August 18, 2003

Bill Lester No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge Race Notes: BRISTOL

O'Reilly 200
August 20, 2003
Bristol Motor Speedway
TV: SPEED (Live) 8:30 PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 8:30 PM-Eastern Time

2003 points standing after 15 of 25 races
Position Driver Points
1st Brendan Gaughan 2315
2nd Travis Kvapil 2308
3rd Ted Musgrave 2294
4th Dennis Setzer 2210
7th Bobby Hamilton 2163
11th Chad Chaffin 1890
13th Bill Lester 1745

Bill Lester Profile
Birthdate - February 6, 1961
Wife - Cheryl
Children - Alex
Residence - Atlanta, Georgia
Education - BS in E.E./C.S.
U.C. Berkeley

NASCAR Truck Series Career Statistics Year-By-Year
Years Starts Wins Top 5's Top 10's Money
2000 1 0 0 0 $ 7,770
2001 5 0 0 0 35,700
2002 22 0 0 0 264,766
2003 15 0 0 1 166,280
Totals 43 0 0 1 $473,516

Career Best Start: 1st @ Lowes Motor Speedway 5-16-03
Best Finish: 10th @ Kansas Speedway 7-5-03
Biggest Purse: $ 15,165 @ Daytona Intl. Speedway 3-14-03

Performance Record: Bristol Motor Speedway
Truck Series: (Bill Lester nor the No. 8 team have competed at the facility)
New Facility for Bill Lester: Once again, it will be a whole new deal for Bill Lester this week. Lester has never competed at the famous, half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.

"This should be interesting," said Lester. "It's like nothing I've ever raced on before. This is a tremendous facility, and it should be a great race for the fans. I'm going to enter the race with a lot of respect for the place just simply because of the stories people have told me."

Lester and the No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge Team enter this weekend pumped about how they ran at Nashville two weeks ago, but they know this race will be nothing like that concrete track.

"We race on three concrete tracks and each is its own animal," said Lester. "There are a few similarities, but for the most part, they are different."

Milestones: As the season enters the final stretch of races in 2003, Lester is moving in on two career milestones. He is only $26,484 away from the
$ 500,000 mark in career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series earnings. In seven more races, Lester will reach the 50 career starts mark for the Craftsman Truck Series.

"I don't really keep up with things like this; some day, years from now, it will be pretty rewarding to say that I achieved several milestones in my NASCAR career," said Lester. "I already have a few, like my first pole, my first top ten, and my likeness on the Honey Nut Cheerios box."

Testing: On Monday, August 11, 2003, the No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge Team attended an open Dodge test session at Bristol Motor Speedway. The event lasted from mid-day to late in the evening. All three BHR teams attended the test session.

"Man, am I glad that Dodge picked Bristol for one of their manufacturer test sessions," said Lester. "It's like being a rookie again. There are several guys that have raced some type of vehicle at Bristol Motor Speedway, so it's good to at least get a few laps under my belt before we get there on Wednesday. It makes it even more important due to the fact that this a one day show. We go in and practice, qualify, and race in one day. That makes unloading off the hauler fast a premium."

Championship Contenders: With ten races remaining in the 2003 season, there are 20 drivers that can still mathematically win the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

This Week's Truck: Lester and the No. 8 Team will be running "Rocket" at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is the same truck that was used as the back up truck in Dover earlier this year and raced from 36th place to 11th place.

Performance Chart: Rocket
Date Location S/F Driver
2002
3-15-02 Darlington 13/28 Bill Lester
4-13-02 Martinsville 13/25 Bill Lester
5-31-02 Dover 22/12 Bill Lester
6-22-02 Memphis 31/17 Bill Lester
7-20-02 Loudon 20/14 Bill Lester
8-2-02 IRP 11/28 Bill Lester
9-5-02 Richmond 18/36 Bill Lester
2003
5-30-03 Dover 33/11 Bill Lester
6-28-03 Milwaukee 22/12 Bill Lester

Randy Seals File: Following the race at Nashville, Randy Seals, Crew Chief of the No. 8 Team, had served in that position for 30 events at BHR, but it has not always been the easiest of tasks. Seals has had eight different drivers behind the wheel of his trucks, and in each case, they have run competitively, but for now, he is happy to have Lester as his driver.

"It seems like whenever BHR has a young driver in the fold or a one race deal, they are driving for me," said Seals. "Seriously though, it's been a great experience. I've had the opportunity to work with some great young drivers and some exceptional veterans, but for now, I'm having a great time helping Bill (Lester) develop as a talent in the Truck Series. I'm just glad that Bobby (Hamilton) gave me this chance last year, and I intend to make the most of it every week."

Lester's 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money
Daytona 8 18 97 of 106 Accident $ 15,165
Darlington 15 12 144 of 147 Running 9,465
Bakersfield 23 13 255 of 255 Running 8,190
Martinsville 17 19 250 of 250 Running 9,315
Charlotte 1 15 135 of 136 Running 11,890
Dover 15 11 198 of 200 Running 13,750
Texas 13 12 146 of 146 Running 13,165
Memphis 14 26 125 of 200 Running 8,990
Milwaukee 23 12 198 of 200 Running 10,215
Kansas 2 10 167 of 167 Running 14,000
Kentucky 9 12 150 of 150 Running 14,940
St. Louis 14 22 141 of 160 Accident 9,190
Michigan 5 11 100 of 100 Running 12,275
Indy 23 28 191 of 200 Running 7,090
Nashville 7 16 148 of 150 Running 8,640
Bristol (Next Event)

2003 Totals
Starts - 15
Poles - 1
Wins - 0
Top fives - 0
Top tens - 1
Earnings - $ 166,280
Laps Completed - 2471 of 2588 (95.4%)
Laps Led - 17 of 2588
Races Led - 2 of 15
DNF's - 2
Lester Quotes

"Over the last few weeks, we have finally gotten to the top of the leader board a few times, and it's been great. The only problem with leading once is now I want to lead every race. I really want to lead the last lap if I had a choice. This team has been running better and better the last few weeks, and it's really showing up on the track. Now we just need to continue to work on our finishes."

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com