Square D Racing Recap MBNA America 200

Square D driver Bobby Hamilton ran in the top five for most of the MBNA America 200 at Dover International Speedway until a scheduled green-flag pit stop for fuel cost him the top-five finishing position.  He went on to finish the race two laps down in the 19th spot.

Hamilton qualified his Square D Dodge in the seventh position and by lap six he was already in the top five.  The team pitted under the second caution on lap 49 making a track bar adjustment because Hamilton was battling a tight race truck.  He came in to the pits in the fourth spot and lost three positions trying to leave because David Reutimann had him blocked in his stall.

That didn’t hold him back once the race restarted.  By lap 71 he was already up to the fifth position.  The fourth caution of the day came out on lap 81.  Hamilton and the rest of the leaders chose to not pit, since they had done it only 32 laps earlier and they could go another 55 laps without running out of gas.

Uncharacteristic to the previous laps in the race, there wasn’t another caution until lap 151 thus forcing the leaders to pit under racing conditions.  Hamilton, whose radio communication was breaking up with Crew Chief Danny Rollins, dropped to the bottom of the Monster Mile on lap 140 to pit saying his tires were so worn they were about to blow.  He radioed Rollins several times telling him he was pitting, but did not get an answer from his crew chief.  Rollins, who was standing on the pit wall ready to change tires, never heard Hamilton’s calls.  So Hamilton jumped back on the race track after losing several spots.  Finally the spotter, Andy Dunlap, called Hamilton into the pits on lap 142 for fuel and tires.

The Square D Racing Team cranked out a fast pit stop and sent Hamilton back on the track two laps down.  Then on lap 151 the fifth caution came out catching all but five trucks down one or more laps.  Those five trucks, which were out of sequence on pit stops earlier in the race, pitted under caution and were able to retain the lead.

Hamilton restarted the race in the 19th spot.  He was faster than the leaders, but was unable to catch up in the few laps left in the race.  Due to the miscue with radio communication and the green-flag pit stop he finished the race in 19th and fell one spot in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points race to fifth.

“There was really nothing we could do,” Hamilton said.  “We had a great truck and raced faster than the leaders the whole day.  The green-flag pit stop killed us, but we couldn’t have avoided that.  There were four cautions back-to-back in the beginning so we had to think that was going to happen until the end of the race.  All but five teams got caught pitting under green, so it wasn’t a bad call.  As for the radio communication, it will be fixed and we will have back-ups handy to make sure we don’t ever have that problem again.  The guys were ready for me, I just didn’t know since I couldn’t hear back.  We had a great truck, and one that could have finished in the top five easily.  It’s too bad when a finishing position doesn’t reflect your truck’s potential, but we are not getting down.  We have too many races left for that.”

Chad Chaffin, in the Dickies Dodge which Hamilton owns, won the MBNA America 200.  Rick Crawford, Hank Parker Jr., Mike Skinner and Ken Schrader followed in the top five.