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NASCAR legend involved with previous Winter Olympics weighs in on security

A NASCAR legend who has been involved in previous Winter Olympics in South Korea weighs in on tensions coming from its neighbor to the north.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is calling on North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and start negotiations.

Tillerson, in a speech at the United Nations Security Council on Friday, said that North Korea must stop its threatening behavior. He also said all options are on the table.

The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, are less than 60 days away.

NASCAR legend Geoff Bodine is known best for racing cars, but he has ties to another kind of racing.

He builds bobsleds, including a NASCAR-inspired design that helped propel Team USA to a gold medal more than once.

[RELATED: NASCAR champion owner, engine maker Robert Yates dies]

Bodine said he has concerns about tensions in North Korea.

"I'm praying that everything is going to be safe and I really think it will be, but I'm still not counting out "Rocket Man" doing something stupid," Bodine said.
"Rocket Man" is a name that President Trump has called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his tweets.

Bodine said via Skype from his Florida home that Olympics athletes are trying their best to ignore Kim Jong Un’s missile and nuclear threat.

"From talking to some of our athletes, they're worried. They're concerned but, like a NASCAR driver, they're able to block that out when they get in competition," Bodine said.

Preparations are well-underway in South Korea.

This week, police conducted anti-terror drills at the venue that will host the opening and closing ceremonies.

[RELATED: North Korea short of posing imminent missile threat]

They set off fake bombs and shot down drones, as tensions continue to exist between the U.S. and North Korea.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would like more help from Russia.

"China is helping. Russia is not helping,” Trump said outside the White House. “We'd like to have Russia's help, very important."

Bodine won't be going to South Korea but knows security will be tight, based on his previous experiences in Vancouver and Salt Lake City.

He also knows that competing on the world stage is an experience that U.S. athletes don't want to miss, even if it could be dangerous.

"They want to be there to represent the United States of America, all of us, in world competition," Bodine said.

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