LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — As soon as John Morgan opened the drivers' meeting inside the Winter Olympic Museum, Dick Trickle voiced a concern.

"Some pushers are way better than others," Trickle, a former NASCAR driver, said Thursday night on the eve of the Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge.

"Yeah, they're already thinking about cheating," Morgan replied, a big smile on his face. "We'll get every driver to sign an affidavit they won't bribe the pusher."

Welcome to NASCAR on ice. Trickle is one of 10 current or former drivers who are taking part in this unique event, an effort to raise funds to keep the U.S. men's and women's bobsled teams at the forefront of international racing.

And even at age 64 and retired, Trickle doesn't like to lose.

"You try to run the best line," Trickle said not long after he and his son Chad had completed three runs down the 6-year-old bobsled track at nearby Mount Van Hoevenberg. "I had about the fifth-fastest time, but I think a couple of guys got sleds that are house sleds. They've got their own name on them, that kind of stuff."

Although it was a new experience for most of the drivers, they proved quick learners after taking a Bobsled 101 crash course, experiencing a simulator ride of the track and then walking the twisting layout in preparation for today's qualifying. The race is Saturday.

"I've had a smile on my face since I got here," said Kevin Lepage, who hails from the suburbs of nearby Burlington, Vt. "The first time I drove, it was awesome. We ran a 55-something, I came in and thought to myself, 'What did I do wrong?' went back out and ran a 52.90. We're looking forward to the competition."

"I'm having so much fun watching these guys have fun," said Bob Cuneo, the main designer of the current Bo-Dyn bobsleds used by the U.S. team. "What's incredible is they were bettering their times by a couple of seconds a run. That's how fast these guys were learning. And not only were they bettering their times, they were becoming more and more competitive. They are so into it."

Especially Stanton Barrett, whose family has lived and breathed winter sports for decades. His grandfather was a coach on the U.S. ski team and his mom skied World Cup and won a medal at the World Championships.

"I've always been fascinated by it," said Barrett, a former ski racer and motocross star. "I used to watch ski jumping, alpine skiing and bobsled with my mom until 2 in the morning."

Still, like most of the others, he had never seen a bobsled track in person until Thursday, and he was quickly hooked. No pansy 34-degree banked turns like at NASCAR's so-called bullring in Tennessee.

"It was just like for a fan to go to Bristol. Holy Cow!" Barrett said. "You see it on TV, but you don't realize that's a flat, vertical bank they're driving. I can't wait to go tomorrow and race."

For the record, Geoff Bodine said he had the fastest time of the drivers, who learned on the bottom two-thirds of the track. Then again, he has the most experience, having driven the track last month in testing the two-man training sleds the drivers are using.

"Everyone is enjoying it," Bodine said. "Now that they've driven, you can't get the smile off their faces. They want to race all night."

Not surprisingly, all are aiming for the same thing.

"We're competitors, we're here to beat everybody else," Lepage said. "We want to go home to Charlotte and go to Daytona to test and say we were the best bobsled driver. I didn't come here to run second."

Because the event was late coming together, Bodine didn't secure the drivers he had hoped for. Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart wanted to come but had other commitments. Ditto for Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. At best, Bodine said he hopes to break even this year but is hoping he's laid a foundation for the future.

"The enthusiasm we're seeing here, and when the guys go back and tell the others, we're hoping it'll take off next year," Bodine said.

"We're trying to bring more awareness to our sport to the rest of the auto racing community," added Cuneo, whose Connecticut-based company, Chassis Dynamics, also designs race car setups. "These guys are going to go back and tell a story about how awesome this sport is and how much fun they had. And hopefully, that's going to help our cause because we need something or we'll have to give up."