September 9, 2003

Crew Chief Change for No. 8 Dodge Team at New Hampshire

New Hampshire 200
September 13, 2003
Richmond International Speedway
TV: SPEED (Live) 1:00 PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 1:00 PM-Eastern Time

2003 points standing after 17 of 25 races
Position Driver Points
1st Brendan Gaughan 2631
2nd Travis Kvapil 2626
3rd Ted Musgrave 2592
4th Dennis Setzer 2520
7th Bobby Hamilton 2437
11th Chad Chaffin 2166
13th Bill Lester 1924

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 17 0 0 1 181,960
Totals 45 0 0 1 $489,196

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

Topics of Interest

Bill Lester Performance Record at: New Hampshire Intl. Speedway
Date Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
7-20-02 20 14 205 of 207 Running $ 9,990
Totals 205 of 207 (99%) $ 9,990

No. 8 Team History:
Year Start Finish Driver
2002 20 14 Bill Lester
2001 18 18 Willy T. Ribbs

Crew Chief Change for No. 8 Dodge Team: Effective immediately, General Manager, Kip McCord, will be taking over as crew chief of the No. 8 Strauss Auto Parts/The Club Dodge, driven by Bill Lester. Randy Seals, who served as Lester's crew chief over the last ten weeks, will remain with BHR as a key member of the No. 4 Team. The change is part of an on-going process to find the best chemistry that will allow Lester and the No. 8 Team to achieve its goal of racing week-in and week-out in the top ten.

McCord led the No. 8 team to several of its best finishes last year while also serving as team manager. The move should put the team in position for a solid run to the end of the season.

"This move is to help get both teams more competitive," said Team Owner Bobby Hamilton. "This is not a negative thing toward Randy (Seals). He is one of my brightest people, and he is going to help me on the No. 4 Team. We just needed to give the No. 8 Team a little boost, and Kip (McCord) can do that. Bill has wanted to get back with Kip for several weeks, and this should help put the driver at ease, and there should be no reason why we can't get that truck back to running toward the top ten."

The No. 8 Team currently sits in the 13th position in the Craftsman Truck Series points standings with eight races remaining in the 2003 season.

"I'm here to try and help this team achieve its goals, and one is to get the No. 8 truck as competitive as we can," said Kip McCord. "Randy has done a great job, but this change should help the entire program get better. He'll be a great addition to the No. 4 Team, and hopefully we can continue the positive things that he had going on at the No. 8 Team. Bill and I have worked together in the past, and I'm his spotter now, so this is not a big deal. This is just part of the team concept, and these three teams are all one deal."

"This is all about getting better each and every week," said Lester. "I've worked with Kip in the past, and hopefully we will not skip a beat. Randy and I had some great runs, and he helped me get my first top ten finish, but I think this change will just help keep the ball rolling so to speak. I'm looking for big things in the coming weeks."

This Week's Truck: This week, Lester and the Team will be racing "Rocket" at New Hampshire International Speedway. It is the same truck that Lester drove to a 14th place finish in 2002 in the Loudon, New Hampshire event. It is also the truck the team rolled out as a back up in Dover earlier this season to finish in the 11th position after starting in the back of the field.

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
8-20-03 Bristol 18/19 Bill Lester

Championship Contenders: With eight races remaining in the 2003 season, there are 17 drivers that can still mathematically win the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

Appearances: Lester will be attending the Dodge Pit Crew Challenge in Laconia, New Hampshire on September 11, 2003 from 6:00PM to 8:00PM. He will be there cheering on his teammates, Chad Chaffin and Bobby Hamilton, in hopes that one of them will advance to the finals in Las Vegas later this month. In February, the No. 8 Team advanced to the finals after winning their event in Daytona.

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 18 19 195 of 200 Running 9,315
Richmond 14 30 143 of 200 Accident 6,365
Loudon (Next Event)

2003 Totals
Starts - 17
Poles - 1
Wins - 0
Top fives - 0
Top tens - 1
Earnings -$ 181,960
Laps Completed - 2866 of 2988 (95.9%)
Laps Led - 17 of 2988
Races Led - 2 of 17
DNF's - 3
Lester Quotes

"Man, last week was a tough deal. I hate it for the guys. They have been working really hard to get us ready to go out west for two weeks, and last weekend got them behind and put them in a pinch. Hopefully we will not have a problem at New Hampshire this week, so we'll be fine for the end of the month."

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com