March 10, 2003

Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Square D Racing Preview: Darlington

Event: Craftsman 200
Location: Darlington Raceway
Qualifying: March 13th 1:30 PM EDT
Race Start: March 14th 4:00 PM EDT Live on Speed

Quotes on winning at Darlington Raceway:  “I won the very first truck race at Darlington. It was a fun thing that I decided to do on an off weekend with my old Winston Cup Series team. We got a truck ready for me at my truck shop and I asked Andy’s (Petree) guys to come help me. We had a blast. That whole weekend we played with these new remote control cars we bought on our way to Darlington. We set up trash cans and all kinds of things to beat and bang these cars into. It was hilarious."

“Then we ended up winning the truck race after the rain delay. Man I had a tough truck that weekend. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is just as competitive and hard to win a race in as the other two series are, but it’s a great time out there. You know when you leave Daytona International Speedway with donuts on the side of your truck, that the race has been a good one. The tracks we race on in the truck series are fast and exciting, just like Darlington this weekend. The lady in black (nickname for the 1.366-mile oval) has been pretty good to me over the years. But she’ll jump out there and bite you if you give her the chance. Truck racing at Darlington is different though from the Winston Cup cars. These trucks are more forgiving than the cars are so we can get away with more. It’ll be some rowdy action out there.”

Notes:
• In 2001 after a stellar third-place qualifying effort, Hamilton won the Darlington 200, the first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Darlington Raceway.
• That race Hamilton claimed the biggest purse of his truck series career ($43,260).
• Hamilton is only 20 points behind leader Rick Crawford for this year’s points battle.
• Dodge Ram drivers have won both series events on the 1.366-mile oval.
• Hamilton owns three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series entries, the No. 18 Dickies Dodge driven by Chad Chaffin, the No. 8 Dodge driven by Bill Lester, the No. 4 Square D Dodge driven by Hamilton.

Hamilton’s thoughts on racing at Darlington: "That's a race track where we have to be so careful where we pass. It is a driver's race track hands down. We concentrate on racing the track instead of each other. The track is finicky, but tolerable if you know where and when to push yourself out there. It's one of those places that I'm glad I have some experience under my belt. It takes a certain kind of finesse and patience to win. You have to concentrate, keep your eye on the game to get around that track and be a contender. It challenges machines, shocks, springs, tires and patience. I’ve had several top 10's there in both fields (five in the WC Series, one truck win). Having raced and won the truck race in 2001 will help give us a morale boost before we go there."

This weekend’s Truck: The Dodge Ram that Hamilton will be driving at Darlington Raceway is nicknamed Beavis. It is a brand new truck named after one of Hamilton’s painters at BHR. “Beavis” was one of the original employees at BHR, but had to move back to his hometown in Ohio. Since this truck was the last one Beavis painted, the team decided to name it in his honor.