Bodine was born into a racing family in Chemung, New York, where his parents owned the Chemung Speedrome. He is the youngest of the three Bodine brothers who reached NASCAR's national divisions. He made his Busch Series debut in 1986 at Martinsville for Pistone Racing before spending several years developing his career in the series. In 1991, his first full Busch Series season, he won his first career race and scored 15 top-tens, finishing seventh in points.
Bodine's Cup debut came at Watkins Glen in August 1992 driving the No. 34 Diet Pepsi Ford Thunderbird. His first full-time Cup season was 1994 with Butch Mock Motorsports, where he scored two top-fives and seven top-tens to finish 20th in the championship. He spent the rest of the decade in a series of partial and substitute rides — filling in for Bill Elliott, driving for several smaller teams, and returning periodically to the Busch Series.
Bodine drove full-time in the Cup Series with Haas-Carter Motorsports in 2001, recording three poles but finishing a troubled 29th in points. The following year he joined Herzog Motorsports and added a Kroger 300 victory at Kentucky Speedway to his resume. His best Cup career finish remained limited to isolated top-five results, and he never established a sustained run in top-tier equipment.
Bodine found his strongest footing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. After initial Truck outings in 1995 for Roush Racing, he returned to the series in 2004 with Germain-Arnold Racing, winning back-to-back races at Fontana and Texas in his first season with the team. Disputes over contract terms led him to leave, but he returned in 2005.
His 2006 championship season with Germain Racing in the No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota produced three wins, 12 top-fives, 16 top-tens, a pole at Atlanta, an average finish of 8.4, and zero DNFs — a consistency that earned him the title by 122 points over Johnny Benson Jr. The championship was historically significant as the first in any NASCAR division for Toyota, marking the manufacturer's entry into NASCAR competition.
Bodine remained with Germain Racing and claimed a second Truck title in 2010, delivering four wins, 17 top-fives, 20 top-tens, and an average finish of 6.4. He clinched the championship with one race remaining in the season.
After leaving Germain following 2011, Bodine drove for several Truck Series teams including Red Horse Racing in 2012, ThorSport Racing in 2013, and made additional Xfinity Series starts through 2017. Following a five-year absence from competition, Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis sponsored Bodine for six Truck Series races in 2022 as a farewell tour — marketed as "The Onion's Last Ride" — to allow him to reach 800 career starts across NASCAR's top three series. He achieved that milestone at Pocono Raceway in July 2022.
Bodine transitioned to broadcasting and currently works as a color analyst for Fox Sports 1 on select Camping World Truck Series races, stepping in when Michael Waltrip is unavailable. He has also worked as a pit reporter for the series.