced my own cars.

YOU WON A TON OF MODIFIED RACES BEFORE YOU BEGAN DRIVING IN THE CUP SERIES IN 1979. DID YOU EVER VISIT DAYTONA AND WATCH RACES THERE AS A FAN?

I sure did when I was a kid. My parents, my brothers and sister would load up in the car and go to Daytona from up north.