Bodine gets extra Check for pole.

Todd Bodine's spectacular record setting Pole Position at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has handed the driver of the No.66 Haas Carter Motorsports Ford a one race sponsorship lifeline with Checker Auto Parts.

In what could well be the final race for the Carl Haas/Travis Carter co-owned NASCAR Winston Cup team, Todd Bodine's Bud Pole Qualifying heroics have given the cash-strapped outfit a glimpse of survival in the shape of a one race primary sponsor cheque from Checker Auto Parts.

After Bodine broke the Las Vegas Motor Speedway qualifying track record in Friday's Bud Pole Qualifying session to take his fourth Bud Pole Award for the No.66 team, the Phoenix based company signed a last minute deal for Sunday's UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. Although the Checker Auto Parts logo is only set to appear on the No.66 Ford and not the No.26 machine driven by Joe Nemechek and for one race only, the deal may allow team boss Carter to take at least one of his cars to the next round of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in Atlanta next weekend.

Carter was still cautious on his team's chances of survival past this weekend but was still delighted to have earned some temporary financial relief. "We're still working on other sponsor opportunities for these cars or the rest of the year," he declared. "But I want to thank Checker Auto Parts for coming to our rescue here."

When previous primary backers Kmart suddenly declared for bankruptcy protection in mid-January, Carter was left with enough money to run the first three races of the season at Daytona, Rockingham and Las Vegas. After that, unless extra funding was found, the team would cease to exist.

Checker Auto Parts have been the title sponsors of the NASCAR Winston Cup race at the Phoenix International Raceway since 1999 but currently do not have any direct sponsorship connections with anyone in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. With the extra money brought forward by Bodine's pole position and the C.A.P deal, Carter may be able to take Bodine, if not Nemechek, to the Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

Ironically prior to this weekend it was the No.26 team, which looked more likely to find a new sponsor with several companies, including Series backers Winston, mentioned in connection with a sponsorship deal for the car. However if Checker Auto Parts elect not to extend their deal beyond Las Vegas, there is still the real possibility that Carter could be forced to follow Andy Petree (No.33) and Mark Melling (No.92) in parking the cars.