An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Jan. 12, 2010

New York Guardsmen test bobsled track with auto racing pros

By Lt Col Bob Bullock New York Air National Guard

LAKE PLACID, N.Y., - Several members of the New York Army National Guard  teamed up with 10 of the fastest race car drivers in the world for the fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge this past weekend.

 "I decided it was an excellent way to meet NASCAR drivers and go bobsledding, said Spc. Kristopher Fetter. "It shows people some of the excellent opportunities you have when you sign up for the Guard."

Fetter and 19 other members of Company B 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry, headquartered in Morrisonville, N.Y., served as brakemen on bobsleds driven by NASCAR and National Hot Rod Association drivers.

The Soldiers helped start the sleds and are then responsible for engaging the brake that stops them at the end of the almost one-mile run down the Mt. Van Hoevenberg track.

 "It is awesome knowing you can trust these guys to be on their A-game back there," said NASCAR driver Joey Logano, two-time winner of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. "To have someone like that behind you gives you more confidence going down the hill."

Since the New York Army National Guard Soldiers began racing in the Bodine Challenge three years ago, the state Recruiting and Retention Command has been using the unique partnership as an opportunity to showcase a different dimension of the Guard.

 "For the potential candidates, who might want to think about the National Guard, this is an opportunity to see a different side of what we do," said Staff Sgt. Dwayne White, one of the Guard organizers. "They get to see that we're not all about going into combat. We are also about taking care of our communities."

But participating is also a retention tool, said Command Sgt. Major Robert Van Pelt, the most senior enlisted member of the New York Army National Guard.

 "It is just another opportunity that a soldier has to do something that they will never do the rest of their lives," Van Pelt said.

The Bodine Bobsled Challenge was created by NASCAR legend Geoff Bodine to promote awareness and raise funds for the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, Inc., a corporation dedicated to pioneering the fastest bobsled technology for World Cup and Olympic competition.

During the multi-day event, drivers from NASCAR and the National Hot Rod Association drive identical sleds down a bobsled track reputed to be one of the fastest and most challenging in the world.

While an Olympic venue might not be the most likely place in the world to see Soldiers in ACUs, for Bodine, who is a former New York Army National Guardsman, the fit was a natural.

"We needed someone to ride with these race car drivers and someone said, 'Let's get the military involved.' I said that I used to be a National Guard guy right here in New York and it just went from there," he said.

In 2006, Bodine contacted U.S. Bobsled National Team Coach Bill Tavares, a 26-year veteran of the Army National Guard assigned to the World Class Athlete Program.

From there, the request was routed through military channels. Within a short time, the approval was received and the partnership underway.

As a recruiting tool, there are few more effective, with news reports of the unique competition prominently focusing on the Guardsmen's participation, appearing throughout the nation and extensive coverage of the event appearing on both the SPEED Channel and NASCAR.com, White said.

The Guard Soldiers are also encouraged to bring their families to watch the competition and attend receptions and dinners after the day's racing are done.

"They (The National Guard Soldiers) do so much for the country and for all of us. I think it is a great tribute to give something back to them," said Melanie Troxell, the first woman driver to participate in the Bodine Challenge. The rookie slider would ultimately emerge as winner of the Bo-Dyn Challenge Race.

After fast times and a few flips, would the Guardsmen do it again?

 "You get to ride on a bobsled, be a brakeman for the drivers and have a good time for the weekend," said Spc. Michael Graham. "They said I would have a lot of fun, and I have so far."

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...