In 1988, Bodine moved to the Cup series full-time for Bud Moore Engineering driving the No. 15 Crisco Thunderbird.  In the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Brett led the race 5 times for a total of 96 laps before dropping a cylinder late in the race and getting passed for the lead by race winner Darrell Watrip with 31 laps to go and ultimately finishing 4th.  In the Oakwood Homes 500, also at Charlotte, Brett led the race 3 times for a total of 50 laps before getting passed for the lead by race winner Rusty Wallace with 12 laps to go and ultimately finishing 3rd.  The team was plagued by engine issues all season, falling out of races 7 times while fighting through engine issues in others. For the season Bodine posted 5 top-10 finishes and finished 20th in points.  Brett was not eligible for the Rookie of the Year award in 1988 (which was won by Ken Bouchard who finished 25th in points with 1 top 10) as he had run too many races as a part time driver in 1987.