June 1, 2003

Bill Lester Tied His Career Best Finish, 11th Place, in a Backup Truck at Dover International Speedway

Bill Lester had one of the most improbable finishes to his week in Dover, Delaware that one could possibly have had. He was forced into a backup truck on race morning, after a crash in happy hour, and battled his way from 33rd place on the starting grid to finish in the 11th position, which tied his career-best finish in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The entire week’s events leading up to race day where dominated by rain. It was the story of qualifying for the second race in a row. The teams got to the track on Thursday morning with a threat of inclement weather, and for much of the day the rain held off. But shortly after morning practice, the rain moved in and qualifying and happy hour practice was canceled on Thursday.
That was the beginning of what would be a tough Friday morning. With a limited amount of time on the track Thursday, NASCAR changed the schedule to include a 30-minute practice Friday morning. That is when the bottom dropped out for Lester and the No. 8 team. Exiting turn two, Lester and the No. 8 truck began to spin and collected the inside wall and forced the team to their backup truck for the race.

When the race began in the late afternoon on Friday, the No. 8 crew had worked all day to prepare the backup truck for competition. Lester took the green flag without a single lap on the truck and had no idea what to expect.
He moved up quickly at first, passing ten trucks in 20 laps. After that early surge, Lester settled into the running order and the team’s plan of attack. They had made the decision to play it cool and easy all day. Over the course of the race, Lester stayed with the plan, taking advantage of opportunities as they came available, never pressing his luck. As it turned out, it was a stroke of genus. As other competitors crashed out and lost the handle on the track, Lester and his No. 8 truck meticulously picked them off one-by-one until and the end of the race, while finding himself 11th in the running order.

“It was a tough day,” said Lester. “I put the boys and me in a hole this morning, but my guys showed everyone just what they are made of. They poured their hearts and souls into the backup truck, and when we took the checkered flag at seven o’clock this afternoon, it all paid off for us. We had our best finish of the year and tied our best finish all together. We also moved up in the points standings and earned a lot of respect. I just can’t tell everyone what kind of guys are on this No. 8 team. They are the best in the garage area.”

Lester and the team head to Texas Motor Speedway, the site of his other 11th place finish last season, in the 13th position in the points standings, which is an all-time high for the team.

“I’m ready to go racing at Texas,” said Lester. “I know we’re going to have a strong truck there, and we can build on this points position.”

Driver: Bill Lester, No. 8 Dodge Dealers Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
6 1 0 0 0 $ 67,775 13th

Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
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 (Next Event)
Totals 1081 of 1094 (98.8%) $ 67,775


Driver: Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Square D Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
6 0 1 5 6 $ 129,675 1st

Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
Daytona 13 4 106 of 106 Running $ 26,000
Darlington 14 1 147 of 147 Running 39,075 Bakersfield 2 4 255 of 255 Running 12,650
Martinsville 2 5 250 of 250 Running 9,075
Charlotte 5 7 136 of 136 Running 11,325
Dover 1 2 200 of 200 Running 31,550
Texas (Next Event)
Totals 1094 of 1094 (100%) $ 129,675

NEXT EVENT: O’Reilly 400K at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas on June 6, 2003. The event will be televised live on SPEED Channel at 9:00 PM Eastern Time, and also live on MRN radio at 9:00 PM Eastern Time.

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com