NHRA - National Hot Rod Association

Forget Disneyland; Brainerd International Raceway is one of the happiest places on earth for the Bode family, and their return to the site of patriarch Bob’s first and only career NHRA Funny Car win in 2010 has the Illinois privateers revved up and ready for more of what son Bobby, the team's driver, calls “Brainerd Magic.”

Coming into the event off of a three-second pass at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals and a semifinal finish at a non-NHRA event, the team is carrying big hopes into the event, and also carrying the support of a number of companies who have become big fans of the family-run team.

For the second straight year, Koch’s Hardware, which has been in business since 1947 and owns Minnesota stores in Milaca and Foley, Minn., will be the primary sponsor.

Pros Inc., based in Merrifield, Minn., which offers predictive maintenance and industrial reliability consulting company and helps facilities identify machinery issues before they lead to costly failures and downtime, is onboard again as an associate sponsor as well with Little Falls, Minn.-based Mielke Oil, a family-owned Minnesota distributor of industrial lubricants, greases, fuels, and DEF, serving customers throughout the upper Midwest, and Mark's Greenhouse and Floral, a family-owned greenhouse and full-service floral business that has been serving the Devils Lake, N.D., community since 1981. Classics Plus, a Savage, Minn.-based classic-car restoration, repair, and customization shop, joins the team for the first time.

The team’s underdog, family-based profile and their downhome friendliness have attracted a number of supporters over the years.

“All these people found us, which is pretty cool, and some of them actually just came from networking,” said Bode. “My mom [Alice]  met some people a couple of years ago at the Wheelie Bar at Brainerd [International Raceway], and she made friends with them, and they turned out to be the Pros people, and got me connected with them.

“Most of these sponsors go to the Brainerd race, and because my dad won there, it's basically a home race for us just because everybody remembers when he won.”

The team is still working out some mechanical bugs, and the Barinerd event is just their third NHRA race this year. They qualified in both Chicago and Norwalk, but well down in the field, and ceded lane choice both times to three-time world champ Ron Capps, who sent them home early both times.

“I kind of hope that I get to race Ron again in Brainerd; he's beaten me so many times, my odds have to change soon, right?" Bode said.

At their most recent outing in Columbus, Ohio, the team reached the semifinals after setting low e.t. of round one, but a loose bolt shredded the blower belt, costing them the round.

“That was just bad on us and an example of why we struggle sometimes, but we’re working hard,” he said.

“We haven't had much luck the past year,” he continued. “Some of it is us. We don't qualify where we should qualify, so we get a tough matchup, and then we run good on Sunday, and we just get the wrong matchup, but hopefully, we're building up on that good-luck thing, and we can use it all in Brainerd.

“A lot of the bad luck is just mistakes because we're part time, and we only do it once a month, so sometimes we're a little bit rusty. We like to say we're our own worst enemy sometimes, but we spent a lot of time after Norwalk going through everything, and we found some stuff. So hopefully, we can run a little bit better at Brainerd.”